One hour lecture given to a master class covering sectorial innovation systems and business model innovation. Title: "Breaking down the telco boundaries through frontline iterations." The lecture attempts to argue the importance of focusing on getting your learning model right before introducing a new business model, and then supported by real life examples. For example how to launch and scale financial services on top of core telco infrastructure and how to push incremental innovations in sales & distribution across markets despite different local factors. It also highlights the importance of looking beyond your own sector for innovation, and how you can harness your presence in diverse markets and cultures for scaling more robust business models over time. The lecture also refers to the skateboard movement for understanding how we could disrupt industries more effectively with an extreme sports athlete approach. Risky business or unproven initiatives will undoubtedly benefit if you have a personal passion for learning and getting beaten until you get it right. BI Norwegian School of Management, Nydalen, Oslo. 28.10.2013

1. “Breaking
down
the
telco
boundaries
through
frontline
itera6ons”
Lecture
by
Kyrre
Riksen
Oslo,
28
October
2013

2. DEDICATED
TO
STRANGE
ENCOUNTERS

3. LECTURE
OBJECTIVES
• Provide
real
life
examples
and
personal
reflec6ons
associated
with
my
work
in
a
telco
• Inspire
students
to
leverage
opera6ons
and
frontline
ac6ons
as
their
primary
drivers
for
learning
at
future
employers
• NOT
to
provide
any
company
view
or
desktop
research

4. I
HAVE
A
FEW
TRICKS
AND
BAILS
IN
MY
BAG
COLLECTED
FROM
3
MAIN
ARENAS
MULTISECTOR
BUSINESS
TELCO
WITH
MULTISECTOR
AMBITIONS
THE
SKATEBOARD
MOVEMENT

5. “YOU
WILL
EITHER
SINK
OR
SWIM
IN
YOUR
OPERATIONAL
JOBS,
AND
EACH
MONTH
FOR
TWO
YEARS
YOU
WILL
GO
TO
A
NEW
BUSINESS
LOCATION
FOR
YOUR
EXAMS
AND
MEET
BUSINESS
LEADERS
COVERING
THE
FUNDEMENTALS
OF
OPERATING
SHORT-­‐,
MEDIUM-­‐
AND
LONG
TERM
CYCLE
BUSINESSES”
NORTH
AMERICA,
FINANCIAL
MANAGEMENT
PROGRAM,
2002-­‐2004

6. THE
CONCEPT
OF
BOUNDARYLESSNESS
“Eliminate
boundaries
within
an
organiza@on
or
a
team
to
create
universal
ownership
of
the
organiza@on’s
overall
mission.
The
concept
is
to
create
an
open,
sharing
climate
that
seeks
to
harness
the
combined
strength
of
the
business.”
-­‐Jack
Welch
BOUNDARYLESS
BEHAVIOR
SPEED
STRETCH

7. I
NEVER
KNEW
MY
PAINFUL
LESSONS
WITH
GE´S
FINANCIAL
SERVICES
ARM
WERE
GOING
TO
HAVE
SUCH
A
BIG
AND
POSITIVE
SPILLOVER
EFFECT
ON
MY
WORK
IN
A
TELCO
ENVIRONMENT
LATER

8. CLOSING
DOWN
ONE
OF
GE
WATER´S
VENTURES
BELIEVED
TO
BE
THE
NEXT
GROWTH
ENGINE
CHANGED
MY
VIEW
ON
ACQUISITIONS
AND
THE
UGLY
MESS
WE
CREATE
UNINTENTIONALLY

9. GE
DOESN´T
HAVE
TO
START
FROM
SCRATCH
WHEN
ENTERING
A
NEW
BUSINESS
AREA
AS
IT
IS
ECONOMIZING
ON
THE
SAME
OPERATING
PLATFORM
ONE
COMMON
CROSS
SECTOR
PHILOSOPHY
A
TYPICAL
CORE
BUSINESS
ENTERING
A
NEW
BUSINESS
AND
DUPLICATING
EFFORTS
GOVERNANCE
&
ACCOUNTABILITY
LANGUAGE/LEARNING
✔
?
SECTOR
D
?
SECTOR
C
✔
SECTOR
B
RESOURCE
POOLING
SECTOR
A
NEW
BUSINESS
?
CORE
✔
VS

10. WHEN
YOU
GO
TO
A
SKATEPARK
LET´S
SAY
IN
MALAYSIA,
YOU
WILL
MEET
INDIVIDUALS
WITH
THE
EXACT
SAME
PASSIONS,
SAME
TERMINOLOGIES
AND
SAME
FEARLESS
MISSION
TO
DEVELOP
THE
SAME
CRAFT
TO
PERFECTION
THROUGH
TRIALS
AND
REPETITIONS
….YET
WITH
NO
GLOBAL
INSTITUTION
TELLING
WHAT
TO
DO

