The Game-Changer: How You Can Drive Revenue and Profit Growth with Innovation [Anglais] [Relié]

Authors A.G. Lafley and Ram Charan in "The Game-Changer" make the case that innovation - the conversion of a new idea into revenue and profits - does not have to follow conventional wisdom that small companies are better innovators because they are nimbler and have a more coherent sense of purpose. Lafley and Charan alternate throughout the book with Lafley, the operating executive, providing the "how' in how he turned around Proctor & Gamble by operationalizing innovation, and Charan, the organizational and business researcher, providing the "why" of its spectacular success.

Lafley admits to some truth in the small company stereotype but he believes larger companies can be just as innovative as small companies, if not more so. Big companies have significant advantages - scale, management capability, and resources to take risks - that should facilitate innovation. But these advantages are wasted due to layers of management that stretch decision cycle times, internal vested interests to maintain the status quo, and the lack of a growth-through-innovation process.

"Game-Changers" outlines the principles(1) of innovation Lafley developed, the how and why innovation changed P&G's game, and the steps Lafley took to operationalize innovation which has led to the consumer-industry's leading organic sales growth rate. He believes that a disciplined innovation process, like that at P&G, can be central to growth for any company, in any industry. He cautions, though, that one size does not fit all, and each company must adapt the principles to their unique circumstances.

Having spent the past 20 plus years in Silicon Valley shepherding innovative medical technologies to the market, I can personally attest that the acceleration of change today is unprecedented. There are many more opportunities today for teams like mine to disrupt and create obsolescence for larger companies. It appears that Lafley and Charan have got the principles right, and P&G appears to have gotten their application right. The remaining questions are: Will this be sustainable? Transferable? Will game-changers(2) become the next "big thing" in operational excellence?

Footnotes:
1. The principles of innovation include: motivating purpose and values; stretching goals; choiceful strategies; unique core strengths; enabling structures; consistent and reliable systems; a courageous and connected culture; and inspiring leadership.
2. A game-changer is: a visionary strategist who alters the game his business plays or conceives an entirely new game; a creator who uses innovation as the basis for sustaining profitable organic growth and consistently improving margins; a leader who understands that the consumer or customer - not the CEO - is boss; a catalyst who uses innovation to drive every element of business from strategy to organization, and from budgeting and resource allocation to selecting, rewarding, and promoting people; an integrator who sees innovation as an integrated end-to-end process, not a series of discrete steps; a breaker of chains of commoditization who creates differentiated and value-added brands and businesses through innovation; and a hardheaded humanist who sees innovation as a social process and understands that human interaction - how people talk and work together - is the key to innovation, not just technology.

I purchased the audio CDs to listen to in the car. It's a four or five CD set. I stopped after the second CD as it got very repetitve.

Most of it is Business 101. Get close to the customer, enable your org to innovate, leverage the existing brand when innovating.....that's about it. The rest of the book is a good run down on Proctor and Gamble. If you want to learn a lot about consumer marketing and branding then there is some good stuff in it.

I started my career at P&G in brand management. And while the learning was extraordinary, I always felt the company was old, bureaucratic and stodgy. I had the opportunity to work with A.G. Lafley quite a bit in my first assignment, as we were both in laundry brands. He always seemed to me outside the traditional Procter mold--wicked smart but a thoughtful, open-minded and really nice guy.

Fast forward 25 years and what A.G. has done as CEO is incredible. Procter is one battleship that I didn't think could turn, much less on a dime. But reading Game-Changer one begins to appreciate what leadership and commitment can do, even in the largest and most traditional organizations.

Game-Changer is an enlightening read. Lafley and legendary author, consultant and scholar Ram Charan often tag-team the writing, each bringing a unique point of view. Sometimes this gets awkward, as the P&G story is interrupted by examples from other companies (which skew a bit from India, making a noticeably unusual sample). But that's relatively minor criticism compared to the richness of the transformation story at Procter, which has become a leader in commitment to innovation and has reaped significant financial rewards as a result.

The beauty of Game-Changer is that, unlike many business books, it is relevant to both mid-sized companies and corporate giants. For the Fortune 500, P&G's experience is a powerful example that radical and dynamic change is possible (see also GE, Whirlpool and IBM). For smaller companies, change is a lot easier, and the P&G model is full of ideas for potential initiatives.

This is a quick and easy read that never comes across as arrogant or self-serving. It does present itself as an arresting example of a new era in corporate management. I would have never guessed that would have come from Procter & Gamble. In fact, here's the thing. P&G has had a legendary track record over its 170-year history. But frankly, it was never considered a great place to work, at least for the brand management folks. Even more impressive than the reignited financials, the company's commitment to innovation and change make it sound like a really terrific place for a smart marketer to ply his/her trade. Now that's an innovation that will pay long-term dividends.
Bill Aho, www.atclevel.typepad.com