The Wrong Way To Innovate: When Unrealistic Expectations Meet Antiquated Management

/in /by

Innovation has always been culturally synonymous with ‘the latest and greatest’, the ‘next big thing’, and on the surface this true. Companies like to rollout their innovations at trade shows and industry events to garner attention and praise for their good work.

While there are a lot of best practices, many companies tailor their efforts to their corporate structure and industry. Innovation luminaries like Coca Cola, General Electric, Shell Oil innovate effectively because they have structural elements in common, and they work to avoid a number of key pitfalls executing innovation work.

Sprints vs. Marathons

Usain Bolt has never run a mile,1 and great innovation centers have similar focus. Innovation initiatives that lack focus will rarely be able to deliver exponential innovation – the kind of output that creates new categories and literally makes steaks from organization’s sacred cow. Phil Swisher, former Global Head of Innovation at Brown Brothers Harriman, told Innovation Leader that “to maximize impact and outcomes, you’re relying on the senior executive sponsor (ideally the CEO) to provide the permission and space for the team to go after the really big opportunities, including the ones which are threatening to the status quo of the company.” Without executive support expect your Innovation initiatives to deliver only innovations like new product features, colors, and line extensions.

A Kilo of Feathers or A Kilo of Bricks

Insists on using the traditional and standard measurements on innovation projects, and you get standard and traditional outputs. Be purposeful in defining value creation for your innovation practice. Know what kind of value you want and encourage it by design.

Coca Cola’s Vice President of Entrepreneurship and Innovation David Butler provided some insights to Innovation Leader on how he evaluates his center’s activities. David says “We track progress just like a VC does, in this case. We look right at growth metrics, the things that really matter.”2 This is a startup, so financial performance is never the first thing to measure. A sure fire way to discourage innovation is to expect immediate revenue.

Location, Location, Location

Where you locate your innovation center within your organization matters. Some companies like Trek Bicycles locates their R&D Skunkworks directly into their business units to accelerate buy-in. Alphabet (Google) moved their social innovation lab (Jigsaw) out of the organization so that it could operate independently. The American Cancer Society built it’s Futuring and Innovation Center within the organization to maximize connectivity. Avoid creating it under the auspices of a strict operational or financial leader determined to conform the outputs to legacy metrics.

Total Secrecy Is Totally Wrong

An innovation project can energize an organization – so showcase the great work to generate excitement and even a little bit of envy. When a employees see the work they’ll ask how they can get involved. The exponential value accumulates when you generate broad engagement – when your innovation center attracts inputs from across the organization. Diverse minds share diverse ideas that can generate new value. Having confidentiality is expected, but secrecy and needless exclusivity impede value creation.

Opening and operating an internal innovation initiative is a daunting challenge. It requires executive support, careful forethought and a leader with the courage to take risks. But if an organization can methodically plan and execute the stand-up and delivery they can realize exponential value creation.

About the Author

Randal C. MossRandal C. Moss is an award winning marketer who focuses on engaging organizations and applying technology to drive growth. He has over 12 years of experience including institutionalizing innovation development frameworks, and creating consumer engagement solutions for companies and clients across the CPG, Real Estate, and nonprofit sectors. Randal has spoken at conferences such as SXSW (3X), State of Play, National Human Services Assembly National Meeting, Disney Institute’s Digital Now, and the American Marketing Association Hot Topic Tour.

Randal’s first book, with co-author David J. Neff, is The Future of Nonprofits: Innovate and Thrive in the Digital Age (Wiley). Their newest book, IGNITE: Setting your Organization’s Culture on Fire with Innovation was released in August 2016.

References

  1. