Earlier this year, Stanford Graduate School of Business published a case study on WiL and the transformation of Japanese corporations in Harvard Business Review (World Innovation Lab - WiL: Transforming Japanese Corporations). Written by Professor Charles O’Reilly — who co-authored Lead and Disrupt: How to Solve the Innovator’s Dilemma and has taught at Stanford for 30+ years — the study provides a deeper look into our firm and how we’ve partnered with Japanese companies on corporate innovation and organizational transformation over the last decade.
WiL’s relationship with Professor Charles O'Reilly started over twenty years ago, preceding even our firm’s origin in 2013. WiL was founded as a venture capital firm with offices in Palo Alto and Tokyo, but as our name “World Innovation Lab” suggests, we do much more than just provide capital to startups. Our mission is to spur innovation within large Japanese corporations by linking people, products, and information – and thus help spread wider innovation and economic growth in Japan. Professor O'Reilly was an early supporter of our mission and believed we had the potential to change how not only new businesses, but also existing Japanese companies operate.
Over the last decade, in line with this mission, our firm has collaborated with several institutions such as Stanford University to provide programs for students, corporate leaders, and key executives in order to foster design thinking, executive leadership, and organizational ambidexterity.
Elements of the case study
After years of observing and supporting WiL, in August 2022, Professor O’Reilly offered to write a case study on WiL. The process took several months and the support of several partners, including:
(1) Interviews: We invited Professor O’Reilly and his colleagues over to our original Palo Alto office on University Avenue to learn more about our history, activities, and people. Here, we also conducted a series of interviews with myself and Gen Isayama, WiL’s co-founder and CEO. Our team also facilitated introductions to many of our corporate partners, so the Stanford team could gain a more personal perspective on what it’s like to work with us.
(2) Documentation: Additionally, we documented all of our corporate transformation activities and submitted these examples alongside reference materials.
(3) Pilot MBA Class: In December 2022, Gen and I visited Stanford GSB campus to preview the case study live for the first time with one of Professor O’Reilly’s classes.There, we fielded enthusiastic questions by graduate students responding to the study. We look forward to joining more classes in the future!
Key takeaways for readers
- Organizational challenges are universal: We thought that many of the organizational problems we were looking to solve for leadership and culture were unique to Japanese companies. However, a military officer studying at GSB shared with us that the U.S. military faces challenges similar to those of Japanese companies. A student from Asia made a similar comparison to his experiences growing up. The friction between more conservative ways of thinking and innovative models of operating exists universally, and there is an ongoing need for leaders to foster entrepreneurial mindset across their organizations.
- Effective change requires partnership: I’ve always known that it is difficult to create innovation or change corporate culture alone or in a silo. But when you secure the right partners, such work can be effected and scaled more impactfully. We hope this study showcases clear examples of how WiL has been able to serve as that partner for several Japanese companies.
Final reflections
Throughout this process, our team has been able to reflect on the highs and lows we’ve experienced in the last decade of promoting WiL’s mission. The study is a proud documentation of our history working with Japanese corporations to implement the innovation frameworks (i.e. design thinking, lean startup methodology) taught at Stanford University. While we’ve had our fair share of trials and failures along the way, we’ve also experienced countless wins and the joy of building lifelong relationships.
We’re honored to be able to contribute to the research of Professor O'Reilly through this case study and want to thank him again for being an incredible role model for us and our companies.
Our full case study is available on the Harvard Business Review store here.
The information presented is proprietary to WiL, LLC, WiLSP, LLC or any affiliates and subsidiaries (collectively, “WiL”). This material is not to be reproduced in whole or in part or used for any purpose except as authorized by WiL.
This material does not constitute an offer, solicitation or recommendation to sell or an offer to buy any securities, investment products or investment advisory services. Any offer or solicitation will be made only pursuant to a confidential private placement memorandum and subscription documents (the “Offering Materials”) and will be subject to the terms and conditions contained in such Offering Materials.
In the event that any of the LPs listed in this presentation are contacted about WiL, any endorsement that may be given was not compensated by WiL in exchange for such endorsement. WiL or its affiliates are unaware of any material conflicts of interest on the part of the person giving the testimonial or endorsement resulting from WiL’s relationship with the LP.
The case studies discussed herein were selected based on objective non-performance based criteria and are provided for illustrative purposes only to show the partnership process with respect to such partnership. There is no guarantee that the fund will find similar opportunities in the future. Additional information about these case studies can be obtained by contacting WiL.