Page 26 - Grow from Within Mastering Corporate Entrepreneurship and Innovation

Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Organic Growth 13

ization—large firms should do well, given their resources and
their market experience. But they often do not.
In the 1980s and 1990s, firms in a variety of industries rec-
ognized that their standard processes and often their cultures
gave short shrift to what became known as the “fuzzy front
end” of new concept development. Since then, the early stages
of the concept process have been made more systematic and
productive by implementing explicit procedures for generat-
ing, collecting, and evaluating new business ideas, such as sce-
nario planning, technology scouting, disciplined intellectual
property management, stage-gate milestone management, and
portfolio risk management tools. Some companies have formed
separate groups dedicated to shepherding and “incubating”
promising new business concepts. Mohanbir Sawhney and
Robert C. Wolcott advised in the Financial Times in September
2004, “Creativity is often serendipitous. Innovation management
should not be.”
Despite these sound planning and management efforts, cor-
porate entrepreneurship projects often stall at the back end,
that is, at the point of transitioning field-proven new business
concepts into self-sustaining business units and scaling them
up. The problem is generally a failure to recognize early on the
challenges to existing business systems created by a new ven-
ture. By implementing some of the proven structures and
processes described in this book, established companies can
better leverage their strengths and benefit more effectively
from innovative concepts.

Ready, Fire, Aim . . . Not!

Entrepreneurs, corporate or independent, are often advised to
move quickly and learn from the market rather than lose time