Values

Using Shark Tank to Mine Treasure Buried Within the Organization


Levi Strauss & Co.
September 3, 2014

In a world littered with reality television trash, ABC’s hit show Shark Tank is a rare gem. It gives budding entrepreneurs the opportunity to present an idea to a panel of potential investors (multi-millionaires and billionaires like Mark Cuban, Daymond John and Lori Greiner). The business-themed show offers a little something for everyone: insight into the world of venture capital funding, a peek into the entrepreneurial process and some truly inspiring stories of innovation and grit.

For Marc Rosen, President of Global eCommerce at Levi Strauss & Co., it provides more than after-hours entertainment. It was inspiration for “Strauss Tank,” a friendly competition designed to unlock innovative ideas from his eCommerce team. Though the presentations and the team names — such as #tankyouverymuch, Team 2 Legit 2 Quit and Canadian Tuxedos — were marked by humor, the data-driven proposals that resulted contained thoughtful, and viable, ideas.

Read Marc’s article, Using Shark Tank to Mine Treasure Buried Within the Organization, on LinkedIn to learn more about the competition and how it helped generate new creative ideas for solving business problems.

Image Credit: Timitrius via Flickr CC