(2019-02-15) Johnson Looking To Innovate Ditch The Startup Mentality And Adopt A Venture Capitalist Mindset

Sean Johnson: Looking to Innovate? Ditch the Startup Mentality and Adopt a Venture Capitalist Mindset. Dwyer and Johnson advise a portfolio approach to innovation: investing in a range of ideas based on key insights into opportunities and needs.

it isn’t only the giants who can afford to make these kinds of bets.

“You have to think of the outcome in the aggregate, which means you think of the capital and the budget in the aggregate, too,” says Sean Johnson. “You want to be highly selective and rigorous in the selection process, while at the same time saying ‘We’re fully planning on deploying all of this capital and we’re planning on spreading it across enough initiatives to make the numbers work from the volatility perspective.’”

...conducting a thorough evaluation of the pain points and opportunities in your industry. This involves talking to stakeholders from across the entire spectrum of the customer journey

when deciding which high-risk opportunities to invest in, it’s important to look at your organization’s strengths, priorities, and values for guidance.