Case study #1
Achmea Innovation Fund (AIF), creating an innovation investment thesis.
Problem
AIF received many investment suggestions from many sources. However, innovation theses were not yet in place to help guide the selection of strategically promising investments.
Assignment
Help develop innovation investment theses for a cluster of divisions.
Challenge
This type of project was a first at the time. It had a very broad scope, encompassing diverse divisions and business models and involving many stakeholders.
Approach
A series of workshops was conducted with a diverse group of stakeholders, gathering and structuring input on a range of topics.
In the present-forward-thinking mode, trends were identified, and existing core lines were captured in business model canvases, indicating where change dynamics were concentrated.
In the future-back-thinking mode, scenarios were developed, exploring what world would ensue if core uncertain events went one way or the other and how that would impact the divisions, with a special eye for emerging opportunities. Additionally, venture investment dynamics per sector were analyzed.
These were clustered into an integrated logic, including markets to engage with, assets to leverage, and risks to consider.
Outcomes
- A well-structured, ambitious, yet evidence-based innovation thesis.
- Broad support from stakeholders.
- A well-received presentation for top leadership.
- Clarity, direction and focus for venturing investments and other innovation efforts.
“Christof’s conceptual talent maintained structure in this complex, pioneering project and helped create a coherent synthesis and an engaging narrative supported by a compelling strategic logic. His flexible, supportive attitude makes him a pleasure to work with and helps focus discussions and align stakeholders. I consider him a safe pair of hands for this type of project.”
Katharina Maass
Fund manager, Achmea Innovation Fund
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Case study #2
Union poisťovňa a.s., innovation governance, process and portfolio management.
Problem
Innovation management in Union had developed organically, resulting in a set of unconnected processes. These structures were unable to support Union’s innovation ambitions, making it hard to maintain an overview and assess progress on its portfolio of innovation projects.
Assignment
Unify, upgrade and simplify innovation structures and processes.
Challenge
Being a midsized organization with a dynamic, growing core business and many other competing priorities, it was imperative to minimize interruption of ongoing business and limit the time investment of top leadership.
Approach
As a first step, I facilitated key stakeholders in establishing design principles for the new structures.
Based on these principles, a universally applicable innovation project scoring model was set up. It was composed of criteria inspired by international examples that were adjusted for the Union context. This list was refined per development phase to inform project selection and prioritization. Its criteria included strategic alignment and were updateable.
The innovation process was connected to the Scaled agile framework already in use. A matching decision-making process and -rhythm were set up, allowing for the monitoring of progress, and the team playbook was updated and simplified.
Outcomes
- A structural alignment of innovation management decision-making to the overall strategy.
- A single assessment approach for ideas and projects regardless of their origin enabling unified project prioritization and progress assessment.
- A more straightforward way of working for teams, with a playbook page reduction from 190 to 25.
“During the project, Christof impressed us with his deep innovation management expertise. His ability to connect seemingly disparate elements of innovation management was valuable in developing a comprehensive overview. His responsiveness to requests helped keep up project momentum and prevented it from “snowing under” in a sea of other important initiatives.”
René Scholten
CFO, Interamerican (previously CFO, Union poisťovňa a.s)
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Case study #3
Zilveren Kruis, early-stage mental wellness tech project.
Problem
Zilveren Kruis was looking to develop a new concept involving personal wellness technology, underlining its “big picture health” (totaalplaatje) strategy. Initial user research had been conducted. On this basis, I connected Zilveren Kruis with a deep tech startup.
Assignment
Facilitate and support early-stage proposition development.
Challenge
The proposition and business model were to be developed practically from scratch, in international collaboration, with limited capacity, in partnership with a deep tech startup.
Approach
Initially, interface-only designs were shared with a small early user community, yielding UX insights (including users describing use cases we did not think of) and feature requests, invalidating some of our initial assumptions and informing critical hypotheses about the service.
Given the enthusiasm we encountered, we designed a second experiment, where cohorts of users shed light on the impact different versions were having on user experience and satisfaction. We also gained valuable insights on the support required and the scalability of the new proposition. Because of the multitude of possible business models, a group of MBA students was assigned to gather, structure, and classify different types of business models for the proposition, yielding a wealth of promising options.
Outcomes
- A positive working relationship startup – insurance company based on solid vision alignment.
- Data-driven pivots in business model and proposition focus.
- Adaptive testing of different business models for a single use case.
- Significant user traction and partner interest.
- Measurable progess towards product-market fit.
“Christof brought inspiration and structure at critical moments. His relentless customer focus prevented the project from becoming “tech push”. His creativity and his perseverance helped the project stay on course.”
“Christof was a valuable presence in the project, very experienced in innovation and always ready to tackle any challenge.”
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