Smart Innovation
 

Sustainable Growth:

Radical Innovation

Case Study:  Silicon Valley

Relentless Approach to Innovation

By Vadim Kotelnikov. Main source of information: Relentless Growth, Christopher Meyer

"Silicon Valley innovators have uniquely learned how to define, design, and deliver innovation with a massive degree of flexibility and concurrency." 

~ Christopher Meyer

 

4 Distinctive Features of the Silicon Valley's Economy

  1. growth in the Valley is driven by innovation

  2. the  Valley is  a knowledge economy – knowledge work is the foundation of innovation

  3. high competitive intensity – "a year here is worth seven years in other industries," says John Chambers, CEO, Cisco Systems

  4. a combination of a new work spirit – the Growth Attitude – and a new approach to innovation

 

Innovation Portfolio Silicon Valley Companies (case studies) Radical vs. Incremental Innovation Strategic Alignment Technology Roadmaps Balance

Attributes of Effective Innovation in Silicon Valley

  1. It creates customer value through complete solution

  2. It challenges the status quo, encouraging creative out-of-the-box thinking mixed with pragmatic business judgment.

  3. It produces top quality at lightning speed.

  4. It makes cross-functional involvement the path of least resistance.

  5. It is responsive to change, but selective in accepting requests for change.

  6. It seeds new knowledge about innovation, including reinventing the innovation process itself.

  7. It is documented explicitly via maps and charts, and implicitly communicated by words and practice.

 

Relentless Growth Attitude

Leaders in the Silicon Valley inject the Relentless Growth Attitude into the firms. "This attitude establishes a context within which corporate executive lead by setting direction, creating strategy, securing resources, defining organization architecture, and ensuring that learning occurs."

 

The competitive environment in the Valley literally demands innovation. "Without it, you don't grow – and in the Valley, if you don't grow, you die. Relentless growth is a requirement, not a choice."

Relentless Venturing Attitude

Too many companies are consumed with what they have done and where they've been. "In contrast, Silicon Valley companies are excited about what they haven't done and where they haven't been."

Failure in the Valley is understood to be an integral aspect of the growth process. "Investors, entrepreneurs, and technologists will readily abandon a company or technology that looks unlikely to thrive, using what they have learned to jump-start the next innovation effort.

Failure as a Primary Vehicle for Success

Freedom To Fail     Noble Failure

What makes Silicon Valley so successful as the engine of high-tech growth is the Darwinian process of failure. Commentator and author Mike Malone puts it like this, 'Outsiders think of Silicon Valley as a success, but it is, in truth, a graveyard. Failure is Silicon Valley's greatest strength. Every failed product or enterprise is a lesson stored in the collective memory. We don't stigmatize failure, we admire it. Venture capitalists like to see a little failure in the résumés of entrepreneurs.'...More

Organizational Structures

"In contrast to traditional firms where organizational structure defines the framework within which work occurs, Valley firms use the work to define organization's structure." These structures are best described as flat, flexible, permeable, and fluid. "Reorganization is a way of life in the Silicon Valley. Organizations mimic nature's most adaptive organisms as they constantly reformulate themselves to meet the latest challenge."

Using Innovation Portfolio

There are four reasons why Silicon Valley companies use the portfolio approach to manage innovation.

  1. Risk Management.

  2. Visibility.

  3. Timing of New Initiatives.

  4. Discovering synergies... More

The Fun Factor

Do you really want to know what is deep inside, at the core of Silicon Valley and what makes is tick? "The truth is ... it's a ball! Hard work combined with hard play – at every level, from executive down and back up again."  People don't only work hard, but also have a lot of fun at the same time. And they are not just having fun, but planning it and making it part of their culture. This is the spirit that truly enables relentless innovation and creates innovation-adept culture.

 Case in Point  Value Innovation at Plimus

Founded in 2001 and headquartered in California's Silicon Valley, Plimus regarded as one of the most innovative and effective business platforms in the world for online sales of digital products and services. Plimus' thirst for innovation is a key driver in their clients’ success. They are constantly analyzing and predicting market trends and are swift to embody new practical features into their product line to benefit Plimus users... More

 

 Discover much more in the

FULL VERSION of e-Coach

Silicon Valley: Attracting People to Challenges and Opportunities...

Gain Sharing...

Competitive Intensity...

Innovation Strategies of Silicon Valley Firms...

Deciding If Your Innovation Portfolio Has Enough Stretch...

Leading Creative People...

Relentless Growth Attitude...

Partnering for Auxiliary Capabilities...

 Case in Point  Intel...

 Case in Point  Facebook...

 Case in Point  Google...