How to Build a Culture of Innovation

Building a stronger culture of innovation is a goal of most leaders today. It’s a worthwhile aspiration, but progress toward it is elusive. This is due in part to the expression itself, a juxtaposition of two words (“culture” and “innovation”), each of which is vague and ambiguous; put them together and the problem is compounded. David Duncan introduces a new – and precise – definition for what a culture of innovation really is and the factors that create one, and applies it to real-world examples to explain why some organizations are more (or less) innovative than others. Throughout, he engages participants in a discussion to apply these ideas in their own context, and helps them to identify concrete actions they can take to make their own organizational cultures more innovative.

How to Understand What Business You Are Really In

“What business are you in?” Seems like a straightforward question, but how leaders answer has profound implications for how their organizations compete, innovate and grow. And yet many fall into the trap of defining themselves solely from the perspective of the products and services they sell – a myopic view that leads to flawed decision-making and leaves companies vulnerable to disruption. In this highly interactive presentation based on his forthcoming book “Competing Against Luck,” coauthored with Clayton Christensen, David Duncan uses real-world stories to illustrate the power of defining the business you are in through the lens of the “jobs” your customers are trying to get done in their lives. This shift in perspective changes everything, expanding opportunities for growth and innovation, revealing who your true competitors are, and clarifying which emerging trends matter most. Throughout, Duncan leads participants to apply Jobs to be Done thinking to uncover fresh insights about their own businesses, and leaves them with specific actions to further implement these ideas.

Competing Against Luck: Making Innovation a Discipline, Not a Gamble

With the ever-increasing pace of change in today’s world, innovation as a driver of near-term competitive success and long-term performance is more important than ever. While most leaders would agree, few are satisfied with their innovation results. Despite enormous levels of spend on research, development and marketing, increasingly sophisticated innovation processes, and an army of academics, consultants and other gurus selling advice, success still appears far too dependent on the seemingly unpredictable behavior of both customers and competitors. In other words – on luck.

What’s missing, believes David Duncan, is an answer to the question that defines the quest for innovation success: what really causes a customer to purchase and use a product or service? Drawing on his groundbreaking book, coauthored with Harvard Business School Professor Clayton Christensen, Duncan contends that customers don’t buy products and services; rather, they hire them to solve important jobs that arise in their lives. Would-be innovators must therefore seek first to understand a customer’s jobs, and then use that knowledge to develop solutions that nail the job perfectly.

In this highly interactive session, Duncan explains how to use Jobs to be Done thinking and methods to greatly enhance your success rates, identify entirely new growth opportunities, and drive enduring competitive advantage. He shares fascinating stories* of companies that have done this with great results, many drawn from his own experience working directly with leaders of some of the world’s most iconic companies. Throughout, he engages participants on how to apply the Jobs to be Done approach in their own contexts, enabling them to make real progress during the session and to leave with a clear set of action steps for unleashing the power of jobs in their organizations.

*Stories selected can be customized to the interests of a particular audience, including for any industry and for both B2C and B2B companies.