The Wide Lens

About the Author

Ron Adner has dedicated over a decade to exploring the complexities of innovation and its successes and failures. As an award-winning professor of strategy at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College and previously at INSEAD, Adner has influenced numerous organizations with his insights. His expertise is frequently showcased in publications such as the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, Forbes, and the Harvard Business Review. Adner's dedication to understanding innovation ecosystems is evident in his seminal work, The Wide Lens: A New Strategy for Innovation.

Main Idea

In The Wide Lens, Ron Adner challenges the traditional approach to innovation, which often focuses solely on individual success. He introduces the concept of the innovation ecosystem, emphasizing the importance of understanding and managing the dependencies within this ecosystem. Through a series of compelling case studies and practical frameworks, Adner illustrates how companies can navigate these complexities to multiply their chances of success.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction: The Innovation Blind Spot
2. Why Things Go Wrong When You Do Everything Right
3. Co-Innovation Risk: Seeing the Real Odds When You Don’t Innovate Alone
4. Adoption Chain Risk: Seeing All the Customers Before Your End Consumer
5. Mapping the Ecosystem: Identifying Pieces and Places
6. Roles and Relationships: To Lead or Follow in the Innovation Ecosystem?
7. The Right Place and the Right Time: When Does the Early Bird Get the Worm?
8. Changing the Game: Reconfiguring the Ecosystem to Work for You
9. Sequencing Success and Multiplying Your Odds of Success
10. A Closing Wish

Introduction: The Innovation Blind Spot

Ron Adner begins by addressing a critical question: How can companies that excel in identifying customer needs, delivering excellent innovations, and beating their competition still fail? The answer lies in the blind spot created by focusing too intensely on their own innovations, neglecting the broader ecosystem necessary for success. He emphasizes that in an interdependent world, ensuring success involves more than just delivering on individual promises; it requires that a host of partners also deliver on theirs.

“Even the greatest companies can be blindsided by this shift.” – Ron Adner

Why Things Go Wrong When You Do Everything Right

Adner explores the phenomenon where companies, despite executing their strategies flawlessly, encounter failure due to an overlooked dependency on their innovation ecosystems. He illustrates this with the example of Michelin's PAX tire system, which despite being a technological marvel, failed due to a lack of readiness and support from service partners.

“Your success now depends not just on your own efforts, but on your collaborators' efforts as well.” – Ron Adner

The PAX System, a run-flat tire technology, was a groundbreaking innovation that allowed drivers to continue driving even after a puncture. Despite Michelin's efforts to coordinate with car manufacturers like Honda and extensive training for dealerships, the market launch faced significant challenges. Many dealers were not ready to support the technology, leading to consumer frustration and eventually the system's downfall.