Jack Welch once said one of the keys to business success was to “change before you have to”. The business landscape is littered with examples of people and organisations that have rested on their prior successes only to realise too late that the market has moved, new technologies have been introduced or even that their core product has just fallen out of favour with their once-loyal customer base. Successful companies strive to make reinvention and transformation a core business strategy to ensure they are always the ones leading change, rather than be the ones chasing it. In this book Josh Linkner sets out a framework by which organisations can seek to intergrate a reinvention mindset and create structured, productive disruption that leads to ongoing business success. Chapter 1: Disrupt or Be Disrupted “As a leader, it’s your responsibility to prioritize reinvention. If your organisation has become intoxicated by its own success, your job is to infuse at every level the same creative hunger that launched it in the first place. The market no longer leaves room for me-too players, a principle that applies to both companies and individuals. Remarkable category-of-one products, services, and processes are the driving force of our fist-fighting economy. The choices are clear: disrupt, or be disrupted. Global markets and rapidly evolving technologies have turned the rules for winning upside down. Hard skills born in the Industrial Revolution, including manufacturing expertise, strong customer service skills, and even accounting excellence, are now outsourced or allocated to technology. As a result, these once-prized skills have become merely the ante to play. Today’s victors are turning their winning trump cards in the margins. Creativity is the new, most effectively sustainable competitive advantage; it’s the one thing that no company can outsource. That makes disruptive innovation your most valuable natural resource, even though it isn’t displayed on the balance sheet.” Chapter 2: Embrace the Reinvention Ethos Companies that are successful over the long term tend to embrace a disruptive mindset as part of their culture. Linkner identifies the eight most important principles of that reinvention mindset: 1. Let go of the past. Past successes can be a great teacher but can also constrain our future thinking. 2. Encourage courage. The best organisations celebrate and encourage new ideas. 3. Embrace failure. Failure is an essential part of innovation and reinvention, and great organisations embrace this philosophy. 4. Do the opposite. Sometimes the best course of action is to do what others are afraid to do. 5. Imagine the possibilities. Take the time to disengage and let the mind wander to explore what is possible. This is where reinvention is borne. 6. Put yourself out of business. Don’t let the competition drive you out of business, chase new ideas, products and services that make your current offer (and that of your competitors) obsolete. 7. Reject limits. Every entrepreneur has been told what they can’t do – instill in your business a “no-limits” mindset. 8. Aim beyond. Always seek to anticipate future trends and changes in your markets. Chapter 3: Cannibalize Your Own Product Many companies resist reinvention with a mindset that says “We can’t do that. We can’t cannibalize our core business!” The Polaroid Corporation successfully introduced “instant” photography over traditional film photography, but after reinventing the photographic process-narrowed its focus and rejected further innovations, to the point where it missed the chance to be at the forefront of the digital image revolution. Linkner suggests organisations need to H.O.S.E their competition by providing new products or services that are: 1. High value: solve a customer problem in a meaningful way. 2. Original: unique so it stands out from others. 3. Significant: break the mold, incremental often just isn’t enough. 4. Emotionally charged: customers will line up to buy if you ignite their passion. Chapter 4: Retool Your Operations Reinvention isn’t always about new products and services. It can just as easily be about new ways of doing things. Even while delivering the same products and services, organisations should take the time to try to identify ways to overhaul its processes, systems, procedures, rules and approaches. Changes and improvements to the way things are done can have equally positive disruptive effects on your customers and the market. Toyota surpassed GM and Dell surpassed IBM not with product innovation but by a commitment to operational innovation - completely overhauling the way a company does business in an effort to create a significant competitive advantage. Chapter 5: Create Vivid Experiences Aligned with operational innovation is the opportunity to create a memorable experience for customers. Where products are fundamentally unchangeable how can you improve the experience your customers have when they engage with your company? What are the touchpoints for your customers – from the initial contact through to ordering, delivery, invoicing and ongoing support? What is the best version of the customer experience you can create? And how do you ensure you deliver that consistently across your organisation? Linkner observes that even when you get it 99% right, it’s the 1% that people will most remember. Chapter 6: Tell a Memorable Story When you position your company, communicate to various audiences and brand your organisation, you’re telling a story. Storytelling should be more than a marketing pitch – it’s about creating an overall narrative for your organisation that explains what you do, what you stand for and why all your stakeholders should engage. Linkner provides a number of “archetype” storylines that can be adopted by businesses and he also provides some more fundamental principles that can help business leaders reinvent their communications style: 1. Keep it simple. Ditch the jargon and the business speak. 2. Make it clear. Be direct, clear and unambiguous. 3. Speak to your audience, not yourself. Use language your audience understands. 4. Keep it brief. Get to the point. 5. Make it memorable. Tell a story that engages the audience. 6. Activate with action. Know the outcome you want and lead your audience to that end-point. Chapter 7: Overhaul Your Culture A creative culture is at the core of any organisation seeking to develop a reinvention mindset. Linkner identifies six common threads of cultural brilliance: 1. Fuel passion. Create and communicate a business purpose that encourages your level of passion in everyone. 2. Hunt and kill assumptions. Every assumption should be continually identified, challenged and discarded to enable a clear view of possible futures. 3. Never stand still. Reinvention is not a one-off exercise - it’s about continually looking for ways to advance and improve. 4. Embrace oddball ideas. Best results are often achieved by embracing and refining odd-ball, far-fetched ideas. 5. Challenge the status quo. Disruptive cultures have a healthy sense of irreverence for traditional thinking and attitudes. 6. Fight to win. Effectively engaging your staff to develop innovative and new ways to win business can unleash their best performance. Chapter 8: Reimagine Your Customer Many businesses focus on only one core set of customers and neglect to continually seek new customer opportunities and markets. While this may not be an easy task for many traditional manufacturing businesses it does not mean that it should be avoided or dismissed. Chapter 9: Transform Your Career As with business transformation, a similar reinvention can be undertaken at a personal level to improve career prospects, work/life balance and relationships. Linkner advocates the development of a Personal Reinvention Plan involving: • Set a clear vision • Do a gap assessment • Identify costs and sacrifices • Find mentors • Conduct a premortem • Build accountability markers. • Track, measure, refine Chapter 10: Forge Your Legacy Reinventing yourself and reinventing your company are not mutually exclusive. Linkner proposes that by improving yourself you’ll add greater value to those around you and thereby receive more personal and career success. He advocates considering a focus on seven core traits that will enhance and maintain optimal leadership performance 1. Empathy. 2. Compassion. 3. Courage. 4. Positivity. 5. Discipline. 6. Creativity. 7. Grit. Conclusion “Through clear principles and examples, Josh Linkner makes it easier for anyone to reinvent their brand, company or even career. The Road to Reinvention creates a template to understand the critical leadership challenge of the decade: Disrupt or be disrupted.” —David Butler, VP, innovation and entrepreneurship, the Coca-Cola Company 27 Book Review – The Road to Reinvention