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Organization & Process
     Teams aren't formed around ideas.
     Instead, teams discover them.

Entrepreneurs & Teams
     Selecting, training and supporting the
     differentiated roles of a new organization.

The Work Required
     A punch list for the new organization.

Typical Issues
     Frequently encountered challenges.

Oyster's Role
     How we help in the immediate, near-term
     and long-term time horizons of building
     the new enterprise.


A Glossary
     Oyster-centric definitions of terms used
     on this site.

In order to systematically pursue new platform growth, changes in a business's organization and processes are necessary.


Organization & Process
In order to systematically pursue new platform growth, changes in a business's organization and processes are necessary. The perspectives and approach of existing business units and managers must be supplemented in ways that are supportive of new platform development. A new group, devoted to ongoing efforts to explore new opportunities, must be formed and guided. And, finally, corporate leadership, the CEO, should adopt new priorities to insure the effectiveness of the program.

These organizational entities perform two critical, but clearly different processes. One is "foundational" in that it is the ongoing, institutionalized process of adding new value through innovative platform development. This is the process that repeatedly fills the pipeline with new platforms and that supports their development. The "operating" process is at a level of granularity beneath foundation processes. Operational innovation focuses on domain and platform selection, idea management, business model innovation and portfolio management.

Leadership
Effective leaders play an active role in new platform growth. They provide the operational principles that shape the development of platforms, defining business aspirations at the highest levels and describing overarching methods. The leader frames the challenge and is committed to business innovation. He determines what it takes to succeed and establishes the pre-conditions for success.

This is an "organizational" change because it re-allocates the CEO's resources in a substantial way. The key elements of this re-allocation are as follows:

Define Growth Gap: Provide the financial metrics, defining the difference between current plans and growth goals.

Allocate Time: Commit to ongoing and substantial support for the effort.

Frame Challenges: Describe the arena and methods of the undertaking.

Build Commitment: Enlist the existing business units and support elements in the task.

Shape the New Organization: Establish the scope, role and methods of the new organization.

Provide Oversight: Monitor and lead the new organization. Provide support, discipline, insight and counsel.

Communicate: Provide all stakeholders with a vision of the process and results.

Fund: Supply funding for the new organization's ongoing needs and for the development of new platforms.

Educate Financial Markets: Establish the value of new platform growth in terms of a value proposition.
Greater detail on leadership's role is available by clicking Leadership.

The New Organization
The structure, mission and resources of the new organization must be differentiated from the existing business units. A unique mix of skills, capabilities and experience must be mobilized to do this work. The unit must be independent and interdependent.

Differentiate the Organization: The new organization is not an effort inside a business unit nor are it's functions performed by one. It is nested, separately, in the broader company.

Mission the Organization: The mission is to uncover opportunities at the nexus of unmet customer need, emerging business environment factors and the capabilities available to the organization.

Profile and Select the Leader: Someone with curiosity, an external focus and authority to act.

Identify Team Capabilities: "Entrepreneurs with a founder's mindset, willing to take responsibility for business building.

Create a Management System and Way of Working: The elements of the new organization (the core team, entrepreneur in residence and variable team) have to be profiled.

Platform Governance: As platforms develop lives of their own in the form of developing business models that proceed to execution, means of monitoring and governing their progress must be developed.

Foundation Processes
The ongoing, institutionalized process of adding new value through innovative platform development requires specific processes within leadership. It also is dependent on organizational design (and the maintenance of that design) and the process of capabilities-building in response to boundary domains.

Foundation...: Uncertain here....

Operating Processes
In the belly of the new organizational beast.

Domain & Platform Selection: Measuring opportunity, means, risk and reward.

Idea Management: Uncovering, vetting, testing and refining ideas.

Business Model Innovation: Identifying enablers, unmet needs, capability resources and requirements and executing on a business plan.

Portfolio Management: Financial architecture, monitoring and evaluating development, assessing and reducing risk and allocating resources.


These are the broad outlines of the organizational and process changes required to uncover and exploit new platform opportunities.

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