Disruptive Innovation Strategy

Are we realising the potential of our networks to make change happen? Most innovation emerges from collaborative projects where teams openly “borrow” & adapt each other’s (often small but powerful) ideas. Many networks & communities of practice could achieve so much more by experimenting together around collective priorities to generate & share new solutions. This is beyond spreading known “best” or “good” practices. It is about innovating to design new solutions collectively. So I appreciated this piece from Ed Morrison about three different kinds of networks: - Advocacy networks are communities that seek to mobilise people, creating pressure to shift policies, priorities or messages in a particular direction. Their aim is to connect & influence rather than to change how they themselves work. - Learning networks are communities of practice. They share knowledge, compare practice & build shared capability. Learning networks often excel at spread & improvement of existing practice, but only sometimes move into structured innovation work. - Innovating (or transforming) networks are communities that combine their assets - ideas, relationships, data, capabilities - to create new value that none could produce alone. They manage collaboration as a process of experimentation: agreeing a shared outcome, running multiple connected tests of change, learning by doing & amplifying what works across the network. https://lnkd.in/edbbexiG. Every learning network has the potential to become an innovating/transforming network. Some actions to enable this: 1. Build a foundation of strong, trusting relationships within the network, understanding each member’s starting point & motivation for change 2. Focus on helping each other to succeed; listen to each others’ stories & plans, co-coach, give advice to each other & build shared inquiry 3. Move from “sharing” or “raising awareness” to some concrete outcomes the network want to change together through collective experimentation 4. Agree some simple norms for the network so that members help each other to make progress, make it safe to try things, fail fast & share incomplete work 5. Encourage multiple, parallel tests of change around similar outcome so projects can “steal with pride” from one another & quickly refine promising ideas 6. Put simple routines in place for noticing patterns (what is shifting where & why), capturing these insights & amplifying them across the network 7. Add additional success metrics including innovations tested, adapted & adopted in multiple places Graphic by Ed Morrison. Content with added inspiration from June Holley.

In leadership meetings, too much time goes into explaining yesterday and not enough into preparing for tomorrow. That is becoming a strategic risk. 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗿𝘂𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁:   • 39% of core workforce skills are expected to change by 2030   • 45% of CEOs believe their company may not remain viable in 10 years if they stay on their current path   • Markets are already repricing many companies across multiple industries exposed to AI disruption The future is arriving faster than most organizations are adapting. Leaders with foresight do not predict the future. They prepare their business to move earlier, adapt faster and allocate resources with better judgment. Here is what 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗕𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆: ✅ 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗯𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆   • Ask management to bring 3 external disruption signals to a strategy discussion   • Review one adjacent industry to spot new business-model risks early   • Invite one founder, technology expert or investor each semester to challenge internal thinking ✅ 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝘀𝗰𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘀, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘀   • Run one annual scenario workshop around customer shifts, AI or new entrants   • Ask: What happens if 20% of our revenues are attacked within 24 months?   • Define 2 to 3 trigger points that would force a strategic response ✅ 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆   • Shift part of capex and leadership attention from legacy activities to future growth bets   • Reallocate top talent into digital, AI, data or customer-experience priorities   • Stop funding projects that defend the past but do not strengthen the next 3 years ✅ 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗮 𝗕𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗯𝗶𝘁   • Put future risks, technology shifts and innovation bets on the Board agenda   • Review every major investment with one extra question: will this still matter in 3 years?   • Track foresight through simple metrics: share of revenues from new offers, reskilled talent, speed of experimentation Leaders create value in the present. Foresight leaderships protects and builds value for the future. 💡 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴? #Leadership #Foresight #Strategy #Innovation #BoardDirectors #Transformation #FutureOfWork

𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 is one of the most impactful paradigms in management research — and also one of the most misunderstood. Since Chesbrough coined the term in 2003, the idea that firms should deliberately open their boundaries to external knowledge has reshaped how companies innovate, how universities engage with industry, and how governments design innovation policy. But how well do we actually know the foundational literature? I have put together a list of 25 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐈𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧— spanning founding theory, empirical evidence, literature reviews, ecosystems, SMEs, users and communities, and practice. Academic papers and practitioner-facing pieces. The articles that shaped the field and continue to shape it. Starting today, I will share one article per day — from #25 down to #1 — with a short explanation of what each paper is about and why it still matters, for researchers and practitioners alike. 📌 #25 — Lichtenthaler & Lichtenthaler (2009), "A capability-based framework for open innovation" — Journal of Management Studies What is it about? This article extends Cohen & Levinthal's absorptive capacity concept into an open innovation framework. It identifies six interconnected knowledge-related capabilities — inventive, absorptive, transformative, connective, innovative, and desorptive — that firms need to manage knowledge flows across boundaries. It bridges dynamic capabilities theory with OI practice in a rigorous and comprehensive way. Why does it matter? For academics, it provided one of the most cited theoretical bridges between dynamic capabilities and open innovation. For practitioners, it offers a diagnostic checklist to assess whether their firm has the organizational capabilities required to actually benefit from openness — not just the strategic intent. Connective capacity has been central in understanding the success of OI, and desorptive capacity is still underexplored in the OI literature, but has been picked up by Rita McGrath and others. 🔗 Read it here: https://lnkd.in/eHWsPJ9z #OpenInnovation #Innovation #InnovationManagement #ResearchMatters #KnowledgeManagement #AbsorptiveCapacity

