Why you need a Chief Exploration Officer — CXO

Curious enough to ask “why”, brave enough to say “why not”

6 min readJul 17, 2020

Abstract

Only 1 idea out of a 100 will be successful. Rapid and flexible exploration processes ahead of Strategy are essential.

Risk must be mitigated ahead of strategy in a sandbox. Data must be collected from day 1 to remove uncertainty. Strategic decisions must be based on knowledge not assumptions. Early explorations are not optional.

Not all teams are comfortable with high level of uncertainties and rapid pivots. A dedicated conductor needs to guarantee overall orchestration, knowledge management and transition to execution.

Companies with solid portfolios of innovations mixing “quick incremental wins” & “long term stepping stones innovations” will be the only ones to survive. Welcome to the jungle.

What you’ll read

Innovation Scout Team — Set up nimble, expert, flexible and highly collaborative teams to explore ahead of the core and at pace
Continuous early Explorations — How to deliver diverse, small, risk-free and cost effective explorations in uncertain territories
Co-creation with external partners — Go further with your Ecosystem and leverage complementary expertise to multiply chances of success

Conclusion: Three pillars — 99% invisible, 100% essential

1/ Innovation Scout Teams

Rapid, nimble, expert, flexible and highly collaborative teams to explore ahead of the core and at pace.

The problem: Innovation Theatre. A few workshops, hackathons or other smoke mirrors will not ensure survival and may put companies at risk.

New adaptive mechanisms need to be pro-actively implemented. Small team(s) need to be constituted to explore at pace, ahead of the core. RRT (Rapid Response Teams) act as a “scouts”: they explore multiple directions and rapidly filter the best path to success. Key to success:

Speed — short time frames, no time to get attached to bad ideas
Volume — Only 1 idea out of 100 will be successful
Low cost —fail fast and cheap, no regrets
Increased risk appetite managed in a safe “sandbox” before commitment
Cross-collaboration — internal departments and external entities

Rapid Response Teams and the example of scouts in the Roman Army. RRTs operate like scouts in the Roman army. How inefficient would it be to send the whole army looking for new sources of water or a place to camp at night when on campaign? Leaders can not make decisions without knowledge. Small groups of scouts were therefore sent on fast horses in many directions to discover best water points, camping grounds, enemy positions etc. Commanders would then make informed decisions and action core army movements based on new informed strategy.

Risk free discovery— a few horsemen on fast horses
Knowledge based decisions — where is the closest source of water?
Abreast of market disruption — spot the enemy (or new enablers)!
Research “weak signal” — what does the future landscape look like?

Addendum (made thanks to my previous colleague and good friend Lubo Malo now working at Facebook): the point of this method is to include Intrapreneurs and co-create with them. It’s all about helping all employees to innovate and create a space for them to do so.

2/ Continuous explorations

Diverse, small, risk-free bets in uncertain territories to design the future

The problem: the word “exploration” has lost its meaning. Movement is confused with action. Random collection of data is not good enough.

Only 1 idea out of 100 will show some potential. Continuous learning loops are key to remain relevant in an evolving world. New disruptors, pandemics, technologies, human needs and behaviours require adaptability. Constant reinvention is the super power of those who thrive.

Principles for a future proof company:

Take smaller bets, to explore in many directions at pace
Use “disposable testings”, to get going without regrets
Investigate out of your comfort zone, for new business models
Implement new rhythm, for continuous experiments

How to:

A “risk free” dedicated space needs to be designed to move past Analysis Paralysis situations and allow teams to dare to get started
Scientific methods need to be followed to generate confidence in results and avoid false positives.
Knowledge is gold! Share it, collect it, store it! Do not let it become dust left to be collected by “time vacuum cleaners”
Use a “test template”: Be consistent to allows comparison between tests to build on one another over time
Impact on the user is the MAIN measure of success! Ideas are only as good as their execution.

Partners in and out — strong ecosystemPartners in and out — strong ecosystem

3/ Co-creation with external partners

Leverage external expertise and capabilities to multiply chances of success.

The problem: Exploring multiple avenues in parallel is not accessible to all. Resource are limited, risk appetite is scarce, Paralysis Analysis is common.

Multiply the amount of bets explored and transcend traditional Industry Boundaries by working with external partners. The pace of change is simply too rapid for a single company to explore all avenues itself. Partnering with complementary external parties can create strong win-win situations by allowing all to leverage each other’s strengths.

Types of complementarity:

Size: Established corporate & new startup
Phase: New business model exploration & startup looking to scale up
Strategy: “as is” investment & “grow” co-creation

Why?

Save resource — no more wasted projects due to predictable pivots
Mitigate risks — by working in isolated sandboxes outside classic channels
Reduce external threats — of long-term irremediable failure
Have a more engaged workforce — everybody likes clear objectives
Own the knowledge — goodbye expensive agencies
Own multiple baskets with multiple eggs

The most valuable companies in the world today are platforms: Apple, Amazon, Google, Facebook, and many other firms have built their fortunes by facilitating innovation across global ecosystems. “While pure platforms naturally launch with an external orientation, traditional pipeline firms must develop new core competencies — and a new mindset — to design, govern, and nimbly expand platforms on top of their existing businesses.” HBS Marshall W. Van Alstyne, Geoffrey G. Parker and Sangeet Paul Choudary

Three pillars — 99% invisible, 100% essential

The Head of Exploration is a dedicated conductor who guarantees the overall process generates valuable outcomes. This conductor ensure individuals collectively produce a harmonious sound and remain aligned throughout the performance.