114. The Role of Senior Executives in Leading New Growth Initiatives: A Conversation with Robyn Bolton

The Disruptive Voice

The Business Model Framework draws an important distinction between a company's Priorities (that is, its Value Proposition and Profit Formula) and its Capabilities. Regarding the latter, which are more effective drivers of corporate innovation – Processes or Resources? The answer to this question, of course, depends on an organization's circumstances and strategic goals. Specifically, in circumstances where companies are pursuing growth via sustaining opportunities, a company's Processes are key. However, in circumstances where companies are pursuing potentially disruptive opportunities, their Resources - and particularly senior leadership - are crucial. In this episode, Robyn Bolton brings these concepts to life through the stories of two companies working to build disruptive growth engines, highlighting the actions of senior executives at each firm, one of which was ultimately successful while the other faltered and failed in these attempts. In conversation with host Katie Zandbergen, Robyn shares insights on several topics related to the role of senior leaders, including the necessity of standing astride the interfaces of mainstream and disruptive growth businesses; the ability to sense when circumstances are changing; the importance of adjusting metrics and incentives to create space for employees to spot disruptive opportunities; and the need (and challenge) to act when business is good rather than during difficult times. As Robyn points out, if you want different results, then you need to do things differently - and this often means tackling the difficult task of setting aside processes that drive sustaining innovation, at least in some parts of the business, and leaning more on a company's resources, including its senior leadership, to play a crucial role in the management of disruptive growth initiatives.