The Innovation Show

There is no formula for immunity to disruption. Invincibility is an illusion. However, one factor explains why some succeed at corporate venture building. Our experience working with midsize and large legacy firms has shown us that innovation is as much about leadership as it is about the method, strategy, organization, and culture. Leaders who ignite and sustain an exploration spirit are more likely to succeed than those who rely on past strengths or success formulas to carry them through. Corporate Explorers are at the centre of every story of corporate innovations whose intense curiosity makes them dare to go where others do not. These are leaders capable of closing the gap between knowing what needs to be done to grow new businesses and doing so. Today's book is 20 years in the making. It started when our guest attended an IBM Strategic Leadership Forum at Harvard Business School led by our previous guests in this series, Michael Tushman and Charles O'Reilly III. Our guest had just joined IBM from McKinsey and was assigned as an internal consultant supporting these budding businesses. We are about to hear that story and so much more. It is a pleasure to welcome the author of "The Corporate Explorer: How Corporations Beat Startups at the Innovation Game", Andrew Binns.

Why do successful firms find it so difficult to adapt in the face of change – to innovate? In the past ten years, the importance of this question has increased as more industries and firms confront disruptive change. The pandemic has accelerated this crisis, collapsing the structures of industries from airlines and medicine to online retail and commercial real estate. Today, business leaders are obligated to investors, their employees, and communities. At the core of this challenge is helping their organizations to survive in the face of change. The original edition summarized the lessons the authors had learned as researchers and consultants over the previous two decades. Since then, they have continued to work with leaders of organizations worldwide confronting disruptive change. With updates to every chapter, including new examples and analysis, this fully revised edition incorporates the lessons and insights the authors have gained in the past five years. Two new chapters critically examine the role of organizational culture in promoting or hindering ambidexterity and its underlying fundamental disciplines. Using examples from firms such as Microsoft, General Motors, and Amazon, O'Reilly and Tushman illustrate how leaders can align their organization's cultures to fit the needed strategy and how ideation, incubation, and scaling approaches, when used all together, can successfully develop new growth businesses.

In part 2 of our Tushman and O'Reilly series, Charles O'Reilly III explores the importance of cultural alignment in encouraging change. We focus on the cases of DaVita, Microsoft and AGC. 00:01:17 Origin Story 00:05:20 Ideate, Incubate, Scale 00:07:37 Culture 00:10:50 The Tyranny of Success: Gunfire At Sea 00:24:20 The L.E.A.S.H. Model 00:21:45 Organisational Culture Change: How Microsoft Transformed Its Culture 00:26:58 DaVita: A Community First, A Company Second 00:31:51 The Importance of Language For Culture Change 00:36:12 AGC INC. IN 2019: "Your Dreams, Our Challenge." 00:42:48 Waiting Until It Is Too Late to Change

In part 1 of our Tushman and O'Reilly series, Michael Tushman examines how leadership, culture, and organizational architectures can be both critical facilitators of innovation and, not uncommonly, formidable obstacles. They demonstrate how to clarify today's critical managerial problems, use culture and commitment to promote innovation and implement strategy, and deal with changing innovation requirements as organizations evolve.

Our guest is an American scholar, educator, and religious leader who has been a general authority of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since April 2015 and was the church's seventeenth Commissioner of Church Education from 2015 to 2019. He served previously as the 15th president of Brigham Young University–Idaho from 2005 to 2015 and as the Harvard Business School (HBS) dean from 1995 to 2005. He was also the George F. Baker Professor of Business Administration. He published an important series of studies on technological innovation with various co-authors. The organisational linkages, or integration, required to accomplish innovation is a thread that runs through these studies. These insights culminated in his book with Carliss Baldwin, "Design Rules: The Power of Modularity," which explores the rules for integrating components that shaped innovation in the computer industry and many others. He studied economics with Clay Christensen in the Fall of 1970 and became his dissertation advisor years later alongside Joe Bower. Kim Bryce Clark is with us to celebrate the life and theories of his friend Clayton Christensen and, indeed, share some of his theories.

