Unlocking the Customer Value Chain: How Decoupling Drives Consumer Disruption

by Thales S. Teixeira

one option to fix this might be to tie a portion of your old-guard managers’ bonus structure to new areas and initiatives that they helped develop using their own budgets. Such a move would prompt employees who aren’t directly tasked with leading new innovations to place bets on new initiatives in the company. With their own resources in the game, managers would feel more committed to the new initiatives, and more inclined to support them. One thing is certain: the usual tactics companies deploy to spark innovation—including motivational pep talks by the CEO, articulation of a beautiful vision, and allocation of resources to innovation—will all fail if the right incentives don’t exist to propel collaboration among executives and managers on the customer’s behalf.