The Post-Smartphone Customer: Beyond the Screen 📲 Jony Ive and Sam Altman are betting against 17 years of digital strategy. Every marketing leader needs to pay attention. For over a decade, we built customer experience (CX) for the smartphone: tiny screens, quick taps, and app isolation. This new AI-powered companion is "contextual, continuous, and outcome-oriented." This is not just a hardware change; it is a fundamental disruption to marketing and CX design. 👉🏻 The shift is from "Screen-First" to "Experience-First." When the phone disappears, so does your app icon. Companies can no longer rely on visual real estate to win. The goal shifts from getting a tap to delivering an outcome seamlessly. Impact on Customer Experience: 1️⃣ The Zero-Click Economy: Your product interaction must be conversational and automated. If a customer needs to book a flight, the AI should handle it based on context ("I need a flight to Paris next week") without opening your airline app. Success is defined by an immediate, automated solution. 2️⃣ Brand Voice is Your New Interface: In a screenless world, your brand's personality, tone, and reliability are the interface. Marketers must invest heavily in defining the AI persona that represents their brand. The voice of your bank will handle sensitive transactions; it needs to be trustworthy and precise. 3️⃣ Data Strategy must be Proactive: The AI companion operates based on a continuous flow of context. Brands must design systems that feed relevant, real-time data to the AI before the customer asks. This requires moving beyond simple purchase history to predicting intent based on external context. For instance, a retailer needs to know the user's upcoming holiday plans to proactively suggest packing lists via the AI. This moment is the strategic window to define the winners of the post-mobile era. The best brands will redesign their entire service layer to integrate with an intelligence-driven companion. The losers will be stuck chasing clicks on a screen that no longer matters. #customerexperience #AI #futureofmarketing

You can’t plan your way into effective AI strategy. AI is not plug-and-play. It’s unpredictable. It challenges habits, systems, and culture. You can’t rely on rigid plans or static roadmaps. You need ways to adapt, continuously and collaboratively. That’s why Agile PM frameworks are fundamental for AI adoption or any transformation. They help teams structure how they adapt. Combining frameworks like Scrum, Kanban, and SAFe with traditional project management governance, they provide tools to: → manage complexity → foster collaboration → drive continuous improvement → engage stakeholders with a clear, evolving view Because Agile isn’t a process. It’s a mindset. A way of working that values learning, iteration, and responsiveness over rigid planning. → AI projects are complex and uncertain, and Agile helps teams iterate, learn, and pivot quickly. → AI success relies on cross-functional collaboration, and Agile fosters communication and shared ownership. → Rolling out AI often uncovers cultural resistance, and Agile frameworks create space for feedback, trust, and adaptation. It isn’t about moving fast. It’s about moving smart, especially when the path isn’t clear. If your business is exploring AI and strategy shifts, Agile might be the missing piece.

As of 31 July, consumers across the EU have a new right: the right to repair. And I think it's one of the most interesting customer experience shifts we've seen in years. What it is:  The EU Right to Repair Directive requires manufacturers to repair everyday household products when customers ask, within a reasonable time and price. (Even outside warranty) What else: → Repair manuals must be freely available. → Spare parts and tools must be offered at fair prices with published repair costs → A European Repair Platform will help customers find local repairers Why it matters? For customers: ✘ For too long, "customer experience" ended at checkout, a broken product meant frustration, opaque costs, or forced replacement. ✔︎ Now the post-purchase journey becomes part of the brand promise. For businesses: ✔︎ Repair is a new touchpoint and a new revenue stream. ✔︎ Service networks, spare parts, refurbishment: these build recurring relationships that a one-off sale never could. ✔︎ Brands that make repair effortless will earn trust, loyalty and differentiation. For the environment: ✘ Discarded products generate millions of tonnes of waste in the EU every year ✘ Premature replacement drives unnecessary emissions and resource use. Sustainability and customer experience aren't competing priorities, but the same one. ♻️ Repairability is the new customer experience frontier. The companies that turn repair into a trust building moment: transparent pricing, effortless service, honest communication, will turn their most frustrated customers into their most vocal advocates. What’s your take on this? #cx #customerexperience #sustainability

In a world where markets shift faster than ever, one of the most consequential blind spots remains overlooked: the erosion of competitive advantage.    In recent research I co-authored with Matt Banholzer and Laura LaBerge, we found that most companies are not actively monitoring their industry’s competitive advantage. This research shows that organizations that systematically track their position within their key markets and use those insights to guide growth and investment decisions tend to outperform their peers.    Additionally, we found that the shuffle rate has accelerated for more than 60% of industries in the past decade.    So, how can leaders protect their edge? ➡️Develop a granular view of competitive advantage
 ➡️Tailor that view to each market ➡️ Avoid overinvesting in areas that do not improve competitive position
 ➡️Boost the return on competitive advantage by embedding it into strategic decision-making. ➡️Track metrics that signal shifts in the competitive landscape   Read the full article: https://lnkd.in/gvg2DY2y

