3 Steps To Success

Steve Jobs explained the decline of great companies as  - “The company does a great job, innovates and becomes a monopoly or close to it in some field, and then the quality of the product becomes less important. The company starts valuing the great salesman, because they’re the ones who can move the needle on revenues.” [1]

In the article, “Introduction: Why good companies fail to thrive in fast-moving industries”, Clayton Christensen pointed out that large organizations fail because:

1.     They rely heavily on profitable customers and align their business operations to meet the needs of these customers.

2.     They don’t see emerging/new markets as potential growth areas.

3.     Execution is based on sound market research and good planning, which are not possible in new/emerging markets.

4.      Management follows organizational processes and makes decisions based on company values.

5.     Companies over-satisfy the needs of existing customers and in doing so, create a vacuum for the price sensitive customers.

I would like to elaborate on the measures that organization can undertake to stay atop. There are 3 measures companies can adopt to be successful in today’s fast paced business environment. [4] This blog describes these procedures and how Google implements them.

1.    Innovate Constantly: Today's business environment is very dynamic and companies need to keep innovating. This means that companies not only need to invest in research and development to come up with improved versions of the product but to identify and create needs that customers don’t know they have. [4]

Google is a prime example of a company that innovates constantly. It pioneers and releases new technologies such as Google glass, self-driving cars, real time resource sharing, Google Replay, Google TV, Priority Inbox, Street View and many more. [2] Facebook had aced social search to which Google is responding. It launched social search - a feature that allows users to search for content created by their friends, families or those in the users’ Google+ “social circles”

2.    Focus on Long Term Innovation Environment: Companies must invest in long-term projects. They must have a long-term company vision for the company and an opinion of business environments in the future. Organizations shouldn’t react to change; rather they must be prepared for it. [4]

Google’s driverless car and Google Glass are long-term projects. The driverless car project is much longer in duration as compared to projects of other automobile manufacturers. [5] The Google Moonshot Projects are also examples of longstanding projects. Andy Rubin, the leader for a moonshot robotics project, believes that his robotics project is an important project in Google's long-term, "moonshot" programs. [7] Under this project, robots will be used to perform hard, manual work.

3.    Change the Processes: The change shouldn’t be a from-to transformation; instead companies should move from being production-oriented enterprises to elastic enterprises. Elastic enterprises have repeatable and replicable processes and techniques. The core competency of such enterprises is to orchestrate business through a combination of business entities (resources such as developers, suppliers are customers) and a business platform. [3]

Google built a strong Internet search business platform and was the pioneer in providing infrastructure as a service. By reusing the its platform, Google expanded its business into other product lines. Google’s portfolio consists of products that will satisfy customer needs, help expand its brand and introduce new businesses. [6]

By implementing these steps, Google enjoys significant financial success and a dominant position in its markets. How do you think Google will innovate enterprise wealth creation in the next five years?

References:

[1] Gosal, Parneet. "The End of Disruptive Innovation at Google?" Business Insider. N.p., 10 Apr. 2012. Web. 04 Dec. 2013. <http://www.businessinsider.com/the-end-of-disruptive-innovation-at-google-2012-4>.

[2] Burnham, Kristin. "Google's Top 10 Best (and Worst) Innovations of the Year - CIO.com." CIO. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Dec. 2013. <http://www.cio.com/article/630718/Google_s_Top_10_Best_and_Worst_Innovations_of_the_Year?page=7>.

[3] Shaughnessy, Haydn. "The Top Ten Elastic Enterprises in 2013." Elasticity Labs. N.p., 15 Oct. 2011. Web. 04 Dec. 2013. <http://www.elasticitylabs.com/the-top-ten-elastic-enterprises-in-2013/>.

[4] Shaughnessy, Haydn. "The 3 Ways Innovation Is Changing (And How To Adapt Fast)."Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 07 Feb. 2013. Web. 04 Dec. 2013. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/haydnshaughnessy/2013/02/07/the-3-ways-innovation-is-changing-and-how-to-adapt-fast/>.

[5] Shaughnessy, Haydn. "Google as a New Innovation Model (Or Not the 20% Time)."Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 07 Feb. 2013. Web. 04 Dec. 2013. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/haydnshaughnessy/2013/02/07/googles-role-as-an-innovation-model/>.

[6] Vitalari, Nicholas. "The Top Ten Elastic Enterprises in 2013." Elasticity Labs. N.p., 14 Nov. 2013. Web. 04 Dec. 2013. <http://www.elasticitylabs.com/the-top-ten-elastic-enterprises-in-2013/>.

[7] Shankland, Stephen. "Andy Rubin's next Google Moonshot Project: Robots." CNET News. CBS Interactive, 04 Dec. 2013. Web. 04 Dec. 2013. <http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57614454-93/andy-rubins-next-google-moonshot-project-robots/>.