Technology companies tend to focus on their products and technical issues, missing many of the people-centred issues that can make or break their businesses. This overview of 3 potentially fatal pitfalls also offers suggestions on how to avoid them.

1. Does your company have what it
takes to avoid 3 common and
potentially fatal pitfalls?

2. 3 pitfalls that should keep you up at night
• Neglecting your
business model
• Failing to understand
that innovation is
really about change
management
• Forgetting that any
business is ultimately
about people who you
want to inspire
Photo: iStock

3. Pitfall 1: Neglecting your business model
unique value proposition =
product/service/ideology +
revenue/pricing/profit model
ability to generate
demand through
relationships
ability to serve the
demand through
sourcing/manufacturing
and distribution
product
innovation

4. Photo: http://www.josephegan.co.uk/Anamorphic-Typography

5. Photo: http://www.josephegan.co.uk/Anamorphic-Typography

6. Thomas Edison
understood.
Photo: Wikipmedia Commons

7. • An incumbent industry with much higher capitalization
• Infrastructure and regulation adapted to existing
technologies
• Close relationships between existing companies and
decision-makers
• Edison’s science was criticized as shoddy and
unworkable
• Disproportionate licensing fees and costs were levied
• The technology was immature and results variable
Compared to gas, electricity faced many of the
same barriers that new ag technologies face today
Photo: Klearchos

8. Cheap and practical
substitute for
illuminating gas
Same wire brings
power and heat
Run an elevator,
sewing machine or
other electrical
contrivance
Heat may cook your
food
Electric Light
Company
incorporated to
develop any
electrical invention
Prototype
demonstrated in
financial district
(near newspaper
offices)
Insisting on central
power generation
reduced upstream
innovation…
…but paved the
way for extensive
downstream
innovation
Edison explained
the unprecedented
benefits of
electricity…

9. Plans to run
wires through
gas pipes and
light fixtures
Dim bulbs to
mimic the
brightness of
gas light
Now pointless
lampshade
retained
Insisted on
burying wires
Used meters to
measure usage
despite no
useful models
…at the same time he tried
to make it seem as familiar
as possible

10. 1.Make it familiar enough to be understood and used.
2.Make it different enough that it is not constrained by the current
system.
3.Gradually unveil the potential of the innovation.
Edison’s lessons for successfully
introducing innovation

11. Pitfall 2: Failing to
understand that
innovation is really
about change
management
Photo: fcartoons.de

12. 1 - “I don’t understand it”
Photo: iStock

13. 2 - “I’m not
equipped to do it”

14. 3 –
“I don’t
like it”
Photo: HubSpot

15. 4- “I don’t like you”
Photo: Dr. Sophia Yin

16. Case study: Monsanto comes to Europe
I don’t
understand it
Solid technical arguments for the whys and wherefores of genetically
modified organisms for productivity and environmental reasons
I’m not
equipped
Much of the technical know-how is built-in.
I don’t like it
The level of fear related to a series of food crises in Europe seems
to have been overlooked or underestimated. This was compounded
by a general level of risk averseness that is higher in most European
cultures than in the USA. There are strong cultural attachments in
Europe to traditional foods. Consumer and environmental groups
have a lot of political influence.
I don’t like
you
Like McDonald’s, Monsanto is a highly visible symbol of a certain
perception of the United States and its economic hegemony. Given
cultural differences, Monsanto’s excessive confidence in its
technology was taken by many as arrogance.

17. Speak to the whole person…
Pathos
Logos
Ethos
…and to all the people who
might influence your value chain

18. Companies at
this conference
are no exception
to the rule.
Source: Text analysis of websites of 32 companies attending the New Ag conference

19. Choices Strategy
Pitfall 3: Forgetting that any business is
ultimately about people
Feedback loop

20. Photos: www. http://centralastronomyclass.pbworks.com/ and windows2universe.org/
Stakeholders can
help you see new
possibilities

21. How
organic
farming
built a
brand on
ideology
Conventional agriculture
Sustainable
agriculture
Organic
agriculture
Myth of the idealized
agrarian past
Model: Cultural Strategy Group. Photo: NASA

22. Source: McKinsey and original research
10
4
10
7
18 How aligned is your
positioning with what
B2B customers want
to know?
17
13
15
3
21
1
11
1
Number of New Ag participating
companies that mention this
theme on their website (out of 32
analyzed)

23. Active listening can help protect you
from the 3 pitfalls
• When deciding whether to engage in social media many
companies overlook their potential for monitoring rather than
broadcasting
• Think about models of open innovation and
co-creation to broaden your perspectives
• Pay attention to cultural trends for hints at how
to improve your competitive positioning and
differentiate your company’s offerings
Photo: iStock

24. Kristen Sukalac
Consulting Partner
Prospero & Partners
kristen@prospero.be
@Ksukalac
fr.linkedin.com/in/kristensukalac/