The Hargadon Group advises a range of companies, from Fortune 500 firms to start-ups, on the rapid creation of value in new ventures, utilizing a set of well-developed tools and processes for moving rapidly between ideation, testing, and execution of new ventures and for exploring network strategies for exploring and enhancing business models around core offerings.

Speaking Engagements

Tapping the Networks of Innovation

Innovation remains one of the most critical yet least understood capabilities for surviving in a rapidly changing global economy. Professor Hargadon combines insights from historic and modern breakthroughs to describe a strategy for innovation that relies less on the lone genius and more on the ability–as individuals and as an organization–to tap your networks and create new and breakthrough innovations from existing resources and opportunities.

Network Innovation: Finding and creating value in a flat world

Today’s business environment offers the means to recreate all but the most complex production systems using networks of supplier and distribution partnerships. The world is flat, but this isn’t new. Professor Hargadon talks about how such moments represent historic cycles of innovation and change, about how companies have prospered by effectively embracing these new networks, and about how to develop the organizational competencies needed for seeing and building such network innovations.

Design Rules: Crafting success in new ventures

Herbert Simon once said, “Everyone designs who devises course of action aimed at changing existing situations into preferred ones.” The difference between successful and failed ventures is often determined by the subtle but critical details of their designs. Not simply the look and feel, or the ease-of-use that endear products to end-users, but also the technical, market, and business choices that provide value and create loyalty among retail partners, suppliers, investors, and others, down to the members of the development team. Using historic and current cases of successful and failed innovations, Professor Hargadon provides framework for understanding how design affects the success of both internal and external change efforts, and for developing design strategies for your own projects.

“Thank you for your amazing keynote presentation at our mid‐year conference in San Francisco earlier this month. The content, your delivery and your ability to connect with our audience made your presentation the ideal starting point for this conference. It was remarkable to see our speakers and attendees continue to reference key points in your presentation throughout many other sessions. Further, I think these points will remain themes throughout the coming months. Thank you for starting our conference with momentum that helped to make this important conference an even greater success.” – Sherry Keramidas, PhD, CAE, Executive Director, Regulatory Affairs Professional Assocation

“Absolutely first-rate. Andy was the perfect closer to two days of sessions and he was successful in connecting with the business-side and newsroom managers. No easy task. The highlight of the offsite.” – Steven H. Weiss, VP Marketing & Public Affairs, The Sacramento Bee

For more information, email The Hargadon Group