Background:

• A publically traded medical technology business had assembled a set of technologies that, when adopted, saved lives.
• They had top key opinion leaders behind them and stories of patients who might have died or been left with a dramatically diminished quality of life.
• But, as is the case with most superior innovations, the stakeholders who depended on the older alternative technology felt threatened by the company’s success.
• Competitors, financial players, and healthcare entities had put into play a number of initiatives that were frustrating the company’s ability to reach its clients and grow.
• The company had to figure out a way to cleverly unravel the web of resistance that was hindering its growth strategy.

Our approach:

• We studied cases of innovations that had successfully navigated through similar challenges, not just in medical technology, but across a wide range of industries.
• We conducted a competitive stakeholder analysis to break down the sources of resistance and generate a long list of approaches for deflating resistance.
• We spoke to doctors and patients and visited hospitals to understand the human dynamics at play.
• We then aligned the team behind a set of new growth strategy initiatives that would start insulating the company from competitive activity.

 

Results:

• Clarity: The leadership team shifted focus to a clear set of new strategic initiatives.
• Growth: Average growth rate doubled to more than 20% (from about 10%) over the subsequent five years.
• Innovation: With increased growth and profits, the company’s stock price rose, enabling it to apply more resources to advancing its life-saving technology.