Page 152 - Free the Idea Monkey
P. 152

SOMETIMES TO SUCCEED, YOU NEED TO BE PLAYING
FOR A DIFFERENT TEAM

     Are you stuck? Some companies are built to discover new
insights, some are not. See if this resonates:

“Stuck” Company Insight
     I want great insights because I know they lead to meaningful

innovation and profits, but I am stuck in an organization that keeps
doing new product development the same way.

     Meanwhile, we see aggressive innovators at smaller companies
dealing with a different kind of struggle. The insight that applies to
them usually sounds something like this:

     We want great new products because
we need to be distinctly different than
our huge competitor, but we have limited
resources and need to move really fast
(so we are going to have to be creative and
challenge convention ... ).

     From our experience, if you really want
to make a difference in the world, your best bet is on a company
with an entrepreneurial mind-set. The irony is that every year,
undercapitalized companies put giant businesses on their heels
simply because they are willing to dig, discover and capitalize on
insights that are readily available to everyone.

     As I’ll talk about later, David usually beats Goliath. If you are
stuck, I recommend you move your big brain to a company that fails
forward and starts with an entrepreneurial mind-set. Losing money
is one thing. Losing your inventive soul is too high a price to pay
for anything.

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