Introduction
First, in this content, Business innovation consulting projects refer to efforts in which companies develop strategies for creating new value, review existing value-added models, and pursue innovation.
One of the factors that can bring business innovation consulting projects to a standstill is the tendency of mature companies to downplay the importance of new value creation and stick to existing value-acquisition models. This trend can also be seen as a factor in being overtaken, especially by innovative start-ups. In order for companies to maintain sustainable competitive advantage amid accelerating market conditions and technological evolution, it’ｓ essential that they strike the right balance between value creation and value acquisition and continue to evolve. However, companies that rely on existing success stories and fail to adapt to new changes are likely to find their projects stagnating. For example, there is a case of a mature film camera manufacturer that missed the digitalization wave and lost the market to an innovative start-up. This is because they were too focused on their existing revenue model and did not seek new ways to create value. Similarly, stalled projects often overlook changing customer needs and market trends. To break out of a stalled project, it is important to first identify root causes and strengthen communication with stakeholders. It should also explore new value-creation possibilities through experimentation and learning and have the flexibility to adapt and pivot strategies as needed. These efforts will lead to the reinvigoration of projects and the evolution of the entire enterprise.
Identify the root cause
When business innovation consulting projects stall, it is important to identify the root cause. This can be a major obstacle, especially when mature companies lack a focus on new value creation and stick to their existing value capture models. Mature companies tend to be biased toward value capture to maintain profitability based on years of successful experience. For example, strategic frameworks such as Porter’s five-force model focus on strengthening existing positions in a competitive environment. However, relying too heavily on such frameworks and neglecting opportunities for new value creation and changes in the marketplace can lead to rigid strategies and stagnant projects. Indeed, the Kodak case illustrates this well. Kodak had long been the leader in the film camera market, but was slow to respond to the rise of digital cameras. Despite holding patents on digital technology, Kodak continued to focus on its existing revenue base, the film business, and failed to adequately pursue new value creation initiatives, resulting in a loss of competitiveness. In this case, the strategy that focused on value capture led to a lack of perspective in capturing new market opportunities, causing the project to fail. Therefore, in order to reinvigorate a stalled project, it is necessary to identify areas where the existing strategy is hindering the creation of new value and focus reforms on these areas. In particular, implementing a strategic process that takes into account the evolving needs of customers and the potential of new technologies is key to regaining competitive advantage.
Commnunicate with stakeholders
To reinvigorate stalled business innovation consulting projects, it is first necessary to strengthen communication with stakeholders, especially the CEO, and reevaluate the entire strategic process. As mentioned earlier, adherence to existing value-acquisition models increases the risk that strategies will become rigid due to a lack of perspective on new value creation. To overcome this situation, it is necessary to discuss the extent to which the strategy inherently captures new business models and opportunities for value creation, and to identify specific areas for improvement. A common characteristic of the most successful companies in the U.S. is their ability to identify new business models and meet unmet customer needs. These companies take a holistic view of their strategies and proactively look beyond the existing market environment to identify opportunities for value creation. Without this perspective, existing strategies become rigid and increase the risk of being left behind in a changing competitive environment. For example, groundbreaking ideas such as ride-sharing and mobile banking are successful examples of new business models that accurately identify unmet customer needs, but they were created by companies with a new perspective, not by companies bound by existing frameworks. Behind this is strategic thinking to discover customer needs and a willingness to carefully evaluate the competitive impact of new business models. In order to develop this perspective, it is essential that CEOs reevaluate their strategic processes and create a forum for discussing the potential for new value creation. While it is not necessary to react to every new business model, evaluating the potential for value creation through a strategic approach and anticipating the competitive environment will help the CEO accurately select the right business model to pursue. Repeatedly implementing this process will give new vitality to stalled projects and allow them to regain their edge in the competitive environment.
Seek help and advice
To reinvigorate stalled business innovation consulting projects, it is important to actively seek external and expert advice, while at the same time taking a comprehensive, integrated view of the overall strategy. By deepening discussions on competitive positioning and value creation, and reviewing the strategy landscape from a broader perspective, an integrated strategy can be developed that goes beyond short-term measures and aims for long-term success. It is essential that the strategy be more than just a set of short-term measures, but also a creative and open discussion of alternative business models while leveraging competitive positioning and existing capabilities. Drawing viable alternatives from these discussions and promoting continuous experimentation and operational adaptation are key to building a path to sustainable growth. For example, in one case, the CEO of a young company reevaluated its strategic process with the help of an outside consultant. The company faced the risk of “crashing and burning” as it sought new market opportunities. However, by reassessing the entire strategic landscape and adopting an experimental approach to alternative business models, the company was able to correct its growth trajectory and achieve success. On the other hand, in a case where a mature company sought to create new value while strengthening its existing capabilities with the advice of outside experts, it succeeded in maintaining its competitive advantage through continuous evolution of its strategy. These examples illustrate the importance of restructuring strategy while leveraging outside help and advice. By taking a comprehensive view of strategy and balancing competitive positioning and value creation, companies can mitigate short-term risks and ensure long-term success. In addition, through continuous experimentation, adaptation, and investment in fundamental capabilities, it is possible to sustain growth while maintaining an edge in the competitive environment.
