When innovative management methods get the limelight, they’re usually applied to products and services. But the most interesting management techniques today often involve empowering people. Here are some innovative management methods at work - from five top companies, SME to MNC. In”The Innovator’s Dilemma”, Harvard’s Clayton Christensen outlined the difficulties of adopting truly innovative management techniques. Keyword: innovative. Not the cut-and-trim incremental improvement of everyday management, but the disruptive change that opens up whole new areas of opportunity. Of course, there’s a good reason: being disruptive carries risks. But in today’s world of squeezed margins, market-shifting technologies, and competitive landscapes that change in an eyeblink, can you afford not to? Here are some companies that dared to be different. Are their approaches right for your business? Only you know.

1. Disruptive Leadership:
How CEOs are shaking up the
world of management

2. DISRUPTION:How different managers made
the earth move

3. Stories of business models shaken up by
the web...
...are no longer new.

4. We all know that:
isn’t on the
High St
The world’s
biggest retailer…
owns no
cars
The world’s
biggest taxi firm…
owns no
hotels
The world’s
biggest hotel
operator…

5. But it’s not just business models,
but management
models that are
changing.

6. C-level executives aren’t just
changing their processes,
but changing the way they
engage with the resource that
matters most -
Let’s explore some companies
walking the walk…
THEIR PEOPLE.

7. Flexible working startup
NearDesk solved the conflict
between customer and
shareholder head-on
by turning customers
into investors.
IN PROPERTY:

8. CEO Tom Ball crowdsourced over 500
investors for its funding round…
...many of whom use its
250 flexible office spaces
themselves.

9. NearDesk disrupted commercial
property’s management model -
not restrictive leases,
but flexible space paid
for by the hour.

10. Payments processor Gravity
sent shockwaves through
Silicon Valley…
by setting US$70,000
as a salary floor.
IN SOFTWARE:

11. It aggrieved some higher earners,
...in the tightest job sector of all.
but led to 6,000
resumes from keen
applicants...

12. CEO Dan Price discovered a law
contrary to classical cost control…
Every time he increased base pay,
sales rose by more.
Gravity’s employee
retention rate is a
scorching 91%.

13. Aire completely redefined a
crucial part of life: your credit
score.
Traditional scoring is an
outdated method.
(Some scorers treat “having a
landline” as essential!)
IN FINANCE:

14. Aire uses your “digital footprints” to
build an alternative credit score -
Based on your
reputation and
trustworthiness beyond
your bank account.

15. And it’s letting the
4.5bn people with no
formal credit score a
chance to participate in
normal financial life.

16. Zappos’ Tony Hsieh took the
boldest management step of
all…
IN RETAIL:
removing management
techniques altogether.

17. The “holacracy” principle divides
companies into functional
“circles” …
...with overlapping areas where
communication happens.
Jobs become “roles” and
employees can switch
between them.

18. As hard as it sounds,
85% of employees
bought into the
role-playing.
And Zappo’s lives its
dream: “Fun and a little
weird”.
A year after the
experiment, operating
profits rose 78%.

19. Virgin’s Richard Branson had
long wondered how much
holiday time was “right” to offer
employees...
IN
MULTINATIONALS:
So he decided: however
much they want.

20. Virgin employees can
now take as much
holiday or break time
as they want,
Subject to “keeping it real” with
their teams and responsibilities.

21. Instead of controlling
employees, this management
technique empowers them.
It seems treating people
as responsible adults
pays dividends.

22. Best of all,
Disruptive leadership
doesn’t have to be
all-or-nothing.

23. Today’s communication and collaboration tools let
businesses of all sizes test, track, and refine new
management models to everyone’s benefit...
Employees, and, of
course, the
C-suite itself.
Customers,

24. NOW THAT’S
GOOD
MANAGEMENT.

25. Learn how to drive collaboration between
your different teams download:
Generating a
Collaborative
Culture, How to Build
Innovation in Your
Enterprise
Download now
Strategic
Effective
Flexible
Generating a collaborative
culture, how to build
innovation in your enterpriseThe connected business:
Strategic
Effective
Flexible
Generating a collaborative
culture, how to build
innovation in your enterprise
The connected business:

26. Collaboration is leadership.
Start leading with Arkadin
Collaboration Services.