the entrepreneur: the power of thinking small

Kerry Foods

Cathy Kidd

#miicmo17

Entrepreneurship:

The Power of Thinking Small

o Cathy Kidd

o Kerry Foods

Many faces …

What I’ll share today:

o Myths & Truths

o What the theory tells us

o 3 Rules

o An alternative perspective

The Definition: Entrepreneur

Source: Harvard Business School

The Data: Start Ups

Source: US Bureaus of Labour Statistics

The Data: Survival rates

Source: Anna Vital, Funders & Founders.

The Darers: Famous Entrepreneurs

#1. Myth

Myths Truths

Entrepreneurship is having the

initiative to turn a good idea

into a profitable business

venture

i.e. you only need a solid idea

and the ability to cope with risk

Most start ups fail.

All successful entrepreneurs have failed.

Most entrepreneurs pivot from their original

idea.

#2. Myth

Myths Truths

Entrepreneurship only exists in

small, start-up type companies

i.e. all large companies require rigid

systems and controls

Almost 25% Fortune 1000 companies

are actively nurturing entrepreneurial

environments and mind sets, globally

i.e. there is an increasing number of

large Corporate Entrepreneurs

Google 20% Project

Founded in 1998, processes over 1 Bn data requests per day; 25,000 employees globally; US 24 Bn sales

Source: Google Website and Annual Report

Google X ‘Moonshot Factory’

Founded in 1998, processes over 1 Bn data requests per day; 25,000 employees globally; US 24 Bn sales

Source: Google Website and Annual Report

#3. Myth

Myths Truths

Entrepreneurship only exists in new

and emerging sectors

i.e. where fluid change is normalised

across the sector

Entrepreneurship can reinvigorate mature

sectors and industries.

In fact, stable mature categories are highly

attractive to entrepreneurial companies.

Scotch Whisky

Monkey Shoulder

Playing in a ‘fat, lazy category’?

“If you dislike change,

you’ll like irrelevance even less”

Eric Shinseki, US Army General

The Barriers: Thinking BIG v. Thinking Small

Cultural

Cultural focus on

consensus

thinking; risk

adversity; fear of

failure

Educational

Education system

focused on learning

by repetition vs.

critical thinking

Organisational

Very hierarchical

structures; no

incentives/rewards

for entrepreneurial

behaviors

Regulatory

Inefficient process

for launching new

businesses or

ideas, low ease of

doing business

So let’s take a look at the theory

Collaboration and sharing of ideas

Taking risks and celebrating failures

DIRECTION

Making entrepreneurship an explicit

strategic objective

Build it into the DNA of leadership

BEHAVIOR

ARCHITECTURE Entrepreneurial

Organisations Targeted incentives and

rewards

Flexible, rotational programs

Open workspaces

People Impact

Awards / prizes

Public recognition

Empowerment

Increased autonomy

Pay rises / Bonuses

Target driven compensation

What motivates

people?Psychologic

al Rewards

Satisfaction

Financial

Rewards

So, 3 ‘Simple’ Rules on Thinking Small

Rule #1: Keep it simple. Define the WHY.

Rule #2: Reward behaviours, not process.

Rule #3. Embrace failure. Obsess over learning.

Rule #1: Keep it simple. Define the WHY.

Source: Start with Why, Simon Sinek

Be clear on your front line

Source: The Founder’s Mentality, Zook & Allen

Stay connected to it, often.

It is the Day Job.

Tim Martin

• £1.5bn

• 37,000 staff

• 950 pubs

• Tim: 100 pub audits per month, 2 days per

week

• Head Office staff - 15 pub audits per month

• Bar staff – know 100 customer names

Rule #2. Reward behaviours, not process

“Our success will be largely affected by our

ability to attract and retain motivated

employees. Each must think like, and therefore

must actually be, an owner.’‘

Jeff Bezos, Amazon CEO

Standardised service is good.

Personalised service is better.

Employees are empowered to think

on their feet and respond to

customer needs.

#2. Reward behaviours, not process

Rule #3. Embrace failure

“I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots.

I’ve lost almost 300 games.

I’ve failed OVER and OVER and OVER again in my life ….

and that's why I succeed.”

Michael Jordan, NBA Hall of Famer.

Be obsessed with learning

The Data

Maternal-mortality rate, per 100,000 childbirths

A quick recap

Rule #1: Keep it simple. Define the WHY.

Rule #2: Reward behaviours, not process.

Rule #3. Embrace failure. Obsess over learning.

An alternative angle

High-learning environments

The Learning Pit

Source:: James Nottingham

So finally…

“Proving is Good

Improving is Better”

James Nottingham