It was a typical Monday meeting. The project report on advanced nuclear fuel came in—everything was running smoothly, the budget was solid, and the returns looked promising. Then we moved on to non-nuclear ventures, and chaos erupted. The 3D printing, advanced chemistry, and battery cell projects were all behind schedule, with low sales and razor-thin margins. Senior management from the nuclear fuel company, that owned us, began to question why we were even bothering with these side hustles.
It’s a fair question. When your core business rakes in billions and boasts margins over 50%, why bet on high-risk, low-margin ventures? It’s not until a startup comes back to buy your factory—like NIO potentially snapping up Audi’s plant in Belgium—that you realize the missed opportunity.
Big corporations are great at incremental innovation—making what they already do, just a bit better. Think of Apple’s product evolution or automotive giants tweaking their models year after year. Incremental innovation is safe, predictable, and fits perfectly into corporate decision-making processes. They know the costs, the risks, and the rewards. It’s a no-brainer.
But when it comes to disruptive technologies, everything changes. The market, customer needs, and cost structures are unknown, and that terrifies established players. Is there a solution to this? Yes, but corporate execs aren’t always ready to embrace it.
Follow me to catch the next post where I dive into the way forward. 👇