Global poverty is one of the world's most vexing problems. For decades, we've assumed smart, well-intentioned people will eventually be able to change the economic trajectory of poor countries. From education to healthcare, and infrastructure to eradicating corruption, too many solutions rely on trial and error. Today's guest reveals a paradox at the heart of our approach to solving poverty. While noble, our current solutions are not producing consistent results and in some cases, have exacerbated the problem. At least twenty countries that have received billions of dollars worth of aid are poorer now. The right kind of innovation not only builds companies—but also builds countries. The Prosperity Paradox identifies the limits of common economic development models, which tend to be top-down efforts. It offers a new framework for economic growth based on entrepreneurship and market-creating innovation. It's a pleasure to welcome the co-author of The Prosperity Paradox: How Innovation Can Lift Nations Out of Poverty, Efosa Ojomo. Find Efosa here: http://efosaojomo.com/

Like an old machine emitting a new and troubling sound that even the best mechanics can't diagnose, the world economy continues its halting recovery from the 2008 recession. Look at what's happening in the United States: Even today, 60 months after the scorekeepers declared the recession over, its economy is still grinding along, producing low growth and disappointing job numbers. One phenomenon we've observed is that, despite historically low-interest rates, corporations are sitting on massive amounts of cash and failing to invest in innovations that might foster growth. That got us thinking: What is causing that behaviour? Are great opportunities in short supply, or are executives failing to recognise them? And how is this behaviour pattern linked to overall economic sluggishness? What is holding growth back? Most growth theories are developed at the macroeconomic level—at 30,000 feet. That perspective is good for spotting correlations between innovation and growth. To understand what causes growth, however, you have to crawl inside companies and the minds of the people who invest in and manage them. This article (which builds on a New York Times piece Clay wrote in late 2012) attempts to form a theory from the ground up by looking at company experience. They are the words of the authors of a beautiful paper; one is Clay Christensen and the other is his collaborator, and someone you know would have co-authored at least one book with Clay. Indeed, I feel this article was headed towards becoming a book. It is a pleasure to welcome a great friend of Clay Christensen, yet another soul deeply touched by the man, the author of "Stall points" behind me on the shelf and author of the 2014 paper, The Capitalist's Dilemma, Derek van Bever.

As legendary Harvard Business School professor Theodore Levitt said, "People don't want to buy a quarter-inch drill. They want a quarter-inch hole!" Many organisations focus on creating products for narrow demographic segments rather than satisfying needs when customers want to "hire" a product to do a job. We are joined by Bob Moesta, Master Innovator, Maker and Entrepreneur; Expert Investigator of Consumers' Motivations and Decision-Making Processes; Co-Creator of the "Jobs-To-Be-Done" Theory; President of The ReWired Group. Clayton Christensen mentored Bob Moesta, and they became fast friends. Bob was one of the principal architects of the Jobs To Be Done theory. He expands on the theory and shares his respect for his friend Clay. Find Bob here: https://therewiredgroup.com

Today's book is a book about progress. Yes, it's a book about innovation—and how to get better at it. But at its core, this book is about the struggles we all face to make progress in our lives. If you're like many entrepreneurs and managers, the word "progress" might not spring to mind when you're trying to innovate. Instead, you obsess about creating the perfect product with just the right features and benefits to appeal to customers. Or you try to fine-tune your existing products continually so they're more profitable or differentiated from your competitors. You think you know what your customers would like, but it can feel hit or miss. Place enough bets, and—with a bit of luck—something will work out. But that doesn't have to be the case, not when you truly understand what causes consumers to choose. Innovation can be far more predictable and profitable, but only if you think differently. If you want to compete—and win—against luck, this is the book for you. Welcome to another episode in our very special series to celebrate the work of Clayton Christensen. Today we are joined by the co-author of Competing Against Luck, Taddy Hall.

Our guest was the Harvard Business Review editor until 2011, when today's book changed her life. She graduated from Cornell University and Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. In 2011 she was named by Ashoka as one of the world's most influential and inspiring women. She is also an incredible author and has co-authored with the late Clayton Christensen. She is here today to discuss the concepts of one of my favourite books, which also changed my life's direction. We welcome back for part 2, the co-author of How Will You Measure Your Life? Karen Dillon. Find Karen here: https://www.karendillon.net