Page 173 - HBR Leader's Handbook: Make an Impact, Inspire Your Organization, and Get to the Next Level

162 HBR Leader’s Handbook

FIGURE 5-2
Breakthrough opportunities for growth

Existing products New products and
and services services

Engage in
breakthrough
Sell current offerings innovation that
New markets to new markets and develops new
customers. products and services
for new markets and

customers.

Sell product
Increase current extensions and
Existing markets business in market variations to existing
share and volume. markets and
customers.

ing or developing for their businesses. For example, CEO of Chevron Mike
Wirth meets regularly with economists and other specialists to understand
long-term scenarios for the price of oil and the latest advances in renew-
able energy technology. He also keeps tabs on more speculative ideas, for
example, how the rise of ride sharing and electric cars could alter energy
retailing. CEO of Bumble Bee Seafoods Chris Lischewski has participated
in a futurist university program to better understand how broader social
and economic trends among young consumers might open up future op-
portunities for marketing seafood.
Depending on your field, scanning could also include reading special-
ized research, talking to influencers in your field, or making benchmark-
ing visits to noncompetitive visionary companies willing to share how the
latest technology is changing their business. Car companies today meet
with university researchers and automation boutiques to get ideas about
self-driving and alternative transportation technologies. Other companies
troop to Google, Facebook, and Amazon to learn about trends in robotics,