Innovating the Future
Based on a framework successfully deployed over the last two decades, ClusterBridge’s “Innovating the Future” is a proven facilitated process used to support clients throughout the complete business development cycle.
The "Innovating the Future" framework allows clients to quickly and effectively identify new, viable and profitable business development projects and build a business development roadmap.
During the 3-phase “Innovating the Future” process ClusterBridge can provide proven tools and methodologies. Experience has shown that the tools themselves are less important than the way they are used, and certainly less important than the commitment of the team to the overall process. Ideally ClusterBridge supports clients during all phases.
World of Opportunities
A “World of Opportunities” project results in a list of business development opportunities and a mapping of the competencies and capabilities required to exploit them.
Using a creative and pragmatic “Outside-In” approach the team typically undertakes a number of activities:
- Define the “Habitat” in which the company exists and maps out all the potential players operating in that Habitat, from end-users, customers, competitors, collaborators, suppliers, as well as other influencers. Often this results in the drawing of an “industry value chain” that includes new markets, segments, customers and partners
- Create transparency over how the client’s key customers (existing and potential new) invest, procure and select suppliers, what they are looking for from those suppliers and partners. This can include a “Voice of the Customer” (VOC) study
- Map out all the relevant players in the Habitat against the opportunities and customer needs, allowing the required “winning competencies” to be identified
- Identify specific viable opportunities that can be created and exploited. By using a SWOT approach these opportunities will also include those built from enhancing and leveraging existing strengths, as well as proactively overcoming evident weaknesses and threats
- Confirm the relevant competencies to be built or reinforced, assets and resources to be developed, and investments to be committed. This will be taken into account during the evaluation of the opportunities in the next phase
Roadmap to Success
In this phase opportunities are screened, evaluated and prioritized, and a “platform roadmap” (build-up and integration of technologies, products, services, other competencies) is defined. A key deliverable from the second phase is a documented business case to which the team can commit.
Using proven tools and approaches the team will:
- Use a “Fit-Attractiveness” methodology to evaluate and prioritize opportunities. This includes defining the criteria used to assess the fit to the existing business and the attractiveness
- Develop a description of the platform of technologies, products, services and other competencies required to exploit the opportunities and meet the relevant customer and partner needs
- Build the business and investment case
If exploiting the opportunities requires the acquisition of new competencies, assets and resources ClusterBridge will prepare a separate proposal for M&A support.
Robust & Reliable Business Model
With an approved business case the efforts are focused on development of the implementation and change roadmap.
The team defines how the client will work with and serve customers and partners, and the necessary design of the business model and operational organization. Based on the business case the team will define the metrics that will be used to manage the development and operation of the new business.
Using proven tools and approaches the team will:
- Develop and agree the strategy to exploit the new opportunities and build business with identified customers and partners
- Define how the company intends to interface with customers and partners drives the design of the company’s business model, competencies and organization, and highlights changes, improvements and investments to be made
- The team translates this into an action program and agrees on how the implementation progress will be measured, monitored and managed in line with the business case developed at the end of the previous phase
Deliverables from this phase typically include an action program, responsibilities clearly assigned to team members, and the tools and approaches used to measure progress.