Page 139 - Grow from Within Mastering Corporate Entrepreneurship and Innovation

126 grow from within

Rather, it’s an assessment of the marketplace potential and
the economics of the market.
• Due diligence (next 60–90 days). The EBA team conducts a
typical due diligence process prior to submitting an
investment memo to its board. If the investment is
approved, EBA begins to implement a high-level plan,
which includes the three most important questions about
the concept—i.e., What are the most critical uncertainties?,
How much money is it going to take to get there?, and
How many people will be needed?
• Recruit talent and provide funds (next 30 days).
• Monitor performance (next 1–5 years). What is the progress
in resolving the three critical uncertainties? If a project is
not hitting its milestones, EBA revisits it. Perhaps these
were not the correct three questions, and hence these were
not the right milestones. Or maybe there are other
learnings that are valuable.

Projects that achieve validation from real customers gradu-
ate into either existing or new business units. From a profit-
and-loss standpoint, Cargill’s structure is largely decentralized
at the business unit level. Top-level corporate executives allo-
cate capital and human resources and seek strategic synergies
among business units. They can strongly influence which
business unit should adopt a proven EBA business, based on
which one has the appropriate go-to-market expertise, con-
nections, channels, and so on. If necessary, top corporate exec-
utives can set up a new business unit to house the opportunity.
At present, Cargill has about 80 business units organized
around five platforms.
Through 2008, the EBA has evaluated more than 450 oppor-
tunities. It has invested in 13, of which 2 have “graduated” into
ongoing Cargill businesses, 2 were sold, 4 were discontinued,