Experiment and Learn
To reinvigorate stalled business innovation consulting projects, it is important to seek outside help and advice, as discussed in the previous section, but this alone is not sufficient. To innovate the strategy process and explore new possibilities for value creation, companies must actively incorporate experimentation and learning. This will enable companies to improve the precision of their strategies through hypothesis testing and clarify the path to sustainable growth. Experimentation and learning are essential processes in the overall integration of strategy. In order to review the strategy landscape and explore alternative business models based on outside perspectives and advice, specific hypotheses need to be formulated and tested through small-scale experiments. The data and feedback obtained in this process provide the foundation for companies to discover new market opportunities and adapt to the competitive environment. In addition, accumulating learnings without fear of failure improves the flexibility and effectiveness of the strategy. Amazon, for example, is a company that has made continuous experimentation and learning an ingrained part of its culture, and this has supported the company’s sustained success. The “customer review feature,” introduced as an early experiment, was an innovation in the retail industry at the time, but has now become an integral part of improving the customer experience. P&G also employs a “learning cycle” in its new product development process to improve speed to market through repeated experimentation. Such an experimental approach also plays a major role in moving the strategic process into the execution phase, while leveraging external advice as discussed in the previous section. Therefore, by not only accepting external advice, but also incorporating experimentation and learning based on it, the effectiveness of the strategy process can be enhanced. Through this continuous process, companies can build a foundation for responding flexibly to the competitive environment while exploring new value creation possibilities. By integrating external insights and internal experimentation, we can reinvigorate projects and find the keys to sustainable growth.
Adapt and Pivot
To reinvigorate stalled business innovation consulting projects, it is essential to incorporate the concept of strategy adaptation and pivoting into the strategy process and to evolve the strategy through hypothesis testing. As mentioned in the previous section, the key to reinvigorating projects is not only to accept help and advice from outside sources but also to use it as a basis for exploring new value-creation possibilities through experimentation and learning. Adaptation implies adjusting the strategy to the needs of the market, while pivoting indicates a flexible change of direction when the strategy is not suitable for the goals. This process is essential for companies to adapt to the competitive environment and achieve sustainable growth. Since new business models and value creation processes involve many unpredictable elements, initial hypotheses do not always adapt to the market. Therefore, adaptation and pivoting are important to ensure that the strategy is adjusted to match the real market environment and that the company’s growth is sustainable. When companies make ongoing adjustments based on data rather than sticking to initial hypotheses, their strategies evolve more effectively. For example, Slack initially developed a platform for gaming, but along the way pivoted to a “team communication tool” to meet customer needs, and the company grew rapidly as a result. Thus, if the initial strategy is not a good fit, a flexible pivot can be successful. Another example of a kind of adaptation is Amazon’s introduction of a “customer review feature,” which enabled the company to achieve sustained growth by continually improving the way it provided services based on customer feedback.
Thus, incorporating adaptation and pivoting into the strategy is the key to reinvigorating stalled projects and achieving sustainable growth. Strategies should continue to adjust based on market reactions, and that flexibility is a necessary element for maintaining competitive advantage.
(Citation： A Case Study: How Amazon Built Loyalty and Growth Through Customer Reviews How Amazon continues to improve the customer reviews experience with generative AI Mastering skills management: Procter & Gamble’s data-driven approach)
Celebrate and share
To reinvigorate stalled business innovation consulting projects, it is important to incorporate a process of “celebration” and “sharing” in the strategy. In particular, effective sharing of best practices is the key to fostering learning and growth throughout the organization and supporting sustainable growth. Sharing is an essential element for companies to evolve their strategies and achieve sustained success. By proactively sharing successful practices throughout the organization, other departments and teams can learn what makes them successful and apply them to their own projects. This strengthens overall organizational capacity and promotes flexibility and evolution of strategy. Sharing also accelerates the innovation cycle by encouraging employees and teams to have a positive attitude toward new ideas and approaches. For example, if a company introduces a new business model and it is successful, it is important to create a framework for sharing the results internally. By sharing success stories on a regular basis, other departments and teams can learn how to apply that success to their own projects. Specifically, it is effective to establish a framework for sharing the factors of success and how to apply them through regular meetings, internal reporting, and internal portals. Fostering such a culture of sharing will deepen strategic learning throughout the company and lead to the next stage of growth. Therefore, not only celebrating successful strategy adaptations and pivots, but also effectively sharing the results of these efforts will play an important role in reinvigorating the project. Proactively sharing best practices will deepen learning throughout the organization, enabling strategy evolution and sustainable growth.
To reinvigorate stalled business innovation consulting projects, it is essential for companies to take a new value creation perspective rather than sticking to existing value capture models. Strategies must remain flexible and continue to evolve in order to respond to market and technological evolution. In particular, it is important to be sensitive to changes in customer needs and technology, and to be willing to explore new value creation possibilities through experimentation and learning.
Furthermore, promoting learning and growth throughout the company by re-evaluating and pivoting the strategy process and sharing best practices is key to maintaining a sustainable competitive advantage. By embracing outside advice and improving strategy, companies can take a flexible and innovative approach to reinvigorate stalled projects and achieve sustainable growth. Through such efforts, companies can develop the ability to adapt to changing market conditions and continue to create new value.
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