EkaLore is a big fan of Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works. We wrote a piece stating that every enterprise should have its own Skunk Works.
The Skunk Works changed the world by running by their own rules and created pieces of engineering no one thought possible in record time and under budget. We’ve also explored the concepts of what we’ve termed “Alien Invaders” overwhelming competitors who appear out of nowhere (from another market category).
We put up an earlier essay on the need for enterprises to create their own 21st Century Skunk Works.“Tiny Aliens” (or even regular size) are an example of enterprise organizations (or smaller) that can rapidly enter and take a disproportionate share of the profit in a marketplace
The objectives for the Skunk Works at Lockheed are similar to those of Tiny Aliens:
1. A small group of highly motivated people with the relevant knowledge, expertise, and skills.
2. A solid set of requirements (specifications) on what is to be accomplished.
3. A schedule and defined resources.
4. A fanatical focus on doing the practical and possible – and not doing anything not in focus.
5. Rapid learning, feedback/quality, and a focus on essentials – and not doing everything desirable
6. Good communications with stakeholders
7. Important work (learning, process, and details) must be recorded – must haves for the future.
8. Information collection, assessment/evaluation, and willingness to change-while-learning.
The team can be a startup, an intrapreneurial compartment, or a team directed to a special focus.
A key perspective: The only difference between a Tiny Alien and encountering a Global Alien is scale. Projects executed with these objectives will deliver with hundreds of people, millions of dollars, and hugely complex deliverables. A Global Alien can create a new marketplace or conquer an old one by disruption.
Thus, Tiny Aliens and Global Aliens are in the here-and-now. If you have these teams, do they have the right objectives, resources, and focus? If you need to create a Tiny Alien, EkaLore’s framework provides guidance for getting a team pointed and working.
If you’d like to read other examples of Alien Invasions head over to www.ekalore.com/alien-invaders
If you’re wondering how to counter an Alien Invasion of your marketspace, or if you are interested in entering another space, set up a free consultation with a Senior Analyst at EkaLore – www.ekalore.com/contact
Commentaires