LWCC Speaker Series: A New Approach to Disruption with Renée Mauborgne

Renée's passion for redefining how businesses approach competition and growth drives her groundbreaking work in value innovation and strategic thinking. During her presentation, she brought this passion to life, delivering powerful insights that combine years of rigorous research with practical, actionable strategies. Her goal was to inspire leaders to move beyond traditional boundaries and create new market opportunities, and she skillfully shared this vision, providing a compelling roadmap for success.

Throughout her presentation, Renée brought her strategies to life by using compelling real-world examples, demonstrating how companies have successfully applied her concepts to achieve remarkable growth.

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By illustrating these principles in action, she made her insights both relatable and actionable, leaving the audience with five clear and impactful takeaways:

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1. ‍Stop benchmarking the competition. The more you benchmark the competition, the more you let the competition, not the market, drive your strategic thinking. The result: imitation not innovation. Rather, ask, “how can we offer buyers a leap in value?”   ‍
2. Use your imagination the right way. Instead of dwelling on reasons why something won’t work, channel your imagination toward envisioning how and why change can happen. By asking “why not” and “what if,” you can open new possibilities and see opportunities that others may overlook.  ‍
3. Don’t confuse the means with the ends. In this age of new technologies remember, technology may be a great enabler, but it is value innovation – offering buyers a leap in value – that unlocks commercial opportunities and drives new growth. Ask, “Do we think technology innovation first, or value innovation and offering a magnitude of real value in use?” Successful companies think value innovation first, then look to technology to achieve it.  ‍
4. Unlock the many, not only the few. The myth of the entrepreneur has the unintended consequence of leading organizations to overlook the creativity and insight of the many. Cherish the entrepreneur but recognize that overemphasizing them leads to underemphasizing the creativity and contributions of everyone else. Probe, “Are we looking only to the few for ideas and answers, or are we tapping into the ideas of the many?” While we may not all be equally creative, most of us are creative enough.   ‍
5. Never outsource your eyes. Seeing is believing. Instead of conducting large market surveys, go out and meet the market firsthand. Speak regularly with existing customers, lost customers, and people who should patronize your industry but don’t - not with the intent to sell but with the intent to learn their greatest pain points. Watch how your product or service is actually used in the field. Pain points are hidden opportunities to unlock exceptional new value.  

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