Dipl.-Ing. Lars Behrendt

//CEO@GRANNY&SMITH, DE-RISKING INNOLAB FOR THE MOST INNOVATIVE COMPANIES

I’m an inventor, innovator and investor. I turn real problems into real companies.My career changed the moment I realized most innovations fail for the same reason: everyone talks about ideas - almost no one builds them.In boardrooms and workshops, I watched brilliant concepts suffocate under politics, process and PowerPoints. The spark in people’s eyes faded the moment reality entered the room. I couldn’t unsee it.So I stopped helping people discuss the future and started building it.Over the past 15 years, I’ve created products, ventures and business models that didn’t exist before. What began as engineering evolved into a practice: recognizing real unmet needs, inventing the solution and forming a company around it.Today, I operate where invention, innovation and investment meet. I don’t manage portfolios — I create the companies they’re built from.How I work: • real-world problems • physical + digital products • validated demand • scalable models • long-term ownershipWhat drives me: If you can see a better future, you’re responsible for building it. I work with people who believe progress comes from creating, not talking — and who want to bring things into the world that should already exist.That’s why I build.More: grannyandsmith.com

We are here to help you develop, test, and grow new business ideas in a few weeks instead of months. We specialize in innovation development, constantly keeping up with the latest trends, methods, and ways of working.

We have been developing innovation for our customers for more than 15 years now. Our teams, consisting of designers, engineers, software developers, and business model experts, have tried a lot and gained much experience. Today we know what works and what does not - so you don't have to make all those experiences again.

Our INNOWEEK® method is the result of more than 15 years of continuous development and project experience with well-known DAX groups and Fortune 500 companies and helps you to develop, test, and grow new business ideas in a few weeks instead of months.

HERE IS MY APPROACH TO INNOVATION DEVELOPMENT

The difference between bringing your product to market in theory?

VS

Bringing your product to market in practice?

-------

In "the theoretical" way, you tried to be perfectly prepared and get hit by the market, and it´s over.

In "the practice way", you are learning step by step. (Like small hits that won't knock you out)

In "the practice way", you get feedback from the market and learn to iterate.

-------

After +15 years in the innovation business, I will never go "the theoretical way" anymore. 

It just hurts too much ;-)

You get that one hi,t and it's over.

It´s your choice.

#innovation

Dipl Ing Lars Behrendt 

INVENTOR · INNOVATOR · INVESTOR - Building Companies. Not Slide Decks. We build and scale industrial ventures. At own risk.

YOU FEEL TIRED?

If you are feeling tired in your life...

...then you should take a good look at this video*!

Don't ever let somebody tell you you can't do something. 

_You got a dream? 
_You gotta protect it. 
_You want something, go get it

P.S.
*Actually, this movie is based on a true story by Chris Gardner
He is also here on Linkedin

———

This is how we bring your ideas to market in 2025:
https://lnkd.in/dexsVrw8

#innovation

THE FOUNDER OF NETFLIX LITERALLY DROPPED HIS BEST BUSINESS ADVICE IN UNDER A MINUTE 🔥

The most valuable business advice I've heard in years 💡

Netflix's founder just dropped this truth bomb that every entrepreneur needs to hear:

"Nobody knows anything when it comes to new ideas. I've started seven companies, including Netflix, and I promise you - I could never have predicted which would succeed and which would fail on day one."

His solution? Stop overthinking and START DOING.
→ Take the risk → Build something
→ Test something → Try something

Because here's the reality: 
You learn more in one hour of action than in three months of planning.

This hits different when you realize Netflix was just one of his seven attempts. 

Imagine if he'd stopped at attempt #6 because he was afraid of failure.

The companies that win aren't the ones with perfect plans - they're the ones brave enough to test their imperfect ideas in the real world.

What's one idea you've been overthinking that you could test this week?

P.S.
This is exactly the approach we are taking with our startup studio and family office. Reach out if you're interested in collaborating to build startups systematically.  

