talent in order to innovate and improve. The lean start-up approach
adopted by General Electric allows the company to act like a start-up,
by “unlearning perfection” in order to manage new product development—effectively disrupting the market with faster, smarter decisions.
Digital innovation is another area Nike has influenced for some time
now. Collaborating with Apple to create the Nike+ Fuelband allowed
Nike to merge fitness with smart mobile technology—a bold move in
uncertain times, and something competitor Adidas has been slow
to adopt.
“The unwillingness to let go of the old and look
beyond past and current successes is something
Bill Gates summed up perfectly, when he said:
“Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart
people into thinking they can’t lose.”
Past success doesn’t guarantee it in the future,
so we all have to be lifelong learners, beginning
with the CEO.”
Mike Grandinetti
Professor of Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Management, and Marketing
MBA, Yale School of Management
Professor Grandinetti is an
award-winning faculty member,
having received four Global
Teaching Excellence Awards from
Hult and been named Professor of
the Week by the Financial Times in
2013. He is a serial entrepreneur
with extensive experience working
with global start-ups and venture
capitalist firms.
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