Let me start with a beautiful scenario from Innovator’s Dilemma (slightly adapted version)
In the same week, two respected employees, one from marketing, the other from engineering, run two very different ideas for new products past their common manager two levels above them in the organization.
The marketer comes first, with an idea for a higher-capacity, higher-speed model. The two-level-up manager starts her interrogation:
“Who’s going to buy it?”
“Well, there’s a whole segment in the industry that we’ve just never been able to reach because our capacity points just don’t reach that high. I think this product just might get us there.”
“Have you run this idea past any potential customers?”
“Yeah, I was in California last week. They all said they wanted prototypes as soon as they could get them. They’ve been working with their current supplier [competitor X] to get something ready, but someone we just hired from competitor X said they’re having lots of trouble meeting the specs. I really think we can do it.”
“But does engineering think we can do it?”
“They say it’ll be a stretch, but you know them. They always say that.”
“What kind of margins are we looking at up there?”
“That’s what really excites me about this. I think we can get close to 35 percent.”
Now compare that conversation to the manager’s interchange with the engineer whose idea is for a disruptive technology.
“Who’s going to buy it?”
“Well, I’m not sure, but there’s got to be a market out there somewhere for it. People are always wanting things smaller and less expensive.
“Have you run this idea past any potential customers?”
“Yeah, when I was at the last trade show, I sketched the idea out for one of our current customers. He said he was interested, but couldn’t see how they could really use it.
“You think we could make money on this project?”
“Well, I think so, but that depends on how we could price it, of course.”
It’s not hard to guess which of the two projects will the two-levels-up manager back?
Innovator’s Dilemma was written 30 years ago, and since then we might think that we have come a long way in breaking the corporate bureaucracy and command and control management, but, we all go through a version of this story even today.
I am not suggesting that one doesn’t need to improve his/her presentation & persuasive skills and have better business case skills, but until the organization does not promote the culture of constructive challenge, we will continue to witness – “What you show is all there is!”.
Thinking Space 