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Think Big, Start Simple and Act Fast
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Think Big, Start Simple and Act Fast
Simple Rules for Innovation: 2. Start Simple
Rule: Strategy is Diverse, Emergent, and Complicated
Strategy is a diverse collection of moves that are loosely linked together in a semi-coherent direction. Managers who compete on the edge let strategy emerge by making a variety of moves, seeing what happens, and following through on those that work. They end up playing a broader and more surprising set of strategic options than others.
Rule: Stretch Out the Past
On-the-edge managers realize that the past is often the greatest competitive advantage when chasing new opportunities. Most significant, the past lets managers jump-start new opportunities and focus on the truly new. Past experience also shows up in exploiting derivative products more effectively and extending out product and service platforms. These managers stretch out the past, but don’t get stuck in it.
Rule: Reach Into the Future
On-the-edge managers compete across a longer time horizon than most. Driven by the paranoia that the market is constantly and unpredictably shifting, they frequently probe the future. They launch more experimental products and services, create more strategic alliances in nascent markets and technologies, and employ more futurists than other firms. But they strike a balance between the future and the present so as not to reach for future gains at the expense of present rewards.
Next: Act Fast
