Serial Innovators
Firms That Change the World
By: Claudio Feser
Published: November 8, 2011
Format: Hardcover, 202 pages
ISBN-10: 1118149920
ISBN-13: 978-1118149928
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
"Sometimes, however, but only sometimes, firms resist the process of aging and rise above this. They adapt and thrive in dynamic markets, they continuously reinvent themselves, and they change their industries. They become serial innovators. Sometimes - by continuously reinventing new products and services that make life healthier, better, safer - they change the world", writes Director of McKinsey & Company, Claudio Feser, in his insightful and research based book Serial Innovators: Firms That Change the World. The author describes how companies have a life cycle, where they are born, grow, and age. Some companies also die, while others resist the effects of company aging, and continue to adapt and grow.
Claudio Feser provides the analogy of a the company life cycle to that of a living organism, with both possessing the same inherent stages of life. As with life in the wild, companies must adapt or be swept aside in the tide of ever changing markets and economic circumstances. Into this harsh reality, Claudio Feser proposes that some companies succumb to the aging process, and die. Other companies, however, do adapt and grow and continue to provide new products and services. Very often those same products and serve as catalysts for changing the way people live, work, and act. In other words, these adaptable and innovative companies change the world.
Claudio Feser (photo left) accepts the challenge to determine what factors in a company life cycle, cause a firm to die; while other companies in the very same industry grow and flourish for many years, and become iconic world changers in the process. To uncover the factors that caused a company to age and die; and also to determine the qualities that created a growing and innovative firm, the author utilized a study that crossed many disciplines and academic fields. The result was a deeper understanding that caused both personal and systemic rigidness within the failed companies. The study also found the important characteristics that led to innovation, growth, and a resistance to aging in the successful organizations.
The author outlines the causes of rigidity and decline in failed companies that aged and lost their vigor and innovative capabilities. The individual and organizational factors in that rigidity are as follows:
* Individual rigidity of biased and less rigorous thinking
* Individual rigidity of lack of personal self-efficacy
* Individual rigidity of lack of acceptance of the challenge presented by change
* Organizational rigidity of impenetrable hierarchies in the firm
* Organizational rigidity of a loss of purpose and sense of mission
* Organizational rigidity of company culture that prevents change
* Organizational rigidity of poorly designed incentives rewarding the wrong things
* Organizational rigidity of of a lack of capability to foster growth
For me, the power of the book is how Claudio Feser combines research based findings about the nature of rigidity in both individuals and organizations, with practical advice for building an innovative organization that is both nimble and passionate. The author demonstrates that the companies that make innovation an integral part of their culture become serial innovators, moving quickly from challenge to opportunity for renewal and growth.
Claudio Feser illustrates his concepts with a background story of a fictional organization as it puts the principles of serial innovation into practice. The story serves to enrich the understanding of the concepts, and places them in a realistic model for overcoming obstacles and creating fresh new innovative ideas to meet the constantly changing challenges of the marketplace. The end result is an organization, fueled by a passion for its mission, and a dedication that can even change the lives of people across the globe.
I highly recommend the organization transforming book Serial Innovators: Firms That Change the World by Claudio Feser, to any CEOs, business leaders, and potential innovators seeking a research based approach to solving the challenge of an aging company life cycle, and replacing it with a renewed sense of purpose and growth. This book will guide any company toward the passion and rebirth that leads to fresh and sustainable growth.
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