Tree Frogs and Balanced Innovation

I marveled at the balance of the little grey tree frog that had one toe on a leaf, one on a branch and a third on the window.  He carefully supported himself on these three spots to remain upright while hanging in mid-air.  It reminded me of the dynamics organizations undergo as they grow and evolve.

As companies move to new markets, mature their operations, or simply get more sales, they must maintain a proper balance within their organizations.  On a simple level, the priority of the three main areas – operational efficiency, innovation leadership, and customer relations – have to be weighted appropriately according to the situation in the company.  You need to focus on one area, but maintain an adequate level of involvement the others.  The tree frog would be dangling if only one toe was holding on.

If we look at young life science technology companies, they are usually heavily focused on innovation — being close to customers is not a priority, nor is having streamlined operations.  As the organization grows it needs to shift its balance with more weight towards the other two areas.  Excel spreadsheets are fine when there are 12 customers, but with a hundred, more efficient and formal systems need to be in place.

Another area of shifting balance is when companies move to new markets, with either new or current products.  A common scenario is when the instrument company decides to sell to application-focused customers in areas such as food safety, drug manufacturing, or environmental monitoring.  The companies soon realize that they need to be much more closely aligned to the customer’s world than with their own technology.

If, for example, we look at process analytical technology (PAT) applications in pharmaceuticals, a whole new set of requirements comes into play.  Not only must the instrument perform well, but the supplier must also have proper quality systems and lots of other internal controls on the products.  Without these, they can’t play in the PAT sandbox.  They must shift their balance.

So while the current situation may be just fine, when a company is growing, a keen awareness of balance is needed.  It is important to know whether increased focus on the customer or improved innovation will provide the support for growth.  Like the tree frog with a toe on each surface, having the right balance in the company will keep you upright and growing.