Innovation
Innovation
Innovation
We dare to lift you to a new level innovatively
We dare to lift you to a new level innovatively
With 80% of executives believing their organizations are at risk of drastic disruption in the near future, they are under tremendous pressure to make their organizations more innovative. However, any organizational adaptation, let alone fundamental change, is always very difficult to implement successfully.
Why an innovation transformation?
First, we need to examine why transformation is necessary. Why can't a company just make minor changes or add a new innovation team and expect solid results from innovation? The answer is simple: innovation cannot simply be added to the mix; it must be a central part of how the company operates. Innovation cannot simply be added to the mix, it must be a central part of how the company operates.
For this there are two Main reasons:
- The traditional R&D innovation style is no longer up to date
- Innovation activities that are not integrated into the core business lead nowhere
Traditional R&D no longer works
What we mean by the traditional R&D innovation style is that even though companies spend millions or even billions on R&D investments, they do not get a solid return on those investments. It has been shown that there is no real correlation between R&D spending and innovation.
There are several reasons for this. First, the research and development departments of most large companies tend to be quite technology-focused and it usually takes them a very long time to bring their new products and services to market. Given the rapid rate of change and intense competition we see across industries, succeeding against more nimble and customer-focused competitors is a challenge.
In addition, focusing on just a few projects at a time is a major challenge, especially when combined with these long development cycles. This means that virtually every single one of these projects needs to be a big success for the organization to achieve its goals.
However, if you have ever worked in innovation, you know that this is highly unlikely, as most innovations fail. Obviously, there are still large companies that invest heavily in R&D and manage to turn those investments into successful innovations with amazing success rates. However, as time goes on, there seem to be fewer and fewer.
What we mean by the traditional R&D innovation style is that even though companies spend millions or even billions on R&D investments, they do not get a solid return on those investments. It has been shown that there is no real correlation between R&D spending and innovation.
There are several reasons for this. First, the research and development departments of most large companies tend to be quite technology-focused and it usually takes them a very long time to bring their new products and services to market. Given the rapid rate of change and intense competition we see across industries, succeeding against more nimble and customer-focused competitors is a challenge.
In addition, focusing on just a few projects at a time is a major challenge, especially when combined with these long development cycles. This means that virtually every single one of these projects needs to be a big success for the organization to achieve its goals.
However, if you have ever worked in innovation, you know that this is highly unlikely, as most innovations fail. Obviously, there are still large companies that invest heavily in R&D and manage to turn those investments into successful innovations with amazing success rates. However, as time goes on, there seem to be fewer and fewer.
Innovation theater
The other problem of just adding innovation activities like idea challenges, hackathons, design thinking workshops, etc. to an existing organization is called innovation theater. These activities usually bring a lot of excitement and people feel great when the organization finally starts emphasizing innovation. At the end of the activities, the organization has a lot of ideas and maybe even a few prototypes.
The problem, however, is that everyone in your industry usually has more or less the same ideas. It's the execution that makes the difference. And if these activities are just an add-on, there are no people and resources to actually steer these ideas, select the most promising ones, and then commit to executing them brilliantly.
While idea challenges and hackathons can be great tools, they need to be used in the right way. If they are not integrated into core business activities, everyone involved will find that these activities do not lead to success, and they will become disillusioned with innovation in general. Then you hear things like "innovation is not for us."
Essentially, you can't just add a new R&D team or a new innovation lab or start organizing all kinds of innovation activities and expect successful innovation. As a result, a pretty big transformation is often required for most organizations.
Transformation, of course, is easier said than done. So let's focus on this.
The path to becoming a top innovatorThe problem, however, is that everyone in your industry usually has more or less the same ideas. It's the execution that makes the difference. And if these activities are just an add-on, there are no people and resources to actually steer these ideas, select the most promising ones, and then commit to executing them brilliantly.
While idea challenges and hackathons can be great tools, they need to be used in the right way. If they are not integrated into core business activities, everyone involved will find that these activities do not lead to success, and they will become disillusioned with innovation in general. Then you hear things like "innovation is not for us."
Essentially, you can't just add a new R&D team or a new innovation lab or start organizing all kinds of innovation activities and expect successful innovation. As a result, a pretty big transformation is often required for most organizations.
Transformation, of course, is easier said than done. So let's focus on this.
Depending on where you start from, there is obviously more than one path. However, it's important to understand that transformations like these don't happen overnight as an established organization. Even when they are successful, they are rarely projects with clean start and end dates. Strong leadership and decisive action are required to get the process started, and clear communication is a must to ensure everyone understands where the organization is headed. A good starting point is always to visualize the big picture of your goal and then break it down into smaller, more achievable and practical goals that move you closer to that vision.
Nevertheless, the most important thing to understand is that it is an iterative process.
The most important thing is that innovation transformation is an iterative process.
Without action, you cannot bring about change. However, many of these actions are likely to fail because the business is not ready for them. You may find that you don't have a very innovative culture, or that you don't have enough skills to implement some of the ideas you come up with. You might have been able to anticipate and avoid some of these challenges through careful planning, but there are always just as many that you can't. So do your homework and start with a solid plan, but don't spend too much time and effort perfecting it. It will still fail.
We've never heard of a comprehensive organizational change that went exactly as planned. So be prepared for the obstacles you will inevitably encounter, learn from them, and overcome them one by one.
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