Page 72 - Grow from Within Mastering Corporate Entrepreneurship and Innovation

Ne w Business Design 59

nologies, Starbucks was able to convince Americans to pay $4
for coffee without inventing anything. Well, at least not any
technology. Anyone who thinks that the company’s creative cof-
fee-based drinks are its primary competitive advantage is miss-
ing the point. Starbucks created a consistent, positive customer
experience in a range of locations based on a unique brand
promise: “the third place,” in Chairman Howard Schultz’s
lingo. Too narrow a focus on technologies or products not only
limits a company’s view of opportunities but can also create a
dangerous myopia. Why didn’t Dunkin’ Donuts see Starbucks
coming and adjust? The answer is that it did, but it failed to rec-
ognize Starbucks as a competitor soon enough, despite the fact
that Dunkin’ Donuts had sold more retail coffee than anyone
else in the United States for years. Starbucks was not a threat to
donuts, so why should anyone have been concerned? Dunkin’
Donuts eventually came around, but much later than if the com-
pany had recognized that competition lies in many dimensions
beyond core products.
We propose that radical innovation or new business creation
be approached as a new business design challenge. Companies
accomplish business design naturally as a result of involving
individuals with a complete vision and adequate authority, as
in Wawa’s case. However, why should we rely on a few key
people when we can extend business systems thinking to an
entire organization? As will become clear, we particularly need
our innovation leaders to understand and apply deliberate,
thoughtful new business design.

A 360-Degree View of Corporate Entrepreneurship

What does business design mean, and how can we apply it?
Thinking holistically about innovation frees us from myopia,