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industry led to a partnership with microfinance institution Grameen uncertainty. If you clearly define the uncertainties involved (e.g. new pricing mechanisms, new
Bank, which became the cornerstone of Grameenphone’s business Distribution Channels), you can prototype and test them in the market to better predict how the 255
model. Contrary to expert opinion, poor villagers were indeed willing to model will perform when launched full-scale.
pay for mobile connectivity, and Grameenphone became Bangladesh’s } Participatory design Another way to improve the likelihood of having bold ideas adopted and
leading telecommunications provider. subsequently implemented is to be especially inclusive when assembling the design team. Co-
create with people from different business units, different levels of the organizational hierarchy,
and different areas of expertise. By integrating comments and concerns from across the organi-
Working from the Established Company Perspective zation, your design can anticipate and possibly circumvent implementation roadblocks.
} Prevent taming of bold ideas Established organizations tend } Old versus new One big design question is whether the old and new business models should
to water down bold business model ideas. Your challenge is be separated or integrated into one. The right design choice will greatly affect chances of suc-
to defend their boldness —while assuring that they won’t face cess (see Managing Multiple Business Models, p. 232).
overwhelming obstacles if implemented. } Avoid short-term focus One limitation to avoid is a short-term focus on ideas with large first-
To achieve this tricky balance it can be helpful to draw a year revenue potential. Big corporations, in particular, can experience huge absolute growth.
risk/reward profile of each model. The profile could include A company with annual sales of U.S. $5 billion, for example, generates $200 million in new
questions such as, What is the profit/loss potential? Describe revenues by growing at the modest rate of four percent. Few breakthrough business models can
potential conflicts with existing business units. How might achieve such revenues during their first year (doing so would require acquiring 1.6 million new
this affect our brand? How will existing customers react? This customers, each paying an annual fee of $125). Therefore, a longer-term perspective is required
approach can help you clarify and address the uncertainties when exploring new business models. Otherwise, your organization is likely to miss out on
in each model. The bolder the model, the higher the level of many future growth opportunities. How much do you imagine Google earned in its first year?

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