The Board's New Innovation Imperative

Linda A. Hill; George  Davis

Article | Harvard Business Review

The Board's New Innovation Imperative: Directors Need to Rethink Their Roles and Their Attitude to Risk

by Linda A. Hill and George Davis

Abstract

As firms scramble for competitive advantage, boards—once the cautious voices urging management to mitigate risk—are now calling for breakthrough innovation. Indeed, avoiding risk is now seen as the riskiest proposition of all. In speaking with CEOs and board members from a range of industries, the authors identified four common obstacles most boards face in governing innovation: an outdated risk agenda, insufficient time, lack of expertise, and a relationship with management that needs retuning. Embracing innovation and its inherent risks requires that boards and senior management develop new ways of working together. To bolster out-of-the-box thinking at their companies, boards should promote diversity among members. They should foster "creative abrasion" to keep ideas flowing and rethink traditional methods of governing. And they must learn to embrace and encourage risk.

Keywords: Governing and Advisory Boards; Innovation Leadership; Risk and Uncertainty; Corporate Governance;

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Citation:

Hill, Linda A., and George Davis. "The Board's New Innovation Imperative: Directors Need to Rethink Their Roles and Their Attitude to Risk." Harvard Business Review 95, no. 6 (November–December 2017): 102–109.

Michael Ku joined Pfizer in 2011, after the company had undergone three large-scale mergers and acquisitions. His mission was to drive the digital transformation of the company’s clinical supply chain, but he knew he had to start with the culture. Over the next eight years, Ku and his leadership team put in place the culture, talent, structure, and processes necessary to prime the clinical supply chain for digital transformation. By 2019, the clinical supply chain had made significant progress toward becoming the agile, innovative organization necessary to support Pfizer’s new ambition to focus exclusively on developing innovative medicines and vaccines. Ku knew there was more to be done before they could maximize their digital and innovation efforts. He had asked his leadership team to come up with a proposal to improve decision-making in the organization.

In 2017, Bill Connors, the President of Comcast’s Central Division, launched a startup accelerator in Comcast’s new Atlanta Regional headquarters. Comcast was America's largest cable and internet service provider, having built a profitable business bundling television content and delivering it via cable networks to more than 20 million households. The business was changing rapidly with the rise of streaming services, and Connors wanted to change the culture and orientation of Comcast’s central division. Connors was getting ready to meet Burunda Prince, a candidate for the position of Managing Director of the new accelerator. Is she the right person for the job? The case explores structural questions for corporate startup accelerators, such as whether Comcast should hire another company to manage the accelerator and where the accelerator should be located. It also provides a basis for discussions relating to the role that a startup accelerator can play in a large corporation. This case can be taught as a standalone case, or with its counterpart, HBS No. 420-057, “Burunda Prince at The Farm, a Comcast NBCUniversal Innovation Hub (Powered by Boomtown),” which would follow this one and focuses on the operational challenges of launching a corporate startup accelerator.

Case | HBS Case Collection | September 2019 (Revised October 2019)

Burunda Prince at The Farm, a Comcast NBCUniversal Innovation Hub (Powered by Boomtown)

Linda A. Hill, Eric Mankin and Emily Tedards

After a successful inaugural year, Burunda Prince, the Managing Director of Comcast’s startup business accelerator The Farm, was getting ready for an eventful 2019. Comcast was America's largest cable and internet service provider, having built a profitable business bundling television content and delivering it via cable networks to more than 20 million households. The business was changing rapidly with the rise of streaming services, and The Farm was an initiative spearheaded by Comcast’s Central Division to introduce innovation into the Division’s culture. The case describes Prince’s approach in building The Farm from her arrival in August 2017, with discussions around how she chose participants for The Farm’s programs; how she worked with Comcast and with her employer, Boomtown Accelerators, who was under contract to run The Farm for Comcast; and how she developed her Atlanta ecosystem of startups, investors, and mentors. Should the business accelerator maintain its position as a general business accelerator, or should it focus on areas specific to Comcast? Should it maintain the same curriculum structure for its accelerator programs? This case can be taught as a standalone case, or with its counterpart, HBS No. 420-056, “Bill Connors and The Farm, a Comcast NBCUniversal Innovation Hub (Powered by Boomtown),” which precedes this one and focuses on Comcast’s rationale for launching a corporate startup accelerator.

Keywords: innovation; accelerator; entrepreneur; Startup; outsourcing; hiring; Talent; culture; ecosystem; digital; women; African Americans; Leadership; Innovation and Invention; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Management; Diversity; Selection and Staffing; Organizational Culture; Media; Entertainment; Transformation; Atlanta;

Citation:

Hill, Linda A., Eric Mankin, and Emily Tedards. "Burunda Prince at The Farm, a Comcast NBCUniversal Innovation Hub (Powered by Boomtown)." Harvard Business School Case 420-057, September 2019. (Revised October 2019.) View Details

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The Board's New Innovation Imperative: Directors Need to Rethink Their Roles and Their Attitude to Risk

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