Corporate Workshops

An intimate and interactive workshop has been developed by Heidi Mason and Tim Rohner as one of the the first steps in exploring the science of successful corporate venturing. A brief description of the workshop and what it calls for on the part of clients is described here, along with a sample agenda.

This one-day executive workshop, facilitated by DiamondCluster experts and our business partners, is ideal for those at the front-end of (re)structuring their innovation or venturing programs. This workshop addresses both the rationale for creating a structured innovation program within your company as well as a pragmatic approach to managing the innovation program. Participants in the workshop will be leaders from across your organization in areas such as corporate or new business development, research and development, corporate finance or m+a, individual business units i.e., p+l centers, or functional units such as marketing or technology, and corporate venturing. The ideal group size is approximately 20 people covering as many of these areas as possible. At the end of the day, your team will be able to articulate the following:

	Expected hard and soft value of innovation and venturing to your organization
	Strengths and weaknesses of your current efforts
	A strawman model for managing innovation
	Specific ideas for high potential partnerships
	Specific ideas on terms and conditions for those partnerships

To maximize the value of the workshop, the client team will be asked to prepare in two simple ways:

1. Complete a data form requesting information about your company and industry (this may include some research and analysis on your part) and,

2. Read a set of articles on innovation and venturing that we will provide ahead of time.

If you are interested in learning more about holding an initial workshop, simply contact Tim Rohner at tim.rohner@diamondcluster.com, or call him at 312.255.5597.

Sample Corporate Workshop Agenda

EXECUTIVE WORKSHOP: INNOVATION AND VENTURING
7:30 - 8:30 a.m.		Breakfast
8:30 - 10:00 a.m.		Calibrating Your Need and Readiness to Innovate Chunka Mui, Partner, DiamondCluster International, Co-author Unleashing the Killer App: Digital Strategies for Market Dominance and John Sviokla, Vice Chairman, DiamondCluster International, Co-author Managing in the Marketspace and Exploiting The Virtual Value Chain Innovation is an imperative in this technology-intensive and rapidly morphing competitive environment. And some industries are under more intense pressure than others. Chunka and John will lead a discussion that helps you understand the innovation intensity in your business as well as your preparedness to innovate.
10:00 - 10:30 a.m.		Morning Break
10:30 a.m.- Noon		Calibrating Your Need and Readiness to Venture Tim Rohner, Partner, DiamondCluster International, Co-author The Venture Imperative: A New Model for Corporate Innovation Innovation is as important as it is difficult for most companies. Corporate anti-bodies defend the core business against innovative new approaches. Yet customers, competitors, and investors demand continuous performance improvement. Tim will lead a discussion that helps you understand the role of ventures and your readiness to integrate them into your innovation toolbox.
Noon - 1:30 p.m.		Lunch Join us for lunch and light-hearted discussion while we digest the morning's discussions and trade experiences from the trenches.
1:30 - 3:00 p.m.		Building Your Venturing Gameplan Heidi Mason, Managing Director, The Bell-Mason Group and DiamondCluster Fellow, Co-author The Venture Imperative: A New Model for Corporate Innovation Once the decision to innovate through venturing is made, the hard work begins. In fact, a solid foundation must be established or your efforts will collapse at the first signs of adversity. Heidi will lead a discussion on how to allow your ventures to flourish while simultaneously maintaining tight control of your investment. These countervailing forces are difficult for most companies to balance, but an new organization structure, combined with the appropriate skills and practices, make this possible.
3:00 - 3:30 p.m.		Afternoon Break
3:30 - 5:00 p.m.		Strategic Nerve: Capturing the Value Bruce Zivian, Partner, Baker & McKenzie, Mergers & Acquisitions Practice [Pending] The "Devil is in the details" summarizes this conversation. When strategic and financial objectives - both aspirations and safety nets - do not make into the written agreement, problems are sure to occur. Explicit language is critical to ensuring that everyone is on the same page from the outset. Bruce will share his experiences as a guide to the best and worst practices in this area.
5:00 - 5:30 p.m.		The Call to Action