Evolve (Again)

Rosabeth M. Kanter

Article | Harvard Business Review | July – August 2011

Evolve (Again)

Abstract

Frenzy over social networks and interactive media can produce equally overhyped predictions that everything will change, not to mention money-losing investments in silly ventures. Separating enduring strategic lessons from the hype can help avoid a new crash. Hint: the lessons don't include rushing to fund start-ups on the basis of back-of-the-envelope calculations. The tools are changing, but not the rules about change. Encouraging self-organizing networks to let them investigate whatever they want to through company channels can produce new business ideas, as IBM found in the early days of virtualization. When talented employees leave to start ventures, smart companies keep them in the family through seed-capital investments or alumni groups. Experiments with other models, whether internal or with partners, provide experience and readiness for future change. Learning from partners, or from corporate venture capital investments, is a strategic capability.

Keywords: Business Startups; Venture Capital; Investment; Technological Innovation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Partners and Partnerships;

Format: Print

1 pages

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Citation:

Kanter, Rosabeth M. "Evolve (Again)." Harvard Business Review 89, nos. 7-8 (July–August 2011): 36.

Gun violence was a significant problem in America. Three Harvard Advanced Leadership Initiative Fellows Christy Wood, Russell Sternlicht, and Gareth Glaser each decided to do something about gun safety. They each used their professional and leadership experience to identify their own solutions to the issue. Wood created a set of principles for investments funds to pressure gun manufacturers and gun sellers within their portfolios to adopt safety standards. Sternlicht designed a membership-based lobbying and advocacy group in order to harness the power of mass movements to create positive change. And Glaser founded a smart-gun company whose product could help reduce certain types of deaths and injuries. Would any of these three innovations move beyond the historical gridlock on gun safety?

This is a teaching note to the original case: Gun violence was a significant problem in America. Three Harvard Advanced Leadership Initiative Fellows Christy Wood, Russell Sternlicht, and Gareth Glaser each decided to do something about gun safety. They each used their professional and leadership experience to identify their own solutions to the issue. Wood created a set of principles for investments funds to pressure gun manufacturers and gun sellers within their portfolios to adopt safety standards. Sternlicht designed a membership-based lobbying and advocacy group in order to harness the power of mass movements to create positive change. And Glaser founded a smart-gun company whose product could help reduce certain types of deaths and injuries. Would any of these three innovations move beyond the historical gridlock on gun safety?

From 2008-2010 Anand Piramal ran a series of pilots for his digital healthcare startup, Piramal e-Swasthya (PeS) to “democratize healthcare” in rural areas of India. PeS ran into difficulties so Anand Piramal had to decide whether to continue the organization and if so how. In 2010, an unexpected opportunity emerged that could have significant implications for PeS’s organizational structure and future prospects. Anand Piramal now faced several options for PeS. He needed to weigh the pros and cons of each option to make the best decision to fulfill his vision of providing quality healthcare services to “bottom-of-the-pyramid” populations. This case exemplifies the strategic decisions an entrepreneur must make to ensure that a social impact venture can be sustainable and scalable.

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Evolve (Again)

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