Innovation demands disruption within companies

Eyal Malis, CEO of Tnuva Group, addressed attendees at the Maariv 2019 Leadership Conference in Herzliya. Malis addressed the topic of managing and leading large organizations in an era of innovation. “Enterprise innovation management is like a battlefield,” said Malis. “When you are viewing the battle with binoculars, sometimes what hurts you is what you don't see. Today's competition does not necessarily come from what you are seeing. ' Malis explained that there are two types of innovation. The first – which most organizations work at – is continuous innovation – in which companies attempt to identify consumer needs and answer them as quickly as possible. The second innovation is disruptive innovation, as was done in the world of cameras and cellphones. These two types of innovation require two different types of solutions. 'An organization needs to be structured and clear,” said Malis, “but you need chaos in order to drive innovation. How does one manage these two things together? One must be flexible and agile.” Can you take a large organization and make it as flexible as a high-tech company? You have to do this, because otherwise you will not survive.' Malis notes that this duality accompanies leaders in almost every decision that they will make. In order to prepare an organization, one must understand that the company needs to be divided into two distinct parts – the traditional enterprise, and the part that is dedicated to building the company ten years down the line. “This requires a leader who can build an organization with both traditional business DNA, who understands the nature of the business, and also someone who can be ready to make changes constantly, who can move forward. Both types are required,” says Malis. 'In addition,' notes Malis, 'the management team should include businesspeople alongside entrepreneurs. At Tnuva, we also realized that we must build a platform that will enable us to get to know our customers. Another important principle is partnership. Realize that you don't know everything. You must build a partnership with others. Established companies need to realize that they don't have all of the answers, and they have to be open to partnerships. 'Another important principle,' says Malis, “is called 'Smaller, Elsewhere'. A company is organized, and it sometimes rejects foreign entities. Sometimes you need to build an outside unit that is not related to the mother ship that may restrict it. Finally, remember that success is accompanied by failures. Celebrate the successes with your workers. No success comes without failures.”

Innovation demands disruption within companies

"At Tnuva, we realized that we must build a platform that will enable us to get to know our customers."

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Innovation demands disruption within companies

"At Tnuva, we realized that we must build a platform that will enable us to get to know our customers."

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