There is a broad spectrum of solutions helping companies identify new innovation ideas, from a departmental suggestion box, to studying the best practices of others, even to the vaunted halls of big data analytics. However, I wanted to throw an often underutilized source into the mix – business model patterns. What is a business model pattern? As Osterwalder & Pigneur define in their Business Model Generation book, business model patterns are similarities in how the individual business model building blocks behave (with similar characteristics and/or arrangements).
There are plenty of patterns to choose from – OPEN, Long Tail, FREEMIUM, SaaS, etc. – and each has its own characteristics. For example, the FREEMIUM pattern has unique Revenue Streams and Customer Relationships behavior. Could these be leveraged by a shared service function trying to redesign its future operating model? Maybe. Can the pattern inspire one of the function executives to put her own unique twist on the way they manage relationships, or secure their funding? You bet!
The power of patterns’ ability to inspire innovation was illustrated in a recent client engagement. We used a business model pattern presentation as a lead-in to a focused business model design session. The executives in attendance were asked to make notes of key building block features that they found interesting for each pattern discussed, and which might have relevance for their area. As we then moved into the actual business model design activity, it became clear that the participants had not only identified new possible variations on their offerings (the WHAT), but also specific business model changes they wanted to make to deliver that value (the HOW). Furthermore, they had already started to make the connection between the new ideas and their specific areas (i.e. made a preliminary implication analysis).
So, although ANY solution that leads to innovation is a step in the right direction, executives who don’t add business model patterns to their idea generation arsenal may be missing a relatively simple, golden nugget.
