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The Rocky Mountain Institute: Reinventing the Think and Do Tank of the Future
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Reference: SM-1604-E
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Year: 2006-2011
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Number of pages: 30
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Geographic Setting: Estados Unidos
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Publication Date: Sep 19, 2013
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Source: IESE (España)
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Type of Document: Case
Description
In 2007, Michael Potts was appointed CEO of the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI). RMI is an independent, non-profit "think and do tank" with the mission of promoting the efficient and restorative use of resources. While the Institute is well-known for its outstanding research and innovative ideas, Michael Potts soon realized it needed a management culture and a new strategic focus. The case illustrates RMI's restructuring process and the challenges it represented with respect to sustaining the Institute's principal capability: fostering radical innovation.
This case is related to "The Rocky Mountain Institute: Making Ideas Real" (SM-1582-E).
Learning Objective
The case was developed for MBA and Executive MBA students. It aims to discuss the tensions between organizational structures and innovation. It also serves as teaching material for discussing how to establish a culture of management in a value-driven organization. It is convenient to start with a short introduction to the business model, the core competencies of the organization and its new strategic focus. The instructor can then lead students to describe the new formal structures and engage in a discussion as to how they might affect the Institute's ability to foster incremental and radical innovation. One possibility is to teach SM-1582-E first. In that case, the class can spend less time on an introduction to RMI and more time looking into the organization-innovation tensions.