Igniting New Growth – Aristotle’s Two Worlds, Part 2

Pascal Dennis, co-author of (Harnessing Digital Disruption)

The future belongs to the ambidextrous, those who can both protect the core business with OpEx/Lean & ignite new Growth with Digital methods. It has taken me years of Innovation sprints to understand what new Growth is all about.

In my previous piece I described Aristotle’s famous ‘two worlds’ framework:

The World of things that cannot be other than they are – (‘Necessity’): This realm includes the:

• Fundamental laws that govern the universe, like the laws of Physics, Chemistry & math, and
• Laws of logic e.g. the law non-contradiction

These truths are considered to be eternal & unchanging.

The World of things that can be other than they are – (‘Contingency’): This realm encompasses things that change unpredictably. These include:

• Consumer taste, fashion, style
• Public opinion, politics, the weather

Some people call this a VUCA world – Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous.

What does this have to do with business?

OpEx/Lean belong in the world of things that cannot be otherwise, the world of necessity. A production line designed in accord with the principles of the Toyota Production System & run by a well-trained team will perform in a predictable way.

Innovation, by contrast, belongs to the world of things that can be otherwise, the world of contingency. Igniting new Growth entails answering questions like:

• Who is the customer?
• What does the customer value?
• Why does the customer by, or not buy, from us?

But often, the customer does not know they are a customer, does not know what they value, and does not know why they buy from you or not. People routinely say they love your offering and will happily buy – and then don’t! When you ask, ‘Why did you say you’d buy it?’, they’ll often answer, ‘I don’t know.’ And if you ask again a few days later, you’ll get a different answer! Classic world of contingency move.

I’m sympathetic to the plight of senior leaders. They usually come from the world of Necessity – but are asked to ignite new Growth – in the world of Contingency! As a result,

• New product failure rates remain very high (90% or more), and
• Customer needs remain unsatisfied

I’m a Toyota-trained engineer; I thought I understood the Growth questions I posed earlier. But it has taken me years of Innovation sprints with my sensei & co-author, Laurent Simon, to understand what new Growth is all about. My personal mission is to help senior leaders understand it too.

Best wishes,

Pascal Dennis

E: pascal.dennis@leansystems.org

Note: To learn more about my executive mentoring programs: Exec 101 - Protecting the Core Business, and Exec 201 – Infighting New Growth, feel free to drop me an e-mail.




In case you missed our last few blogs... please feel free to have another look…

Igniting New Growth – Aristotle’s Two Worlds
Innovation Does Not Begin with Technology
Getting the Right Things Done in a Digital World
Igniting New Growth - My Improbable Journey, Part 2