251 cooperation. A straightforward way to create legitimacy and visible sponsorship is to directly involve a respected member of top management from the very beginning. } Manage vested interests Take care to identify and manage vested interests throughout the organization. Not everybody in an organization is interested in reinventing the current business model. In fact, the design effort may threaten some people. } Cross-functional team As described previously (see p. 143), the ideal business model task force is composed of people from across the organization, including different business units, business functions (e.g. marketing, finance, IT), levels of seniority and expertise, and so forth. Different organizational perspectives help generate better ideas, and increase the likelihood that the project will succeed. A cross-functional team helps identify and overcome potential obstacles to reinvention early in the game and encourages buy-in. } Orienting decision makers You should plan on spending a considerable amount of time orienting and educating decision makers on business models, their importance, and the design and innovation process. This is critical to gaining buy-in and overcoming resistance to the unknown or not-yet-understood. Depending on your organization’s management style you may want to avoid overemphasizing the conceptual aspects of business models. Stay practical and deliver your message with stories and images rather than concepts and theory. One clear danger in the Mobilization phase is that people tend to overestimate the potential of initial business model ideas. This can lead to a closed mindset and limited exploration of other possibili- ties. Try to mitigate this risk by continuously testing the new ideas with people from varied backgrounds. You may also want to consider organizing a so-called kill/thrill session in which all participants are tasked first with brainstorming for 20 minutes on reasons why the idea won’t work (the “kill” portion), then spend 20 minutes brainstorming exclusively on why the idea will fly (the “thrill” por- tion). It’s a powerful way to challenge an idea’s fundamental worth. Working from the Established Company Perspective } Project legitimacy Building project legitimacy is a critical suc- cess factor when working within established organizations. Since business model design projects affect people across organizational boundaries, a strong and visible commitment by the board and/or top management is indispensable to obtaining bmgen_final.indd 251 6/15/10 5:59 PM