The last two chapters of Eric Ries’ book, The Lean Startup, highlight the importance of adaptive organizations and keeping the light of innovation burning. Both of these qualities are pillars for long-term success at any organization. While startups have the advantage of having momentum over established businesses reinvigorating their creativity, it should not discourage them from giving the Lean Startup method a try.
Adaptive Organizations
The fundamental idea of the Lean Startup method is adjusting as deemed necessary by the iteration of the “build-measure-learn” feedback loop. Since adaptability plays a central role in this process, it is essential to ensure its continuity. Eric Ries calls this process “building an adaptive organization, one that automatically adjusts its process and performance to current conditions” (2011, p. 227). There must be a genuine interest in finding the root causes of inefficiencies in order to build a culture of adaptability. This is achieved by analyzing and questioning deeper into problems than simply finding solutions at the surface level. Also, this means leaving behind preconceived notions and predetermined outcomes and opening up to systematic and structural change.
Innovate
As companies grow bigger, there is a tendency to shift attention away from innovation and creativity, while focusing on what has worked to serve their clients. However, neglecting a startups’ innovation, growth and creative roots can bring its own demise. Eric Ries suggests nurturing disruptive innovation by creating an infrastructure for innovation teams by providing “scarce but secured resources, independent authority to develop their business, and a personal stake in the outcome” (2011, p. 253). These foundations will enable an environment for creativity to take place. While these steps set the process in motion, it does not guarantee its success since much of it depends on executive support. The organizations’ leadership must look beyond its taking away from day to day operations, and approach it as an investment in tomorrow’s portfolio.
The value of Eric Ries’ book, The Lean Startup, to startups and established businesses cannot be overstated. It provides a guide to systematically challenge processes and performance for long-term viability. Overall, the book is a must-read for anyone looking for an effective way to jumpstart creativity in all sort of environments.
References
Ries, E. (2011). The lean startup: How today’s entrepreneurs use continuous innovation to create radically successful businesses. New York, NY: Currency.
Hi Jose,
I think you did a great job with the wrap up of your book. I like the idea of having innovation teams after businesses become established because a company does start to shy away from innovative practices once they are established. It is not at the forefront of their minds anymore.
Have a great weekend friend.
Warm Regards,
Dani
Jose,
A thorough post, as always. It makes sense to me that bigger companies will settle into a position or niche once they find something that works. After all, the old rule of “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” is widely used by many people. But I have always been a little confused with bigger companies in that regard, because companies like those have the resources to absorb the risks of trying to innovate more than smaller companies can. I like the idea of such companies keeping teams on hand for the express purpose of continuing to innovate for the company, free from the burdens of other teams and divisions. Creates a good environment for creativity and innovation when those teams are left to their own devices.
Patrik
Jose,
Your post heavily reminded me of The Social Network film. The comparison between Facebook’s success & MySpace’s failure was partly due to the type of company they were. Facebook was an Adaptive Organization. MySpace tapered off because it did not adapt to the needs of the market. In regard to Innovation, MySpace severely lacked the innovative infrastructure & it relied on what had thus far worked. The market developed, but the company did not.
Thanks for the thoughts that reminded me of our film,
AK
Jose,
These definitely sound like great pillars to focus on for every business, even those that are not startups.
Adaptability is huge in any business! I love that the author focuses on this aspect. Being able to pivot and make necessary changes can save your business when times get tough.
I think creating teams who focus on innovation specifically is such a great idea. Teams whose only goal is to think differently and come up with new ideas to push the business forward. Too many companies, and shareholders, are only focused on what a business can bring them now, or next quarter at the latest. It is so hard for them to think about the long team health of a company. This is the thought process that needs to be broken for many businesses to succeed.
Thank you,
Tom
Hi Jose,
I really like how you wrapped up your post with the two most important pillars, being adaptive and innovation. Constantly adapting to your market and consumer is an important part of staying relevant and on top of your market. Does over adapting exist? I think yes. Adapting in a calculated manner is very important so you don’t over compensate and deviate from your company’s values. But adaption for any company is vital in staying relevant. Constantly being innovative is also key in growing a company. Innovation should be constant and done in a strategic manner. Without innovation there is no way for a company to move forward and grow. Many companies today are creating innovation positions that did not exist 5-10 years ago. Which goes to show how companies have to adapt to create these positions and also grow by implementing them.
Carter Jones
Jose,
Your post is interesting and touches upon some key points for innovative success. It reminds me of something I read in Seeing What’s Next: Using the Theories of Innovation to Predict Industry Change. The author, Clayton Christensen, talks about organizations creating a safe space for innovation so employees can explore new ideas. He also says smaller companies may need to create a spin off in order to ensure the new product/innovation won’t be dependent on the value chain of the company, since this can negatively impact the success of the new venture.
Jose,
You had some great points in the conclusion of your book review. It is extremely important for companies to be able to adapt and keep up with all the changes through continuous innovation. If not they will be outdated and will no longer serve a purpose, which will lead to ending their business. Research and development teams are a great investment for companies. Thanks for sharing your takeaways.
Essence
Hi Jose,
I put much emphasis through my course writings about entrepreneurs being adaptable. We are constantly learning and need to constantly change (preferably small changes along the way) in order to survive in a market. That definitely ties in with innovation!
-Hailee