Rosenverse
Unique challenges of innovation in enterprises

Log in or create a free Rosenverse account to watch this video.

Log in Create free account

100s of community videos are available to free members. Conference talks are generally available to Gold members.

Unique challenges of innovation in enterprises

Thursday, April 23, 2020 • Enterprise Community
Share the love for this talk
Unique challenges of innovation in enterprises
Speakers: Laura Klein
Link:

Summary

So many companies want to innovate in order to find new business models. But what happens when your company already has a business model? How do you disrupt your business model without destroying your business? Why would you even bother? Innovating inside an already successful company requires a new set of tools for overcoming internal resistance, not losing your current customer base, and knowing when to give up existing revenue streams. In this talk, Laura Klein, author of “Build Better Products” and “UX for Lean Startups” shares some tips for companies who want to find new business models before the old ones stop working.

Key Insights

  • Big companies want innovation but often resist necessary internal organizational changes.

  • Startups embrace uncertainty by 'jumping off the cliff,' whereas enterprises try to innovate mid-flight, making change more complex.

  • Stakeholders with vested interests in the status quo, such as skilled employees and departments, commonly resist innovation efforts.

  • Legal, HR, procurement, and marketing teams in large companies pose unique bureaucratic challenges to innovation not found in startups.

  • Securing dedicated, well-managed funding tied to reasonable learning milestones is critical for sustaining innovation in enterprises.

  • Executive-level buy-in, especially from the CEO, is essential to provide protection and resources for innovation efforts.

  • Big companies crave certainty, often requesting unrealistic plans like Gantt charts, which don’t align with the exploratory nature of innovation.

  • Involving all stakeholders early—including those likely to resist—reduces pushback and helps shape better solutions.

  • Incentive structures in large organizations often conflict with the risk-taking and uncertainty inherent in innovation.

  • Cultural resistance is rooted in people's identity and proven methods, not hatred for innovation; diplomacy and empathy are crucial.

Notable Quotes

"You are not the first person to try something like this, and they’re typically not looking forward to the next transformation."

"Nobody loves it when someone from another department shows up to tell people how to do their jobs better."

"Large companies demand certainty, but certainty is the opposite of innovation."

"Innovation is very much a team sport."

"Please don’t chop off that engine until the new one is built because you are not the only one on this plane."

"Lawyers, though nervous, can become some of the most reasonable people you deal with if you explain risks clearly."

"The incentive structure at a big company is set up to reward people for entirely different stuff than innovation requires."

"If you think innovation can happen without buy-in from the CEO, I would love to see that; I have not seen it work."

"People don’t actually hate innovation; they like their jobs and feel threatened by change."

"When things start to go bad, we’re going to pull the plug on it immediately—that helps build trust."

Ask the Rosenbot
Jeff Ephraim Bander
Eye Tracking Gamechanger: Why Smartphone Eye Tracking will Revolutionize Your UX Research
2022 • Advancing Research 2022
Gold
Jackie Ho
Lead Effectively While Preserving Team Autonomy with Growth Boards
2024 • Enterprise Experience 2020
Gold
Taylor Klassman
Shaping the Next Era of UX Research: Collaborative Forum
2025 • Advancing Research 2025
Gold
Sabrina Mach
How to Design Your Design Operating Model
2021 • DesignOps Summit 2021
Gold
Susan Simon-Daniels
War Stories LIVE! Susan Simon-Daniels
2020 • Advancing Research 2020
Gold
Gordon Ross
12 Months of COVID-19 Design and Digital Response with the British Columbia Government
2021 • Civic Design 2021
Gold
Jesse Zolna
Inviting the Whole Org to Come See For Yourself
2020 • Advancing Research 2020
Gold
Cheryl Platz
Merging Improv with Design
2019 • Enterprise Community
Bilan Hashi
The Tension Between Story Collecting and Story Telling in Research
2021 • Advancing Research 2021
Gold
Luke Wroblewski
Designing AI Applications
2026 • Rosenfeld Community
Dr. Jamika D. Burge
The Future of Research: Bridging the Gaps
2021 • Advancing Research Community
Ivana Ng
Level Up Your Program with ProductOps
2024 • Enterprise Experience 2020
Gold
JP Allen
Navigating the UX Tool Landscape
2021 • Advancing Research 2021
Gold
David Cronin
The GE Design System and Thoughts about Craft at Scale
2015 • Enterprise UX 2015
Gold
Anupama Dhareshwar
From blueprint to bot: Designing resilient AI-powered services
2025 • Advancing Service Design 2025
Gold
Connect with the Advancing Research Community
2026 • Advancing Research 2026
Gold

More Videos

Alexia Cohen

"The COP became the beating heart of our project, enabling quick credibility and community excitement."

Alexia Cohen Adriane Ackerman

Increasing Health Equity and Improving the Service Experience for Under-Served Latine Communities in Arizona

December 4, 2024

Marc Majers

"Interruptions reveal things like auto-save that you never thought about before."

Marc Majers Tony Turner

Interrupted UX - Add A Dose of Reality To Usability Testing

March 11, 2022

Jorge Arango

"VUCA stands for volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity."

Jorge Arango

Design as an Antidote to VUCA

May 9, 2019

Brenna Fallon

"Design your processes around learning. Celebrate especially when you fail—you often learn the most then."

Brenna Fallon

Learning Over Outcomes

October 24, 2019

Daniel Gloyd

"The Shakers’ principled approach to design was a precursor to Bauhaus’s form follows function and today’s user-centered values."

Daniel Gloyd

Warming the User Experience: Lessons from America's first and most radical human-centered designers

May 9, 2024

Sam Proulx

"If you build accessible shopping with these four keys, compliance with legal standards like WCAG will naturally fall into place."

Sam Proulx

Online Shopping: Designing an Accessible Experience

October 3, 2023

Kristin Skinner

"Every student has unique strengths that should be recognized and nurtured."

Kristin Skinner

Five Years of DesignOps

September 29, 2021

Denise Jacobs

"Silence is complicity. Inaction is support."

Denise Jacobs Nancy Douyon Renee Reid Lisa Welchman

Interactive Keynote: Social Change by Design

January 8, 2024

Roberta Dombrowski

"I was surprised how quickly I could launch a project and get six leads within just a few hours using User Interviews."

Roberta Dombrowski Lianna Aduana

5 Reasons to Bring your Recruiting in House

September 30, 2021