How robust is your Strategy confronting high volatility and disruption? No one can completely predict today how the world will unfold over the next twelve months; advancements in technology, geopolitical actions, conflict, societal and environmental adjustments, natural disasters, and monetary policies bind together with industry shifts. External Forces drive exceptional change. Yet in many organizations, the Strategy discussions tend to be very "inward" focused, based on incremental changes, leading to blind spots and unquantified risks that impact your firm, your suppliers, your customers, your ecosystems. This does not mean however we need to give up. In my experience there are five steps you can take to be better prepared: 1. Get together your board and management team with an experienced facilitator for a focused session with just this one item on the agenda. 2. Make visible your vital few Strategic Assumptions (no more than 5 or 6,) and write down the implications for your business, considering Supply, Demand, Technology, and key external impacts. Carefully address any bias that may be present in both your thinking and data sources. 3. Develop an action plan of what you can do in the event of the most probable and highest impact scenarios. 4. Set in place a plan to test and monitor your assumptions, and a fast alert to board and management in the event of both expected and unexpected changes. Leverage your Strategy process to stay ahead of the game. 5. Ensure your budget and operational plans are coherent with your Strategic assumptions, and update regularly based on new information. It can feel as if small changes in the world may lead to dramatic shifts in your industry, and yet it does not need to be overwhelming. You can set in place a system and plan which allows your people to be their best, and ensures you are not solely focused on internal discussions while external events change everything. What have you found to be most effective in ensuring your Strategy identifies and addresses external trends, pressures, and industry shifts? Strategy is Mastery.

Too often, Customer Experience (CX) gets stuck in dashboards and meetings without real action. But I believe CX is a true business asset, especially when it directly impacts the bottom line. I recently shared this thought, and it sparked a great conversation about how crucial ownership is within an organization. It’s about those passionate individuals who build bridges with stakeholders and illuminate how CX drives business outcomes. Let me share a story from our work with an NBFC that provides small loans to customers: Imagine this: Customers, many in Tier 2/3 cities with limited email access, were flooding the contact center, frustrated about not receiving their No Objection Certificate (NOC) after repaying their loans. This single issue was one of the top call drivers and came as the number 1 issue in the feedback taken after the loan was closed. The kicker? The company was sending the NOC via email, which many customers couldn't easily access. In closed-loop calls, customers mentioned that we never use emails; it was only created when we signed up to get a loan from you. And by simply switching to sending an SMS link for the NOC, those calls were reduced by 50%! Now that's operational efficiency born from a deep understanding of the customer This isn't just about reducing calls; it's about making life easier for customers and freeing up the contact center to focus on more complex issues. CX truly becomes an asset when people inside the company are empowered to own the customer experience. Sometimes, the link to business outcomes is crystal clear; other times, it requires digging deeper. But with the right people championing the cause, you can create magic for both your customers and your business. #CustomerExperience #CX #BusinessOutcomes #CustomerCentricity #NBFC #SuccessStory #Ownership #MakingADifference

Winter has made a grand entrance in the US with an early season significant lake-effect snowfall that extended over the Great Lakes. This made me think about how snow prediction has so much in common with risk forecasting. Forecasting snowfall is very difficult because small atmospheric shifts can lead to wildly different outcomes. For leaders, risk forecasting is no different. It is a strategic challenge shaped by uncertainty, complexity, and risk velocity. Here goes my perspective in using this weather metaphor: ☑️Tiny Changes, Major Consequences Just as a slight temperature change can turn snow into rain, a small shift in market dynamics, regulation, or technology can dramatically alter your risk landscape. Leaders must be looking for these subtle signals. ☑️ Unpredictable Ratios Snow-to-water ratios vary widely similar to the impact of risk events. One disruption might be absorbed easily, while another could cascade across operations. Leaders must use scenario planning and stress testing to prepare for both. ☑️ Storm Tracks and Dark Corners Storms often form over oceans which are data-sparse regions. As with risks, they often emerge from areas we do not monitor closely like third-party dependencies, emerging tech, or culture shifts. Predictive analytics and AI-driven tools can help illuminate these risk blind spots. ☑️ Localized Impact Snow bands can dump inches in one town and leave the next dry. Risks can be just as localized affecting one business unit, region, or product line disproportionately. Leaders must have risk strategies are granular and adaptable. ☑️ Conditions on the Ground Matter Snowfall totals depend on ground temperature and wind. Likewise, the impact of risk depends on your organization’s resilience and preparedness. Embedding risk management into strategic planning is key. Risk forecasting is not about perfection. It is about being proactive. By leveraging advanced analytics, fostering a risk-aware culture, and aligning risk with growth strategies, leaders can turn uncertainty risk forecast into opportunity. #RiskManagement #Strategy #Leaders Inside Edge Risk Advisors LLC