Zone to Win: Critical Elements of Innovation Strategy
"What makes modern business different? Simply put, speed plus disruption." This is how the book Zone to Win begins.
Geoffrey Moore's reflection is very powerful.
All companies are threatened with such a wave of innovation and irruption and sooner or later they will not catch that wave that will leave them out of place. And according to Geoffrey the main problem is organisational: the organisational structure of companies (sales, marketing, finance) does not make it easy to prepare for the future because all areas have to attend to the present and when someone thinks about the future it is very difficult for them to manage to drag the rest of the organisation there.
Because "adding a new line of business to an existing portfolio creates a crisis of prioritization" and how resources should be allocated to respond to the present while building the future, understanding, moreover, that our teams or our methods serve the present but it is not so clear that they serve the future. Not to mention what it costs to invest when revenues start to decline due to the natural wear and tear of a mature business.
If we talk about the business future, there are two types of futures to consider: the one we build ourselves, where we are the ones who first ride that wave, and the one we build ourselves where others ride it.
Disruption can come on multiple possible fronts and many are salvageable with cunning, investment and agility. But there is one exception: the emergence of a new business model (tell that to Kodak). ‘No established enterprise can reasonably expect to change its core business model, ever. It can’t be done.
There is simply too much inertial momentum tied up in your internal systems, your customer relationships, your company culture, your supply chain processes, your ecosystem of partners and your investors’ expectations.
But what can we do to ensure that the next wave does not catch us off guard? Two things: First, have your operating model as modernized as possible (this will save us time); Second, explore the future with the goal of destroying ourselves (it will always be better if someone else does it before us).
Easy for you to say. But how to do it? Here's the interesting thing.
Let's structure our organization in 4 big areas: Performance, Productivity, Incubation and Transformation.
Four areas where the time horizon of each is different, as well as their objectives. Horizon 1 speaks of the current fiscal year, horizon 2 points to two or three years ahead, and horizon 3 speaks of a scenario of three and five years ahead, periods which, in more dynamic sectors, could be one quarter (horizon 1), one year (horizon 2), and two years (horizon 3). In any case, what matters is that each area of the company works on different objectives and time horizons.
Let's hear Geoffrey Moore break down the four areas:
Zone to Win
Grab your copy (Audiobook, Kindle, any-cover) here.
Over the last 25 years, Geoffrey Moore has established himself as one of the most influential high-tech advisors in the world - once prompting Conan O'Brien to ask "Who is Geoffrey Moore and why is he more famous than me?"
Following up on the ferociously innovative Escape Velocity, which served as the basis for Moore's consulting work to such companies as Salesforce, Microsoft, and Intel, Zone to Win serves as the companion playbook for his landmark guide, offering a practical manual to address the challenge large enterprises face when they seek to add a new line of business to their established portfolio. Focused on spurring next-generation growth, guiding mergers and acquisitions, and embracing disruption and innovation, Zone to Win is a high-powered tool for driving your company above and beyond its limitations, its definitions of success, and ultimately, its competitors.
Moore's classic bestseller, Crossing the Chasm, has sold more than one million copies by addressing the challenges faced by start-up companies. Now Zone to Win is set to guide established enterprises through the same journey.