TIGER Talk Recap: Reinvent Yourself and Your Company every 3.5 Years

Written by Innovate New Albany@InnovateNA6 years ago

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Most business owners would tell you that the key challenge of running their business is keeping their business afloat. Managing a roller coaster economy, constant change and day-to-day crises makes staying in business increasingly difficult. But Dr. Nadya Zhexembayeva — speaker, educator, business owner and a ‘Reinvention Guru’ — believes that the key to survival is reinvention. And it must happen in every company every 3.5 years.

In her April 20 TIGER Talk presentation at Innovate New Albany entitled, “Reinvent Yourself and Your Company Every 3.5 Years” Nadya says reinvention is necessary because the world is changing, and we must learn to adapt and reinvent if we want to survive.

Reinvention can be hard and uncomfortable, and many companies choose to go down in flames rather than face the disruption of doing something new or taking a chance on the unknown.

Nadya related a business’ downfall to the sinking of the Titanic, often referred to as the “Titanic Syndrome.” This is a corporate disease in which companies bring about their own downfall through arrogance or blind trust of the status quo.

The Titanic, which sank on April 15, 1912, was said to be an unsinkable ship, and Nadya shared historical information about everything that went wrong the night of the tragedy. Arrogance, lack of preparation, lack of testing, and lookouts without binoculars were just a few of the reasons the ship sunk.

She then drew parallels between the Titanic and the sinking of companies in the recent past, such as Blockbuster, Toys R Us, Kodak, Hummer, and many others. Much like the Titanic, these companies ignored the warning signs, didn’t take the time to test or practice, and had an overconfidence that things would always stay the way they were. She cited case studies from Hidria and Rolls-Royce as examples of companies who reinvented themselves and survived.

Nadya said the life cycle of a company has declined from 75 years, to 15 years, to seven years. Today the average life cycle of a company is only five years. She said a business should build systems that prepare for change, such as an 18-month rolling budget instead of budgeting for a whole year. She also suggested developing a sensing mechanism, so you and your team can keep tabs on what is happening in the industry and brainstorm what you can do to adjust.

Nadya said businesses that reinvent themselves should ask the following questions:

• What value are we creating?
• Who are we creating for?
• How are we creating value?
• Where are we delivering value?
• Why do we create this value?

She discussed the different ways a company can reinvent itself, by reflecting on the questions and considering the following areas of their business:

• Purpose and vision
• Culture
• Business model
• Products & services
• Platform
• Solutions
• Customers
• Customer experience
• Revenue streams & value capture
• Processes
• Organization and culture
• Supply chain
• Markets & presence
• Network and distribution
• Brand

TIGER Talks are offered throughout the month at Innovate New Albany and include a complimentary light lunch. Business owners “earn their stripes” by learning more about the areas of technology, innovation, growth, entrepreneurship and responsibility. If you have any questions about Nadya’s TIGER Talk or how to reinvent your own company, please visit her website at www.chiefinventionofficer.com.

Innovate New Albany, the city’s incubator for technology startups, entrepreneurs and small businesses, features 16,000 square feet of space within the New Albany Business Park’s Signature Office Building, 8000 Walton Parkway.