Why Talent is the Goliath Company’s Secret Weapon in 2020?
Large enterprises often want to know the magic behind startups that disrupt markets, with a mere fraction of the resources of their incumbents. Yet, at the same time, many startups fear large enterprises, which can be threatening as competitors – for good reason.
While there is a lot of writing about why the disruptors are successful, there is surprisingly little about how incumbents can harness their strategic assets, and actually turn the tables on startups, in the face of digital transformation.
This is why I appreciate Goliath’s Revenge, recently published by Todd Hewlin and Scott Snyder, which delves into this very topic.
As an entrepreneur who has also served many of the largest organizations in the world, I get a chance to interact with both dominant incumbent players and startups every day, so I experience many of the concepts in Goliath’s Revenge in my work.
In particular, the “Talent over Technology” chapter discusses how talent can be the incumbents’ secret weapon for market disruption.
Structural: Unlocking Data to Put People at the Center of Innovation
“To remain ahead of the curve, business leaders will need to make talent and culture the centerpiece of their innovation strategy, with the understanding that the people, and not just the technology, will be the true differentiators and key to their success in the digital future.”
- Scott Snyder, co-Author of Goliath’s Revenge
Structural’s clients know that they must harness the power of data and put the people at the center of innovation and transformation to gain a competitive edge.
- We exist so our clients can unleash the potential of people and teams with the data already present across business systems (from CRM and project systems to messaging platforms and HR platforms)
- Our clients use Structural to create stunningly rich profiles of every person in a team or organization and then use these profiles to connect the enterprise
- We apply intelligent search, real-time insight, and data science to these profiles so everyone in an organization can find the help and connections they need to solve problems, close deals, and promote collaborative innovation
My Favorite Quotes from Goliath’s Revenge
Value talent over technology through internal development and mobility:
“Your company must provide career paths that allow talented young employees to experience a number of roles in a short time frame.”“42% of millennials will leave their jobs if they are not learning fast enough.”
“Consider a broader pool of internal and external talent in staffing decisions.”
“The people best positioned to rethink your current business are the employees closest to the process and experiences that most need improvement.”
Focus on Transformation:
“You must concentrate your efforts on the step-change customer outcome that is most likely to deliver profitable growth for your company and an upward career trajectory for you.”
Value of Existing Customer Knowledge and Relationships:
“For most digital disruptors, nearly every dollar of revenue growth is coming from selling new customers, while in established companies of all sizes, new deals within long-established customer relationships account for the majority of revenue growth.”
What We Hear from Clients about Structural that Aligns with Goliath’s Revenge
“With 60 minutes of effort by our company, we can now offer our people better insight and connections into their colleagues than ever before.”
“Our people can connect to more quickly align our talent with existing client needs we capture more opportunities and faster than before.”
“Our people reach out more effectively into the organization to make the connections they need to solve problems and pursue opportunities.”
“Structural is a gift to our young employees who want to learn and make their own connections across the organization so they are able to learn and find career mobility.”
About the Author:
Scott Burns is the co-founder and CEO of Structural. Previously, he co-founded GovDelivery, which grew to 250 people and had two successful exits. It has been Scott's personal and professional mission to inspire and enable organizations and unleash the potential of people and teams.
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/smburns/
Twitter: @smburns
