114. The Role of Senior Executives in Leading New Growth Initiatives: A Conversation with Robyn Bolton

The Business Model Framework draws an important distinction between a company's Priorities (that is, its Value Proposition and Profit Formula) and a company's Capabilities (determined by its Resources, including its people, and Processes). In circumstances where companies are pursuing growth via sustaining opportunities, a company's Processes are key. However, in those circumstances where companies are pursuing potentially disruptive opportunities, then an organization's Resources, and in particular its senior leadership, are crucial. In this episode, Robyn Bolton brings these concepts to life through the stories of two different companies working to build disruptive growth engines, highlighting the actions of senior executives at each firm, one of which was ultimately successful while the other faltered and failed in these attempts. In conversation with host Katie Zandbergen, Robyn shares insights on a number of topics related to the role of senior leaders, including the necessity of standing astride the interfaces of mainstream and disruptive growth businesses; the ability to sense when circumstances are changing; the importance of adjusting metrics and incentives in order to create space for employees to spot disruptive opportunities; and the need (and challenge) to act not during challenging times but rather when business is good. As Robyn points out, if you want different results then you need to do things differently - and this often means tackling the difficult task of setting aside those processes that drive sustaining innovation, at least in some parts of the business, and leaning more on a company's resources, including its senior leadership, who play such a crucial role in the management of disruptive growth initiatives.