This is a long but worthwhile post from a VC taking aim at the overuse of the word ‘disruption’ when it’s linked to strategy.\u00a0 About half way down the piece is a quote which is worth repeating. It’s from an HBR article written by the former president of PepsiCo:<\/p>\n
\u2026most of PepsiCo\u2019s major strategic successes are ideas we borrowed from the marketplace\u2013often from small regional or local competitors.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
For large companies that find it hard to innovate internally, it’s worth keeping an eye on smaller ones that are more nimble.<\/p>\n
Constantly scanning innovation both in your sector, and in adjacent sectors, is a valuable capability but one that very few organisations invest in. I recall that Texas Instruments used to employ a guy called Gene Frantz who described his role as looking for lunatics<\/a> within TI with ideas that could spark new directions for the company.<\/p>\n
Back to the article that sparked this post – it goes on to close with another great original quote:<\/p>\n
Without a strategy you might\u00a0predict\u00a0the market and the\u00a0technology exactly and still lose to\u00a0someone who does have\u00a0a strategy.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n