by Ken Tencer
Originally published as a Special to Globe and Mail Update, Wednesday, Dec. 07, 2011

With Dyson’s new bladeless fans, generation of kids will be denied the chance to stick pencils through screens to see what happens when they touch fast-spinning blades.

For any other reason, you have to love the British-based company because its innovations are so obvious yet so breakthrough.

• Safe, bladeless fans that move air without all the rumbling and rattling.
• Technology patterned after jet engines.
• Dual-cyclonic vacuums that suck up more dirt, more efficiently.
• Airport hand driers that actually work.

Why were these products not developed sooner? Did no other company listen to generations of frustrated consumers? Or were the former market leaders simply too afraid to cannibalize existing products and markets by introducing something truly innovative?

Dyson’s success is a lesson to all business leaders: Don’t be afraid to make yourself obsolete, or someone else will do it for you.

For most companies that’s easier said than done. I used these words while co-chairing a recent innovation conference in New York City, and I heard the groans from the audience.

I have heard their thoughts out loud too often:

• “We are the market leaders. We are too big to fail.”
• “Our technology dominates the market, no need to worry,” said the buggy-whip maker to his horse.

Too many great companies have disappeared because they resisted change instead of embracing it. We may now be watching the demise of yet another giant, in photography company Eastman Kodak Co. The incredible thing is that Kodak actually saw and invented a future when digital photography would replace film. But somehow it managed to resist it. As analyst Chris Whitmore of Deutsche Bank told The New York Times: “The big story here is that their core business — the yellow box business — got cannibalized by the digital camera, which ironically they invented.”

The “good news” for investors is that Kodak is now soundly and strategically focused on digital-printing technology (in an increasingly paperless world?). I don’t mean to pick on Kodak, as it is not the first company to resist change, and it won’t be the last.

So where do we turn to find an example of an industry successfully making itself obsolete? Look at autos. Car makers recognized it was only a matter of time before the traditional combustion engine model gave way to newer, cleaner technology. So over the past decade they have gradually introduced us to the future, in the form of clean diesel, hybrid and now fully electric engines.

Each of these introductions started small, with expensive pioneering products sold to early adopters. This is how the industry developed its ability to introduce alternative technology, test demand, optimize production, and manage the transition. Today auto makers have a clear understanding of their market and possess the production capacity to ramp up a full-scale transition – fully cannibalizing the old combustion technology – without endangering their revenues.

The car industry didn’t just stay ahead of the curve – it created and managed the curve. If more of Dyson’s vacuum-cleaner competitors had shared that kind of vision, they wouldn’t be sucking air.

Listen to the Interview with Ken Tencer

In a recent white paper written for the American Management Association, Mitchell identifies four key conditions a company must put in place to achieve results from their innovation efforts. He calls them “The 4 Ps of Innovation”: Priority, Plan, People and Process.

Priority: As simplistic as it sounds, says Mitchell, your organization has to make innovation a priority. “Organizations fail because innovation, as a true, organized effort, always falls off the to-do list or never makes it on the list at all,” he says. Top management must commit to innovation, “lay out the overall goals and make the commitment to resources they believe it will take to reach those goals.”

Plan: Innovative organizations must set specific goals and determine ways of reaching those goals. A formal innovation plan should be written and shared. The plan should include your specific objectives and the strategies (people, tactics, resources) required to meet them.

People: Your innovation team must be carefully selected and receive the same attention accorded to any senior-level advisory board. In composing your team, don’t choose only “creative types.” Mitchell says that idea people must be balanced by more practical types who know how to achieve even the wildest ideas.

Process: Innovation is not a freewheeling brainstorm session; it’s a disciplined process. You need a step-by-step framework for generating, evaluating, and moving ideas along the development path. Especially important is how your ideas will be nurtured and funded, as well as how you will decide whether each idea as a go or no-go. (See The 90% Rule for lots of ideas on creating a winning process.)

Finally, Mitchell notes your company will also need a culture that supports innovation. You have to lose your fear of failing, and accept that mistakes are part of the learning process. Otherwise, he warns, your embedded culture will likely ensure that “only the safest ideas are put forward and nothing significantly innovative ever gets done.”

We use criteria focused on three key areas — global (such as vision and position), market (sales and marketing criteria) and financial. We tell our clients that you need to choose at least two different criteria from each of those three areas. This way, you can tell which are the best opportunities that match your current strategy and resources. It brings a lot of discipline and rigour to the process.

-Ken Tencer

*Adapted from an interview on The Business Coach, Episode 77 on Business Expansion Strategy at http://www.profitguide.com/podcast/532–podcast-77-business-expansion-strategy

Two things struck me in reading the announcement that I thought that we could all do with reminding of:

My own personal cult brand? Yes, I am one of those Saab fanatics to whom Mr. Muller refers. Time to win “me” back. The lesson to all of us, don’t lose “me” in the first place: I am your bread and butter customer.