11. SOME
TELCO
CHALLENGES
• DECLINING
VOICE
REVENUES
• PROFITABILITY
PRESSURE
WITH
RISING
ACQUISITION
COSTS
AND
DECLINING
PRICES
• HIGHLY
REGULATED
• INTENSE
COMPETITION
AND
CONSOLIDATION

12. INTERNET
12

13. WE
MUST
RETHINK
VALUE
13

14. 2
BASIC
METHODS
AND
6
MAIN
INITIATIVES
1. IMPROVE
SALES
OPERATIONS
WITHIN
CORE
BUSINESS
2. IMPLEMENT
NEW
BUSINESSES
LOCAL
COST
EFFICIENCY
PROGRAMS
2
RESTRUCTURE
PAKISTAN
DISTRIBUTION
3
LEAD
RETAIL
FORUM
ASIA
&
EUROPE
AND
STANDARDIZE
RETAIL
OPERATIONS
WITH
THE
LOCAL
SALES
DIRECTORS
1
CO-­‐FOUNDED
FINANCIAL
SERVICES
3
YRS
5
CO-­‐FOUNDED
VALUECODES
FOR
RETAILERS
6
DEPLOYED
INSURANCE
OPERATIONS
4
+
MANY
MANY
TERMINATIONS
THAT
DID
NOT
SATISFY
MILESTONE
CRITERIA

15. THE
EFFORTS
OF
PROVING
THE
IMPOSSIBLE
IS
POSSIBLE
CAN
BE
PUT
IN
A
SYSTEM
TRIGGER
OR
FAILURE
ACTION
NEW
EVIDENCE
OR
LEARNING

16. FINANCIAL
SERVICES
ENTRY
IT
IS
POSSIBLE
TO
INITIATE
FINANCIAL
SERVICES
AS
A
NEW
BUSINESS
AREA
BY
USING
THE
CORE
INFRASTRUCTURE
IN
ONE
COUNTRY
AS
THE
TESTING
GROUND
FOR
THE
NEXT
COUNTRY

17. ENTER
THE
COUPON
MARKET
BY
LAUNCHING
VALUECODES
IT
IS
POSSIBLE
TO
ACCELLERATE
MARKET
ENTRY
BY
KNOCKING
CUSTOMER
DOORS
FROM
DAY
1
AND
LAUNCH
A
NEW
VENTURE
IN
3
MONTHS
WITH
NO
INVESTMENTS
IN
TECHNOLOGY,
PRODUCT
DEVELOPMENT
OR
COMPLEX
OVERHEAD

18. COST
EFFICIENCY
PROGRAMS
AND
DISTRIBUTION
RESTRUCTURING
INITIATIVES
IT
IS
POSSIBLE
TO
MAKE
COST
CENTER
OWNERS
IN
THE
SALES
ORGANIZATION
COMMIT
TO
PAINFUL
COST
SAVING
INITIATIVES
THROUGH
DEEP
ENGAGEMENT
IN
THE
FRONTLINE
AND
EXTERNAL
BENCHMARKS

19. LEAD
RETAIL
FORUM
ASIA
AND
EUROPE,
AND
LOCAL
IMPLEMENTATIONS
IT
IS
POSSIBLE
FOR
RETAIL
ORGANIZATIONS
IN
11
COUNTRIES
TO
SPEAK
THE
SAME
LANGUAGE
USING
10
MANDATORY
OPERATION
AREAS
AS
THE
BASIS
FOR
ACHIEVING
EXCELLENCE
AND
INDUSTRIALISATION

20. INSURANCE
DEPLOYMENT
IT
IS
POSSIBLE
TO
ENTER
A
NEW
INDUSTRY
FAST
USING
THE
ACQUIRED
COMPANY´S
DOMAIN
EXPERTISE
AS
THE
BASIS
FOR
LOCAL
DEPLOYMENT

21. THE
SECRET
SAUCE
WOULD
BE
TAKING
THE
BEST
FROM
EACH
STRONG
ACCOUNTABILITY
AND
CROSS
BUSINESS
LEARNING
LOOPS
TO
AVOID
SAME
FAILURES
HIGH
TOLERANCE
FOR
FAILURES
COUPLED
WITH
DEEP
INDUSTRY
KNOW-­‐HOW
PERSONAL
PASSION
FOR
PUSHING
THE
BOUNDARIES
AND
TAKING
EXTREME
RISKS
EVERY
DAY,
GLOBAL
TRENDSETTERS
BUT
STILL
LOCAL
AND
RESPECT
FOR
THE
INDIVIDUAL

22. BUSINESS
MODELS
WILL
ALWAYS
CHANGE
AND
HENCE
YOUR
LEARNING
MODEL
IS
YOUR
BEST
WEAPON
TRIGGER
OR
FAILURE
ACTION
NEW
EVIDENCE
OR
LEARNING