The presentation captures the essence of case study I wrote for ICBM's Intl Case Competition. The case attempts to capture the spirit of continuous strategic innovation, despite blurring industry lines, insufficient data, evolving technologies & unstated customer needs. How do you decide to chase one strategy rather than another? What is short term? What is long term? When do you stay put, modify or abandon the strategy?

1. REINVENTING THE FUTURE –
GOOGLE MOONSHOTS
Sub Theme: Innovation Strategy
KHAN FIRDAUS M.R.
Associate Professor, ICBM-SBE – Hyderabad

2. Overview of the Presentation
• Learning Objectives
• Case study
- Google’s dilemma
- Case questions
• Case study’s fitment in management course
• Case Assessment
• Bibliography

3. Learning Objectives of the Case study

4. LEARNING OBJECTIVES
• To introduce the concept of ‘Moonshots’ or
innovating for future markets.
• To serve as an activity sheet that
- simulates management decision-making,
- encourages self-learning and critical analysis,
- develops team spirit and lateral thinking.

5. The Case Study

6. Predicting the future…
• “The best way to predict the future is to
invent it” – Alan Kay (1971)
• Kay is an American computer programmer
whose invention Smalltalk inspired Macintosh,
Windows and other operating systems.

7. Inventing the future…
• To be willing and able to invent its own future
an organization should have both roots and
wings:
• Roots of core competencies and leadership
• Wings of creativity and risk-taking

8. Competing in fast-changing,
turbulent Industries
• Innovation as a strategy for growth is used by
industry leaders such as Google, Amazon,
Apple, 3M
• The challenge is to stay ahead by ‘effecting
change’ rather than by being ‘affected by it.’

9. “Goooooooogle it”
• Due to its expansive reach and unmatched
service quality, Google has come to epitomize
search.
• It also is the face of ‘relentless innovation’
• Google TV, self driving cars, Google Buzz,
Wave, Street View, Google Reader, Android,
Nexus phones, Google Glass, Goggles
…….Calico (Sept 2013)

10. Not 10% more, 10 times more!

11. Not 10% more, 10 times more!
• “... a big part of my job is to get people focused on
things that are not just incremental. Take Gmail.
When we released that, we were a search
company—it was a leap for us to put out an email
product, let alone one that gave users 100 times
more storage than they could get anywhere else.
That is not something that would have happened
naturally if we had been focusing on incremental
improvements.” – CEO Larry Page

12. Google’s Moonshots
• Projects that attempt to invent its future
growth trajectory. Explore 99% virgin territory
• Pros: Building future markets; first mover
advantage; proprietary technology.
• Cons: no imminent financial cash inflows;
guzzling up of cash reserves in terms of R&D,
product development and market research;
entrepreneurial splintering.

13. Reaching for the Moon…..falling short?
HITS
• Android
• Youtube
• Chrome
• Google Maps
• Google Books
• Google TV
• Google Crisis Response
• Google Person Finder
MISSES
• Orkut
• Wave
• Reader
• iGoogle
• Click-to-call
• Google Buzz
• Google Health
• Nexus phones, Chromebook

14. Current Moonshots
• Calico
• Project Loon
• Google Now
• Web Designer

15. Gray-zone of Moonshots
Huge
Problems/latent
Customer needs
Radical solution
through
breakthrough
technology

16. Moonshots Conundrum
• Starting point: disregard the impossible, apply
innovation and lateral thinking, arrive at
workable, practical solutions.
• Dual threat: money & attention guzzlers as
well create management blind spots regarding
the readiness of the market to recognize the
latent need & accept the new unconventional
solution (eg driverless cars & Google Glass)

17. Moonshots: old Wine in new Bottle
• AT&T = “Idea Factory”
• Poured huge amount of capital and high
calibre talent into its subsidiary Bell Labs in
order to shape and refine future products and
technology.
• Outcomes: transistor, the laser and Unix
operating system.
• But the curse of tunnel vision has rendered
AT&T ‘an also-ran’.

18. Google’s Googly
• Few disgruntled shareholders: Reader, Moto X
& Nexus, Calico
• Google needs to focus on increasing its
success rate and its moonshots need to
deliver.
• Which moonshots can Google bet on? Which
current business lines should it harvest?
Which ones should it divest?