#innovation #vc #familyoffice

➕LEVEL UP YOUR STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP ➟ I share proven systems, actionable tips, and lessons from 20+ years of helping CEOs make better strategy ➕STRATEGY ADVISOR TO CEOs + THEIR TEAMS ➟ Learn more in my ABOUT section👇

Most professionals reach a point in their career where the rules change — quietly.

What used to matter most — execution, reliability, getting things done — stops being what earns trust.

Suddenly, the conversations shift.
The decisions get murkier.
And you’re no longer being asked for your performance only, but for your strategic leadership.

That moment is rarely named.

But every senior professional eventually feels it.

It’s the moment when strategic responsibility expands faster than your preparation for it.

And that’s where most leadership development stops helping.

I built The Better Strategy School to close that gap.

Not by offering more frameworks or theories.
But by creating an environment where serious professionals can develop strategic leadership — deliberately, while their work is live.

Inside the School, members learn to:
– Frame issues clearly when clarity is incomplete
– Make trade-offs visible — and stand behind them
– Hold direction when others are still negotiating it
– Lead with coherence instead of control

It’s not about knowing more.

It’s about thinking, deciding, and leading differently.

After two decades of working with leaders and organizations navigating complexity, one thing became clear:

Strategy isn’t a document.
It isn’t a plan.

It’s the ongoing ability to make coherent choices under uncertainty — and to help others align around them.

That ability isn’t taught in most leadership programs.

It’s practiced — through live tension, real trade-offs, and reflection.

That’s what we do here.

If you’re an experienced professional who’s ready to:
– Strengthen how you think, not just what you know
– Lead strategy with calm confidence under pressure
– Develop judgment you can trust when conditions change

You’ll feel at home in this work.

Most leadership development doesn’t prepare you for this shift.
It gives you frameworks when what you need is judgment.

And here’s the truth most people never name:
Strategy becomes your responsibility long before it becomes your title.

That’s the moment this work exists for.

So the question isn’t whether strategy is coming for you — it already has.

The question is:
How do you want to prepare?

If you’re ready to develop strategic leadership deliberately — this is where you begin.

📍 Learn more → www.makebetterstrategy.com
📩 Or connect directly: team@makebetterstrategy.com

Marc Sniukas

Most organizations do not fail at execution.
They fail at strategy, then blame execution.

👉 The illusion of strategy is more dangerous than the absence of strategy.
When a strategy is not a strategy.
The organization moves.
Progress seems visible.
Yet the actions do not lead to success.

👉 The business school approach substitutes analysis for judgment.
Frameworks and PowerPoint create the appearance of rigor.
More data is gathered as a way to postpone difficult choices.
The work feels productive.
The thinking remains shallow.

👉 The everybody's darling strategy avoids making clear choices.
A bit of everything is included so no one is unhappy.
Consensus is mistaken for coherence.
Tough decisions are deferred.
The organization feels aligned.
The strategy remains directionless.

👉 The ivory tower speaks in buzzwords and abstractions.
Obvious challenges are not addressed.
The work floats above daily reality.
Unrealistic objectives are set.
The vision sounds impressive.
The organization cannot reach it.

What these patterns reveal is that weak strategy creates the illusion of progress.

The organization is busy.
The deck is complete.
The launch is announced.
The strategy was never there.

❓ A question I'll leave you with:
What is one initiative your organization is pursuing that creates the appearance of progress without addressing the real challenge?

📌 Become a better strategist with the
The Better Strateg School
Link in my profile. 

♻️ Repost to help others in your network and
follow Dr. Marc Sniukas for strategy insights.

Dr. Marc Sniukas

Founder, The Better Strategy School → Where strategy becomes a leadership capability.

When Steve Jobs returned to Apple in 1997,
the company was in chaos.

Too many products. Too much noise. No clear focus.

The core idea of his strategy?
Focus on only four  products.

