Vision and commitment are essential for innovation in established companies
- Chris Mulvey
- Jun 11, 2020
- 2 min read
Updated: May 24, 2021
Note: This was originally posted in a discussion as part of a Boston University Metropolitan College graduate-level course in Innovation with Professor Kathleen Park.
Established companies face challenges successfully innovating, but there are exceptions. Disney has remained innovative by intensely focusing on customers and staying true to its vision (Fitzpatrick, 2017). Samsung boosted innovation by heavily investing in staff, targeting innovations and fostering a culture of innovation (Shaughnessy, 2013).
In the early 2000’s, Disney was producing traditional animated films, while Pixar was reinventing the genre. Disney pivoted and went on a massive buying streak to completely makeover its brand. Purchases included Pixar, but also included Marvel and Star Wars, which pushed the brand into new territory (Berkowitz, 2020).
Similarly, Samsung recognized that it was not a market leader. Samsung pivoted and introduced a new innovation methodology based on a Russian methodology for problem solving, TRIZ (Shaughnessy, 2013).
Disney started as cartoons and grew into an entertainment empire, including films, toys, theme parks, television, a streaming network and now immersion experiences. Leveraging the Internet of Things, Disney is using theme park wristbands and smartphones to make their parks interactive to delight guests with personalized experiences (Stilt, 2020).
When Samsung first started, it competed against Toshiba in appliances, but now it has grown into a global leader in screen technology, TVs, batteries and chip design (Shaughnessy, 2013).
Innovation requires the right leadership and values, and CEO Larry Merlo sets the grand challenge for CVS Health to “change the trajectory of health care” and help “…people achieve their best health.” (Light, 2020)
CVS Health has focused on telemedicine and is remodeling stores into HealthHubs, which offer health and wellness products and services, advice and personalized care. Further, the company has shown leadership during the pandemic, waiving copays for COVID-19 hospitalizations and helping its employees through cash bonuses and other assistance (Light, 2020).
Similar to Disney and Samsung, CVS Health’s ability to innovate is a result of a clear vision and commitment throughout the organization.
References
Berkowitz, J. (2020, February 27). How Bob Iger’s Disney changed the entertainment industry forever—for better and worse. Fast Company.Retrieved Jun 10, 2020 from:
Fitzpatrick, T. (2017, July 31). How To Use The Same Principles As Disney to Keep Your Customers Happy. Rialto Marketing. Retrieved June 9, 2020 from:
Light, L. (2020, April 2). The 8 Ps of the CVS Plan to Win. Forbes. Retrieved June 10, 2020 from:
Narsalay, R., Brunswicker, S., Bagherzadeh, M. and Kim, J.W. Open Innovation at Samsung. Accenture. Retrieved June 9, 2020: https://www.accenture.com/t20170220t002617__w__/ph-en/_acnmedia/pdf-43/accenture-open-innovation-at-samsung.pdf
Shaughnessy, H. (2013, March 7). What makes Samsung such an innovative company? Forbes. Retrieved June 9, 2020 from:
Stilt, C. (2020, June 6). Inside Disney’s Internet of Things. Forbes. Retrieved June 10, 2020 from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/csylt/2020/06/06/inside-disneys-internet-of-things/#1cebfa857545
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