This point is made in the first part of the book because, all too often, successful companies become order takers. They have been wooed by the good times in which the phone would ring and now they sit and stare at it aimlessly, forgetting that, yes, it can dial out, too.

One of our colleagues and contributors, sales scientist Adrian Davis, President and CEO, Whetstone Inc explains, “marketing must now tie the end of their funnel directly to the beginning of the sales funnel”.

The success of innovation depends on telling people about what it is that you have innovated. Yes, there are some very strong traditional and marketing tools that can help raise awareness of your company or brand, and increase the number of people phoning in to you. But, don’t be complacent. Ensure that your lead generation process systematically ties together your innovation and marketing to a strong, proactive sales program.

I know, it can be tough. I am definitely not a born salesperson so I have made myself into a disciplined one – actively attending events, making well researched introductory calls and generally making sure that everyone in the company opens their eyes to opportunities and feeds them back to me to follow up on.

Remember, your phone is still your company’s best friend … but nobody can dial it for you.

-Ken Tencer

At Spyder Works, whether it’s working one-to-one to solve a client’s immediate problem or making enough time to write a book, the process we use is geared to achieving a balance that meets the immediate demands of running the day-to-day business and the need to work towards our longer-term plans.

Each business day I start by asking myself three questions:
• What am I going to sell today?
• What one thing can I do today to make my business better?
• How will the answers to these previous questions mesh with the long-term vision of the company?

The answers to these questions keep me constantly thinking about growth, innovation and long-term focus. Making them a part of your daily routine will help you to replace short and long-term with continuous and sustained.

- Ken Tencer

“President Akio Toyoda said he was “deeply sorry” for accidents caused by safety problems with Toyota vehicles…and that a period of explosive growth may have weakened the automaker’s internal controls.” He also said that “We pursued growth over the speed at which we were able to develop our people and our organization, and we should sincerely be mindful of that (Krolicki, 2010, Globe and Mail)”.

This is a classic example of an organization  not having a full compliment of people in the process of assessing, contributing and allocating internal resources to new opportunities. The company did not have enough human capital and management capabilities to handle the rapid expansion. They didn’t have the people in place to achieve their objectives and handle the speed of the growth. This in turn led them to move away from their costumer-centric focus that made Toyota such an  innovative and renowned brand.

The one question that we remind our clients to ask during the strategic process is: What resources are you going to need to get this done? It ensures that they take the time to think through the implementation in cross-disciplinary team … carefully identifying the resources that will be needed to successfully execute on the opportunities that they wish to pursue. And, most importantly, to do so at a pace that they can manage and control.

Ken Tencer

* Krolocki, K., ‘Toyoda ‘deeply sorry’ for accidents’, The Globe and Mail, February 23, 2010.

Every business begins as an idea in someone’s mind, a notion that transforms into the vision and courage needed to make the business happen. Success requires a magical mix of intuition, insight, head-splitting thinking and the sheer will to see it, distil it and execute it.  It’s a lot to ask, and those who succeed are the exception to the rule.

What is not the exception is where success begins. When you look back and explore how you got to where you are today, you will nearly always find the “gems”, the key passions and motivations that made all the difference.

Maybe you felt that the business of weight loss should, in fact, be a process and not a quick fix … so you put together a supportive program around the products. Maybe you were on a plane, skimming magazines with pictures of outdoor furniture when the category struck you as ugly and outdated … so you started your own design-oriented outdoor furniture company.

Exploring your origins leads to a rediscovery of purpose that then points the way ahead. To grow your business, your best bet may be to simply reconnect with that drive for quality and individuality.

Many companies crash and burn trying to expand their products and services into hot new markets. The 90% rule can help you identify your most natural opportunities, saving you money and time.

Your vision of the future starts with a well-planned rethink of your purpose, your history and your passion. And here’s the good news: you’ll find your next big opportunity will be 90% founded on what you have already built.

- Ken Tencer

Do you know how your business will survive and grow over the next decade? Do you even know how to begin planning for the post-recession future?

I don’t so much care about the product you have sold for the past twenty years, or what you sell today; I want to understand the benefits that your company is already 90% capable of delivering, and how those benefits can change your customers’ lives. This is the 90% Rule. It can help you identify your most promising new markets.

In working with clients on marketing and branding campaigns, I have discovered, over and over, that the answers are rooted not just in who you are and what you do, but in what you believe you can be. It’s about exploring the passion that got you here and transforming it into benefits that improve your customers’ lives.

When you see your company through the lens of the 90% Rule, you begin using benefit-driven thinking that is anchored in what your customers want and need, not simply in what you do now. This fundamental perspective is the bedrock on which clear corporate vision and strategic intent are built. It opens the door to new opportunities and profitable growth.

- Ken Tencer