Building corporate support for new business creation

Abstract

This chapter examines how the building of corporate support by the DGM influences new business creation (Table 13.1). Support or opposition from corporate constituents The DGM must build support with three corporate constituencies: his boss, top corporate executives, and relevant corporate committees and staff groups. Those who are opposed to the DGM's new business creation strategy and initiatives must be won over, neutralized, or defeated. The DGM's boss and the top corporate executives The DGM needs the support of his boss, typically a GVP, to get things done. It helps even more if the GVP's superiors — the EVP, the president, and the CEO — also support the DGM and his new business creation strategy. This is especially true for new initiatives involving substantial investment, or high risk, or excursions beyond the current corporate strategy. Buddy March said he had learned the importance of corporate support from his failure to obtain clearance for a key acquisition during his early years as DGM of 3M Micrographics. I wanted to buy Sycor ten years ago, but I was turned down by corporate. I thought my GVP had sold it to [president] Bennett Colt. But he hadn't. Or maybe I did a poor sell upstairs. Anyhow, they turned me down. Said it was too risky. That was a poor decision because Sycor took off only a year later. I have learned from that. Today, I would sit down and personally sell MacNeil [CEO] and the two other top executives in such a case.