There's been a false dichotomy in technology and management lore over the past
decade, between "brain" and "brawn", digital and physical, independence and
interdependence, software culture versus industrial culture… or so observes
Stanford Graduate School of Business lecturer, former big-company executive,
and startup founder Robert Siegel in his
https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/books/brains-brawn-
company-how-leading-organizations-blend-best-digital-physical" target="new">new
book,
The Brains
and Brawn Company: How leading organizations blend the best of digital and
physical.Whether you're an early startup or a Fortune 500 company, we live in an
increasingly complex world -- which means embracing digitization is not
enough. But logistics, supply chains, and infrastructure are messy, ugly, and
hard. So today's leaders have to think completely differently, in terms of
ecosystems; and they're often in the position of having to influence but not
have control. So when and how do they assert power in an ecosystem? When do
they try to shape it? When do they sit back? What to do if their channel
partner suddenly changes? When do you want to stay frenemies and when do you
wanna be enemies? These are just some of the hard questions companies today
have to wrestle with... All boiling down to when and where to partner, when to
go it alone?
So in this hallway-style discussion among Siegel and fellow Stanford b-school
lecturers Jeffrey Immelt (former CEO of GE) and a16z general partner Jeff
Jordan -- in conversation with host Sonal Chokshi -- the group wrestles with
these questions, spinning through several different company examples such as
Instacart and Stripe to Apple and Android/Google to Disney, Peloton, and
others. But we talk too much about the outliers; we need to also talk more
about the tools, and mindsets, that leaders of all kinds -- not just the once-
in-a-generation leaders! -- can use. After all, argues Siegel, "Incumbents are
not doomed and disruptors are not ordained."
The views expressed here are those of the AH Capital Management, L.L.C.
(“a16z”) personnel quoted and are not the views of a16z or its affiliates.
Certain information contained in here has been obtained from third-party
sources, including from portfolio companies of funds managed by a16z. While
taken from sources believed to be reliable, a16z has not independently
verified such information and makes no representations about the enduring
accuracy of the information or its appropriateness for a given situation. In
addition, this content may include third-party advertisements; a16z has not
reviewed such advertisements and does not endorse any advertising content
contained therein. This content is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be
relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. You should consult
your own advisers as to those matters. References to any securities or digital
assets are for illustrative purposes only, and do not constitute an investment
recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services. Furthermore,
this content is not directed at nor intended for use by any investors or
prospective investors, and may not under any circumstances be relied upon when
making a decision to invest in any fund managed by a16z. (An offering to
invest in an a16z fund will be made only by the private placement memorandum,
subscription agreement, and other relevant documentation of any such fund and
should be read in their entirety.) Any investments or portfolio companies
mentioned, referred to, or described are not representative of all investments
in vehicles managed by a16z, and there can be no assurance that the
investments will be profitable or that other investments made in the future
will have similar characteristics or results. A list of investments made by
funds managed by Andreessen Horowitz (excluding investments for which the
issuer has not provided permission for a16z to disclose publicly as well as
unannounced investments in publicly traded digital assets) is available at
https://a16z.com/investments/. Charts and graphs provided within are for informational purposes solely and
should not be relied upon when making any investment decision. Past
performance is not indicative of future results. The content speaks only as of
the date indicated. Any projections, estimates, forecasts, targets, prospects,
and/or opinions expressed in these materials are subject to change without
notice and may differ or be contrary to opinions expressed by others. Please
see https://a16z.com/disclosures for additional important information.
Read more
There's been a false dichotomy in technology and management lore over the past
decade, between "brain" and "brawn", digital and physical, independence and
interdependence, software culture versus industrial culture… or so observes
Stanford Graduate School of Business lecturer, former big-company executive,
and startup founder Robert Siegel in his
https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/faculty-research/books/brains-brawn-
company-how-leading-organizations-blend-best-digital-physical" target="new">new
book,
The Brains
and Brawn Company: How leading organizations blend the best of digital and
physical.Whether you're an early startup or a Fortune 500 company, we live in an
increasingly complex world -- which means embracing digitization is not
enough. But logistics, supply chains, and infrastructure are messy, ugly, and
hard. So today's leaders have to think completely differently, in terms of
ecosystems; and they're often in the position of having to influence but not
have control. So when and how do they assert power in an ecosystem? When do
they try to shape it? When do they sit back? What to do if their channel
partner suddenly changes? When do you want to stay frenemies and when do you
wanna be enemies? These are just some of the hard questions companies today
have to wrestle with... All boiling down to when and where to partner, when to
go it alone?
So in this hallway-style discussion among Siegel and fellow Stanford b-school
lecturers Jeffrey Immelt (former CEO of GE) and a16z general partner Jeff
Jordan -- in conversation with host Sonal Chokshi -- the group wrestles with
these questions, spinning through several different company examples such as
Instacart and Stripe to Apple and Android/Google to Disney, Peloton, and
others. But we talk too much about the outliers; we need to also talk more
about the tools, and mindsets, that leaders of all kinds -- not just the once-
in-a-generation leaders! -- can use. After all, argues Siegel, "Incumbents are
not doomed and disruptors are not ordained."
The views expressed here are those of the AH Capital Management, L.L.C.
(“a16z”) personnel quoted and are not the views of a16z or its affiliates.
Certain information contained in here has been obtained from third-party
sources, including from portfolio companies of funds managed by a16z. While
taken from sources believed to be reliable, a16z has not independently
verified such information and makes no representations about the enduring
accuracy of the information or its appropriateness for a given situation. In
addition, this content may include third-party advertisements; a16z has not
reviewed such advertisements and does not endorse any advertising content
contained therein. This content is provided for informational purposes only, and should not be
relied upon as legal, business, investment, or tax advice. You should consult
your own advisers as to those matters. References to any securities or digital
assets are for illustrative purposes only, and do not constitute an investment
recommendation or offer to provide investment advisory services. Furthermore,
this content is not directed at nor intended for use by any investors or
prospective investors, and may not under any circumstances be relied upon when
making a decision to invest in any fund managed by a16z. (An offering to
invest in an a16z fund will be made only by the private placement memorandum,
subscription agreement, and other relevant documentation of any such fund and
should be read in their entirety.) Any investments or portfolio companies
mentioned, referred to, or described are not representative of all investments
in vehicles managed by a16z, and there can be no assurance that the
investments will be profitable or that other investments made in the future
will have similar characteristics or results. A list of investments made by
funds managed by Andreessen Horowitz (excluding investments for which the
issuer has not provided permission for a16z to disclose publicly as well as
unannounced investments in publicly traded digital assets) is available at
https://a16z.com/investments/. Charts and graphs provided within are for informational purposes solely and
should not be relied upon when making any investment decision. Past
performance is not indicative of future results. The content speaks only as of
the date indicated. Any projections, estimates, forecasts, targets, prospects,
and/or opinions expressed in these materials are subject to change without
notice and may differ or be contrary to opinions expressed by others. Please
see https://a16z.com/disclosures for additional important information.
Read less