19. ANNEXURES
supplementary information to attempt the case

20. GOOGLE PRODUCTS & SERVICES
• WEB BASED PRODUCTS: Google search, Snapshots, SEO, Multiple Languages, Google
Alerts, Google Books, Google Scholar, Google Shopping,
• ADVERTISING SERVICES: Admob, Adsense, AdWords, Google Grants, G-Think Insights
• COMMUNICATION & PUBLISHING TOOLS: Google Keep, Google 3D Warehouse,
Google Cultural Institute, Google Art Project, Feed Burner, Google Apps Google Drive,
Google Hangouts, Youtube, iGoogle, Orkut
• DEVELOPMENT TOOLS: Google Code, Google Go, Google App Engine, Google Swiffy
• MAP-RELATED PRODUCTS: Google Map Maker, G- Maps, G-Street View, Google Sky
• STATISTICAL TOOLS: Google Analytics, Google Consumer Surveys, Freebase,
Trendalyzer
• OPERATING SYSTEM : Android, Chrome OS, Google TV .
• DESKTOP APPLICATIONS : Adwords Editor, Chrome, uProxy , Google Earth, Picasa
• MOBILE APPLICATIONS: Google News, Google Offers, Google Wallet, Google
Translate Google Youtube
• MOBILE STANDALONE APPLICATIONS : Goggles, Hangouts, Google Now, Google+
• HARDWARE: Google Driverless Car, Motorola Mobility, Nexus phones, Galaxy
Nexus Google TV, Chromebook, Chromecast, Project Glass
• SERVICES: Google Crisis Response, Google Fiber, Google Person Finder

21. The Three Horizon’s Model

22. Case study Activity sheet

23. ACTIVITY #1
ATTEMPT EACH OF THESE QUESTIONS AS A TEAM OF 3
• Read through Annexure 1 or alternatively visit the
webpage
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Google_products
which provides a comprehensive list of Google
products and services. Draw a timeline of at least 15
Google products and services (of your choice)
inclusive of launch/purchase and expiry dates,
explaining in brief the reason the product/service
continues to thrive or was killed. Comment in brief on
the risks involved in emergent technologies.

24. • Read through Annexure 3 to understand the 3
Horizon’s Model. Assess Google’s innovation
strategy using this model and highlight at least
2 Google products or services that lie in each
of the 3 horizons.
ACTIVITY #2
ATTEMPT EACH OF THESE QUESTIONS AS A TEAM OF 3

25. • If you were in Larry Page’s shoes, brainstorm
to arrive at 2 ‘moonshots’ that you would aim
at. (Be creative and original) Justify your
choice by preparing a brief business plan,
especially stating the market potential of this
emergent technology.
ACTIVITY #3
ATTEMPT EACH OF THESE QUESTIONS AS A TEAM OF 3

26. Case Study’s fitment in
Management Course

27. Course Topics Teaching objective
Strategy - Growth Strategy
- Innovation
- Industries in fast-moving,
turbulent markets
- Business planning
- Tactical vs Strategic Planning
- Emergent technology
- Highlighting features of the industry in which
Google operates.
- Exploring the need for & risks involved in
emergent technology.
- Correlating Leadership & Strategy
- Understanding timelines in Strategy
implementation using 3 Horizon’s Model (moving
from tactical to strategic to ‘long-term bets.’)
Decision Theory - Lateral Thinking - Brainstorming to ‘disregard what is possible’.
- Providing unconventional perspectives on any 2
current problems or offering innovative solutions
for the same (creating 2 hypothetical moonshots)
OB Team building and decision –
making
- Experiential learning
Business
Communication
Presentation of a timeline
Ordering of arguments
Negotiating with others to gain
support for one’s ideas.
- Experiential learning.
- Communicating assertively & making formal
presentations (timelines, brief business plans)
Leadership Influence of founder-CEO on
organizational culture.
- Delving into formative experiences of Larry Page
& Sergei Brin.
- Highlighting attitude towards quality during their
PhD & consequent launch of Google. Importance
given to innovation and work ethic.

28. Case Assessment

29. Case Assessment
• The case is open-ended offering multiple
discussion points and opportunities to think
out-of-the box.
• The focus will be on understanding the
emerging technologies and preferences of
consumers.
• The ability of the candidate to work in a team,
think analytically and laterally will be the focus
rather than the ‘right solution’ to the case at
hand.

30. Data Sources
• http://www.wired.com/business/2013/01/ff-qa-larry-
page/
• http://timkastelle.org/blog/2010/08/innovation-for-
now-and-for-the-future/#lightbox/0/
• http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/strategy/enduring_
ideas_the_three_horizons_of_growth
• http://www.forbes.com/sites/haydnshaughnessy/2013
/07/08/googles-moonshots-innovation-or-desperation/
• http://www.forbes.com/sites/chunkamui/2013/01/22/
fasten-your-seatbelts-googles-driverless-car-is-worth-
trillions/

31. Q&A
THANK YOU!