– 1 desktop + 1 laptop for professionals
– 1 desktop + 1 laptop for home users

Stop everything else.
That’s it.

Everyone understood. Everyone aligned.
And Apple came back stronger than ever.

Strategy can be that simple.

It’s the same principle behind my Better Strategy Canvas — a tool I designed to help leaders visualize strategy clearly and simply.

Why I built the Canvas:

Most leaders felt confused by strategy frameworks. Too abstract. Too disconnected. Too heavy.

So I built a tool that:
 ✅ Fits on one page
 ✅ Visualizes challenges, opportunities, and responses
 ✅ Creates instant clarity + alignment

The Canvas works because it’s grounded in a simple principle:

Strategy is about how you respond to the specific challenges and opportunities blocking your ambitions.

👉 Use the Canvas to map and visualize your strategy.

I shared the full backstory in an article here: https://lnkd.in/dRyYfJTN

You can download your copy here: https://lnkd.in/d_vZTcs5

👉 What would happen if you simplified your strategy like this?

Share to help someone in your network, and
Follow Dr. Marc Sniukas for more insights on how to make better strategy.

Which single strategy framework are you relying on?

Most strategy failures do not come from bad analysis.
They come from seeing strategy in one dimension.

I see this pattern repeatedly with senior teams.

The slides are solid.
The market is sized.
The competitors are mapped.
The five-year plan looks coherent.

Twelve months later, momentum stalls.

Not because the strategy was “wrong.”

But because it was flat.

Strategy is not a single problem to solve.

It is a three-dimensional leadership challenge.

When leaders reduce strategy to “What should we do?”
they overlook two forces that quietly determine outcomes:
• How strategy actually emerges and changes
• Where those choices collide with reality

A more useful way to work with strategy is through three intertwined lenses:

1. Strategy content — the what
The choices you make at business, corporate, and network level.
Where you compete.
What you integrate.
Who you partner with — and who you don’t.

2. Strategy process — the how
How ideas become commitments.
Whether strategy is planned, emerges, or is retrofitted after the fact.
How change really happens inside your system.

3. Strategy context — the where
The industry rules you accept or challenge.
The organizational constraints you respect or try to reshape.
The global vs local assumptions you embed — often unconsciously.

These dimensions constantly influence one another.
Ignoring any one of them creates blind spots.

Before debating frameworks,
strong strategists clarify one deeper question:

How do we actually think about strategy?
Do you know how you think about strategy?

Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/dmEFeEug

⚠️ Find this valuable?
📌 Save // ♻️ Repost // 💬 Comment // 👍 Like // 👤 Follow.

20+ Years Helping Leaders Design + Execute Winning Strategies • Founded The Better Strategy School to Help Leaders Worldwide Master Strategy • Global C-Suite Strategy Partner

Most leaders don’t struggle with execution.
They struggle with how they think about strategy.

When strategy stalls, it’s rarely because people don’t work hard enough.

It’s because leaders default to one way of thinking—analysis, planning, frameworks—and ignore the tensions and contradictions that actually define real strategy.

That’s why so many strategies look coherent on slides
and fall apart in practice.

Today, we’re hosting a live masterclass on this exact issue:

👉 How do you think about strategy—really?

In this session, we’ll explore:
- Why strategy is not a problem to solve, but a set of paradoxes to navigate

- The most common thinking traps leaders fall into when designing strategy

- How world-class strategists hold opposing ideas without losing clarity

- What changes when leaders shift from linear thinking to strategic sensemaking

It’s a live thinking session for leaders who are accountable for strategy—and feel the limits of traditional approaches.

🕒 Happening today, January 8, 10 am ET / 4 pm CET
📍 Online, live, interactive, and practical

If strategy feels harder than it should…
or if execution keeps exposing hidden flaws in the strategy itself…
this session will sharpen how you think.

👉 Register here https://lnkd.in/dyA4Dq8B

See you later today.

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