Sturdy Corporate Ambition or Inspired Start-up Nimbleness?

(by Jürgen Janssens, 2 pages, 7 min read )

Start-up mindsets rule and Agility unleash quality. Or not ? The last years,
switching to small and dynamic has been advocated and proven to be key for
success. The reality is more shaded and very contextual. Still, team leaders, PMs
and managers can learn from do’s and dont’s from the StartUp Force. Hereby
some take-aways : what will you apply in your project or organisation ?

The Theory

According to some, much of the thinking on making big corporations more innovative by becoming more like
start-ups, is misplaced. Big corporations shouldn’t try to be a start-up. Like individual people, they should use
their own strengths for their own good. At best, they should create a separate wing for entrepreneurial
activities, or spin it off.
Especially for product and
According to others, large companies that want to go beyond their
service development, expertise
traditional way of working by making organizational changes with the
goal of encouraging flexibility, thought leadership, and is used differently, and services
responsiveness, should implement the best practices of start-ups and are brought out much faster
combine them with the scale of big business. Especially for product
and service development, expertise is used differently, and services are brought out much faster.

The Reality

In practice, start-up inspired environments can create change in the business environment. By adapting their
operating models, many companies can trigger fresh insights for their
operating environment. To obtain this extra value, companies don’t Start small by seeding change
have to radically change form the inside out. and a new mindset through
It is advised to start small, for instance by seeding this new culture and specific project environments
mindset in specific departments, or through project environments or
targeted programmes. To do so, inspiration can be gathered from past experiences, and adapted to the
contextual reality.

Key Take Aways from the Field

1. LEADERSHIP | To look at the Stars, you need a strong Neck

- Context : At his two first major companies (Zip2 & X.com), Elon Musk was known for
being incredible inspiring, but not for being the best leader as such. At night, he even
rewrote some of the code of his employees - without telling them. At Marcolini, on
the other hand, the eponymic founder has a strong overall influence, but is in the
meantime mostly active in the development of new products.
- Key take away : No matter how bright people are, environments with a start-up spirit
require a leader with strengths in leadership or facilitation, while the inspiring founder might have a
bigger added value in catalysing the organisation through another dedicated role.

2. USER VALUE | To build autonomous Cars, go beyond autonomous Ideas

- Context : R&D environments tend to be a concentration of bright minds. Cerebral
popcorn can lead to great ideas and huge intellectual satisfaction, but with the risk of
low bottom-line or user value for the outside world
- Key take away : Stimulate teams to look beyond isolated ideas. Create a project cul-
ture where people also think about the end-product/service, meet the internal/external customer, and
exchange experience in other networks.

JÜRGEN JANSSENS
 3. GOVERNANCE | To create Hydraulic Energy, build Power Canals
- Context : Start-up spirit, teal happiness and agile fluidity are easily associated with
growing through unlimited freedom of action. In practice, this often leads to chaos, lack
of quality and value, or burned-out people and budgets.
- Key take away : A nimble way of working starts with shaping the culture and people’s
mindset, but can only really unfold through structured guidance. Build ceremonies and targeted
governance. This will gradually unlock value and lead to mature independence.

4. GOOD HABITS | To improve the World, start with Yourself

- Context : The US Navy Seals are organised in small units and work in extreme
circumstances. The one thing that brings them focus every day is: making their bed. It
is one of the rare things that offers them reassuring regularity, and allows them to
start their day with something well done – even when being under pressure.
- Key take away : No matter if you target project productivity, organisational cross-fertilisation or
improved customer journeys, create reference points in your managerial framework – for you, for your
team, for your organisation.

5. QUALITY | Use the F* Word quickly and often

- Context : Start-ups and large companies alike either want to stretch timelines to go for
the ultimate perfection before shipping to the world, or they want to deliver quickly and
fix often. In the former case, project risks to be over budget and the scope outdated. In
the latter case, unexpected, repeated fixing entails damages for the product, the project
and the company.
- Key take away : Fail Fast, Fail Forward : Dare to fail and embed continuous improvement in your project
and programme mindset. Rather than going for the ultimate perfection at the first step, go for a good
enough first hit, iterate, learn and move forward – with the customer.

6. PEOPLE | Small or large : raise your Voice, raise your Values

- Context : Salesforce CEO Marc Benniof injects two things in his company :
entrepreneurial curiosity and value awareness. This human touch and forward looking
mindset made him the informal leader of CEO activists. It has also lead to a forward
looking culture in the company, now regarded as one of Fortune’s Future 50 companies.
- Key take away : Make the voice of your organisation heard. But support your employees first – they are
what makes the realisation of your strategy and projects possible.

Sources & Further reading:

• Chatterji, A., Toffel, M.W., (2018). Divided We
Lead : CEO activism has entered the mainstream
• Clark, B., (2017). What Large Companies Can
Learn From Start-ups
• Horowitz, B., (2014). The Hard Thing About Hard
Things: Building a Business When There Are No
Easy Answers
• Lashinsky, A., (2017). How CEO Marc Benioff
Drives Relentless Forward Thinking at Salesforce
• Markides, C., (2018). How can a big firm be like a
start-up?
• McRaven, W., (2017). Make Your Bed: Little Things
That Can Change Your Life...And Maybe the World
• Reeves, M., (2017). In Search of 'Vital' Companies
• Vance, A., (2015). Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future
• Image courtesy : Google

JÜRGEN JANSSENS