Assurance $600 million in revenue 600 employees 100+ years old My - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Background Highly Respected Pinnacol Insurance Carrier Assurance • $600 million in revenue • 600 employees • 100+ years old My role • CIO/CSO for 20 years 2

Background Need for Rapid Things We Tried Innovation • Kaizen • Book clubs • Idea mills • Consultants • Protect market share • Partnerships • New roles • Improve customer • Field trips experience • Increase efficiency • Ensure long-term viability 3

Author: wonderlane - https://www.flickr.com/photos/wonderlane/ Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/wonderlane/10715908056 License: CC BY 2.0 - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/ Changes made: Cropped photo

Background Cake Insure • Startup digital insurer • Launched after 9 months • Focused on Colorado small businesses • Expanding nationally • Becoming independent 5

Background Best of Both Worlds Startup Big Company Agility Resources Blank slate Built-in market Narrow focus Expertise Risk tolerance Data Creative talent Corporate support 6

Background Barriers to Innovation Risk aversion Innovation theater Lack of resources Stuck in the past Other priorities Perfectionism Legacy systems Stifled creativity Departmental silos Wrong leadership Photo Author: Uwe Kils (iceberg) and Wiska Bodo (sky) via Wikimedia Commons 7 License: GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/) Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AIceberg.jpg

Avoiding Innovation Theater Compelling and Clear Vision • Specific breakthrough • Measurable results • Clear time frame • Solution agnostic Author: NASA / Bill Anders via Wikimedia Commons 8 License: Public domain Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ANASA-Apollo8-Dec24-Earthrise.jpg

Avoiding Innovation Theater Product Research Methods Development • Surveys • Focus groups • ” Fuzzy front end ” • Interviews • Primary and secondary • Competitive analysis research • Historical data • Prototyping 9

Avoiding Innovation Theater Product & Business Clarity Business Model Vaporware Canvas Osterwalder, Alexander and Yves Pigneur. Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game 10 Changers, and Challengers. Hoboken: Wiley, 2010.

Avoiding Innovation Theater Pitch book, PPM, or CIM Parent as VC Investor • Return on investment • Market opportunity Progress Dashboard • Go-to-market strategy • Risks and mitigation • Regular status updates 11

Avoiding Innovation Theater Isolating the Team • Distant location • Basic team needs • Flexibility and growth • Secret location 12

Letting Go of the Past Burning Ships Staffing from Parent • Fulltime employment, not a project assignment • Nothing to protect • Old positions backfilled • Motivation to succeed • No promises • Smart risk taking • Careful spending 13

Letting Go of the Past Starting with a “In the Blank Slate beginner’s mind, there are • Technologies many possibilities, • People and partners but in the expert’s • Business processes there are few.” • Value proposition • Customer Suzuki, Shunryu. Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind: Informal Talks on Zen Meditation and Practice. Shambhala, 14 2011.

Letting Go of the Past Seeing Things Examples for Ourselves • Talk to customers • Observe the work • Go to the source of truth • Try out the competition • Get hands dirty • Analyze raw data • Trust experts but verify • Study statutes • Engrain into culture Liker, Jeffrey. The Toyota Way: 14 Management Principles from the World’s Greatest Manufacturer. New 15 York: McGraw-Hill, 2004.

Embracing Imperfection What Really The 80/20 Rule Matters Exceptions • Validated learning Trivial • True MVP Many Viable • Narrow scope Product • Experimentation Vital Few 16

Encouraging Creativity in Action Culture • Positivity • Curiosity • Transparency • Inclusiveness • Gratitude 17

Encouraging Creativity in Action No Tyranny Flying Solo is OK of Consensus • Narrow scope • Experimentation • Empowerment • Validated learning • Careful hiring • Future involvement • Clear goals and roles • Results talk! • Forced transparency • Accountability 18

Encouraging Creativity in Action Need for External Secrecy Spares the team from: Gives parent employees: • Tyranny of consensus • Freedom from worry • Premature criticism • Thoughtful communications • Resentment of former colleagues 19

Fostering the Right Leadership Our First Leadership Roles Product & CTO Sr. Product Voice of Business Manager Customer Parent & CEO Chief Startup Capital of Staff Team 20

Fostering the Right Leadership Entrepreneurial The Engineer Is Systems Designer In Charge Business product inspired by engineering imagination • Business and technology • Development process Create a technical product • Key decisions informed by business judgment • Problem solving • Guidance and coaching The combination is critical Ward, Allen, and Durward Sobek. Lean product and process development. Cambridge, MA: Lean 21 Enterprise Institute, 2014.

Fostering the Right Leadership Strong CEO Challenges in the Parent Sponsorship • Fear, uncertainty, doubt • Resistance • Cooperation from parent • Resentment • Roadblock removal • Other priorities • Board relations • Advice and support 22

Where to Start Commit Yourself When commitment leads, • Identify a challenge providence follows • Find a fellow explorer • Start planning the journey • Begin talking about it • Abandon shelter 23