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At the Drucker Forum 2023, Curt Carlson, former CEO of SRI International in Silicon Valley, participated in an Interactive Value Creation Workshop with Isabella Mader, CEO of Excellence Institute, and Kalina Deng, VP at Snipp Interactive. They discussed how AI tools, and a value-creation framework can boost innovation initiatives. Here, Carlson is in an edited conversation with Milena Milićević, a digital transformation consultant and 2nd place winner of the Drucker Challenge Essay in 2016.
Milena Milićević: Curt, please tell us more about the insights from your interactive session. How are your value creation frameworks with AI applicable during these evolving times?
Curt Carlson: First, I am now in Silicon Valley, where I was CEO of SRI International for many years. When I came here, SRI was famous for inventing the computer mouse and many other world-changing innovations, but it had been failing for 20 years and was about to go bankrupt.
I came from another part of the company in Princeton, New Jersey, where, with my partners, we studied everything we could about value creation and innovation. Most of the ideas available didn’t help, but eventually, we learned how to be systematically successful.
My part of the company in Princeton grew very fast, and eventually, they made me CEO in Silicon Valley. I was convinced that by using the value-creation methods we had developed, we could help the entire company work more productively and prosper.
When I left, we had grown the company over three times, with over 3,000 professionals developing innovations worldwide, and we were systematically creating one multi-billion-dollar business after another, including HDTV, that won an Emmy.
The last thing we did when I was CEO was Siri, the digital voice assistant bought almost immediately by Steve Jobs for the iPhone after we launched it and that added about $75 billion to the value of Apple. Shortly after becoming CEO, I became involved with the Drucker Forum and joined one of the groups that helps organize the Forum each year.
As stated, I led a value-creation workshop at Drucker last year, which many leaders attended. I ran the workshop with the great partners you mentioned, Isabella Mader and Kalina Deng. It was involving and experiential. You want to engage the audience and focus on the fundamentals that assure teams proceed in the right direction.
Value creation is a complex activity. Many things can and do go wrong. People often say innovation is about failing fast. Well, no, not really. You will fail, but the objective is to learn fast. To systematically succeed, you must consider it a learning and improving activity. Our methodology is uniquely based on the education science of learning, which is why it is so successful.
You mentioned value-creation frameworks. Ours uses “NABC” value propositions, the starting point for any innovation, big or small. NABC stands for the unmet Need, the Approach for the offering and business model, the Benefits/costs or customer value, and the Competition and alternatives. You must address all of these questions to have an innovation.
In the workshop, we introduced NABC value propositions and then discussed why those four questions are fundamental and hard to answer. For example, if you change the Need, everything else can change. You must get those four questions right initially to ensure you are going in the right direction.
The biggest mistake people make is seeing a problem and immediately jumping to a solution. You must start by identifying the actual Need. At the Forum, I had the audience repeatedly say out loud, “A problem is not a need.” The NABC concept significantly improves performance by ensuring everyone starts with the Need. Already, hundreds of thousands use this framework. If more did, it would dramatically amplify the potential for success.
MM: Speaking as a long-term friend of the Drucker Forum, how was your interaction at the Forum this time different from earlier appearances? Did you notice anything different about the executives from previous years?
CC: Indeed, the workshop we presented at the 2023 Forum was much more interactive. We did everything we could to engage people.
The advent of AI has also made it more urgent for companies to innovate effectively. AI will become an increasingly important part of all professional jobs. It will, among other things, transform customer services, business models, and many enterprises, including education.
We had fun in the workshop by going back and forth and asking questions. At one point, I asked them a challenging one. I showed a presentation by a student at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), where I teach. She started by using our AI tutors to develop her NABC value proposition.
With the results from the AI tutor, she presented during a sequence of four value-creation forums with other WPI teams, where she received feedback on her initiative—what was good and what could be improved.
I then discussed with the audience how many people in their companies or universities could give a presentation as good as hers. Finally, an executive from Volkswagen said that no one among VW’s 800,000 employees could do it. I am sure some can, but the VW professionals likely need training in value creation.
Surprisingly few companies provide their staff with these key skills. The young WPI student achieved her enviable results because the AI tutor helped her learn the NABC concept, and our feedback methods in value creation forums allowed her to develop her proposal.
She didn’t create a complete value proposition, but she answered all the fundamental questions. Everyone could understand what she was doing, why it was unique, and why it mattered.
As someone who has listened to thousands of presentations, I know what she achieved is rare. AI tutors and our methodology help teams focus on critical unmet needs and ensure they answer all the essential questions.
Let me add a final point about the Drucker Forum. My work has focused on value creation, and innovation, which is a core responsibility of all professionals and critical for advancing the world, especially now. For me, the Forum is a remarkable conference. When I go there, one of my motivations is to learn because we all need to be better at value creation. It is a fantastic place to do that because it involves so many superb global professionals. You can talk to everyone, try out your ideas, and learn.
About the authors:
Curt Carlson is a Professor of Practice at Northeastern University and a Distinguished Executive in Residence at Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
Milena Milićević is a digital transformation consultant and Drucker Forum team member for university partnerships. She joined the Drucker community initially as the 2nd place winner of the Drucker Challenge Essay in 2016 for Manager / Entrepreneur category.