英文摘要 EXECUTIVE SUMMARIES February 2017
SPOTLIGHT
ecosystem innovation
Even the most brilliant new concepts needsupport from their ecosystems. In this package we explore the effect of timingon technologies’ success, why a legacy ecosystem can separate you from yourcustomer, and how companies can collaborate to solve ecosystem-level problems.
page 037
Technology
Right Tech, Wrong Time
Ron Adner and Rahul Kapoor| page 038
Why do some transformative technologiesdominate the market quickly, while others take decades to catch on? It’s afunction not just of the technologies themselves, say the authors, but also oftheir broader ecosystems (electric cars, for example, need a network ofcharging stations). The ecosystems of the legacy technologies matter too—theycan sometimes be improved enough to prolong the life of the old technology.
Analyzing the ecosystem dynamics in yourindustry can help you predict how quickly technological change will occur. Forexample, if the new technology is surrounded by viable complements and there’slittle room to improve the old technology’s ecosystem, substitution is rapid(creative destruction). When the opposite conditions hold—the new technology’secosystem needs work and the old technology can capitalize on improvements inthe established ecosystem—the pace of substitution is very slow (robustresilience). The authors describe two other possible scenarios: robustcoexistence of the two technologies, and the illusion of resistance (the oldtechnology seems competitive for some time but quickly succumbs once the newtechnology’s ecosystem is ready to roll).
If you understand which scenario applies toyou, you can better assess the threat of disruptive change—and use the authors’insights to respond effectively.
HBR Reprint R1611C
Innovation
The Problem with Legacy Ecosystems
Maxwell Wessel, Aaron Levie,and Robert Siegel | page 046
In the digital age, software has enabledinnovators like Uber and Tesla to gather crucial data about customers andcreate revolutionary offerings to serve them. Meanwhile, many well-resourcedincumbents struggle to develop extended digital relationships with customers.That’s partly because it’s hard for companies to change their establishedbusiness models. But the authors point out another inhibitor—there arerepercussions up and down the value chain.
The authors explain that successfulupstarts do not just capture and use new data effectively; they also break fromtraditional reliance on outside partners for sourcing inputs and distributingand servicing products. They keep more functions in-house—a necessary part oflaunching an innovation. But if incumbents do likewise in their own efforts totake advantage of digital technology, they risk upsetting longtimerelationships with suppliers, distributors, and other collaborators.
To navigate this new world, the authorsadvise managers in traditional companies to think about the macro trends thatwill shape their industry in the future, agree on a digital strategy to addresscustomers’ needs in the long term, and develop better metrics to monitorprogress. Incumbents must also create new business opportunities for partnersso that everyone benefits from the new ecosystem.
HBR Reprint R1611D
Innovation
Managing Multiparty Innovation
Nathan Furr, Kate O’Keeffe,
and Jeffrey H. Dyer | page 054
In an increasingly digital and connectedenvironment, leaders of established companies frequently find themselves facingopportunities that they—or even their industries—cannot seize alone. Instead ofrelying on start-ups to create innovations and then buying in to them,organizations are taking part in a process that the authors call ecosysteminnovation, collaborating to develop and then commercialize new concepts.
Cisco Hyperinnovation Living Labs (CHILL)differs from seemingly similar approaches, such as R&D alliances, becauseit focuses on the fast and agile commercialization of ideas without acomplicated intellectual property agreement. It also differs from traditionalpartnership efforts, because it brings multiple partners together at a veryearly stage all at once.
In this article the authors discuss howlarge companies can develop their own ecosystem innovation capabilities, usingCisco’s process as an example. They describe the basic principles and theprocess, identify the most common traps, and explain how leaders can capturevaluable opportunities. The process allows companies to bring extremely diverseideas, skills, and resources together to solve ecosystem-level problems at anastonishing speed.
HBR Reprint R1611E
FEATURES
Operations
Kick-Ass Customer Service
Why are consumers increasingly dissatisfiedwith the quality of help they get from customer service departments? Theauthors’ surveys and interviews with contact center personnel worldwide suggestthat companies don’t hire the right people as frontline reps, nor do they equipthem to handle the increasingly complex challenges that come with the job.
Every rep can be classified as one of seventypes, say the authors. Supportive “Empathizers” constitute the largest group,and managers prefer them. But take-charge “Controllers,” who make up only 15%of all reps, actually do best at solving customers’ problems.
To expand their numbers, companies need afresh approach to hiring—one that involves crafting job postings and screeningapplicants differently. Companies should also revamp their training practices,using new curricula and on-the-job coaching to help all types of reps learn toact more like Controllers. Another key step is building a culture that valuesand rewards Controller behavior. That might mean evaluating reps on theirability to use good judgment rather than follow a script, and soliciting theirideas to improve the organization.
HBR Reprint R1701H
Matthew Dixon, Lara Ponomareff, ScottTurner, and Rick DeLisi | page 090
How I Did It
Leadership
The Founder of TOMS on Reimagining the Company’s Mission
Blake Mycoskie | page 030
In the fall of 2012 the author decided heneeded to do some soul-searching. The start-up he’d founded six years earlierhad grown into a global company with more than $300 million in revenue, and itwas still delivering on its promise to donate a pair of shoes for every pairsold, but Mycoskie felt disillusioned. His days were monotonous, and he had losthis connection to many of the executives in charge of daily operations.
He and his wife moved to Austin, Texas, sothat he could take a sabbatical. He dedicated a lot of time to privatecontemplation, but he also spoke regularly with his executive coach, entrepreneurfriends, and business nonprofit leaders he admired. He traveled to conferencesaround the country to learn from experts in social enterprise and internationaldevelopment. And he read Start with Why, by Simon Sinek, about leaders whoinspire action and companies that create compelling products.
All this, combined with a chanceconversation about the coffee trade in Rwanda, led to the creation of TOMSRoasting—which, like TOMS Shoes, would have a one-for-one model: For every bagof coffee sold, the company would provide a week’s worth of clean water to aperson in need. As TOMS approaches its 10th anniversary, the author writes, hefeels more energized and committed than ever.
HBR Reprint R1601A