Innovation is a powerful competitive advantage that starts with company leaders taking time to decide what kind of innovation they are after before determining the appropriate course of action:
Incremental innovation demands rethinking existing products or services to increase value. Tweaking a product design, streamlining a financial process, or evolving a marketing approach are all examples of incremental innovation. In many high performing organizations like GE, this is part of the organization’s culture and day-to-day operations.
Breakthrough innovation develops “game changers,” moving an existing category in a completely new direction. For example, Toyota Prius – the first commercially available hybrid car – challenged basic assumptions about what consumers wanted in a vehicle and reinvigorated the car industry. Breakthrough innovation often slaughters “sacred cows” (e.g., car companies need the oil industry), making it a challenging process to lead.
Disruptive innovation invents an entirely new game. Disruption happens when the current market moves in a totally different direction, or is replaced by something completely new. Think Amazon and its impact on book selling and publishing. Disruptive innovation emerges from the chaos of collaboration. One of the reasons Marissa Mayer wants Yahoo employees in the office is so ideas can collide and coalesce, to capitalize on new opportunities and tackle big challenges.
Salesforce mastered disruptive innovation – the toughest, least understood and most elusive of the three – early on by doing something new in an “old” market. And the company continues to disrupt the marketplace, leading the charge into cloud computing and now helping its customers become “social enterprises.” It has left competitors playing a never-ending game of catch up.
But resource investment for truly disruptive innovation is considerable and the odds of success low. The rules for launching, managing and measuring disruptive innovation are different, leaving it hard to manage, especially while keeping the core business running smoothly. Leaders considering the disruptive innovation path should pause at three decision points to determine how ready they – and their organizations – are to switch gears.
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1:00 - 5:00 pm
Over 70% of Executives Surveyed Agree: Many Strategic Planning Efforts Lack Systematic Approach Tips for Enhancing Your Strategic Planning Process
Executives expressed frustration with their current strategic planning process. Issues include:
Steve Rutan and Denise Harrison have put together an afternoon workshop that will provide the tools you need to address these concerns. They have worked with hundreds of executives to develop a systematic approach that will enable your team to make better decisions during strategic planning. Steve and Denise will walk you through exercises for prioritizing your lists and steps that will reset and reinvigorate your process. This will be a hands-on workshop that will enable you to think about your business as you use the tools that are being presented. If you are ready for a Strategic Planning tune-up, select this workshop in your registration form. The additional fee of $695 will be added to your total.
2:00 - 5:00 pm
Female leaders face the same issues all leaders do, but they often face additional challenges too. In this peer session, we will facilitate a discussion of best practices and how to overcome common barriers to help women leaders be more effective within and outside their organizations.
Limited space available.
10:30 - 5:00 pm
General’s Retreat at Hermitage Golf Course
Sponsored by UBS
General’s Retreat, built in 1986 with architect Gary Roger Baird, has been voted the “Best Golf Course in Nashville” and is a “must play” when visiting the Nashville, Tennessee area. With the beautiful setting along the Cumberland River, golfers of all capabilities will thoroughly enjoy the golf, scenery and hospitality.
The golf outing fee includes transportation to and from the hotel, greens/cart fees, use of practice facilities, and boxed lunch. The bus will leave the hotel at 10:30 am for a noon shotgun start and return to the hotel after the cocktail reception following the completion of the round.
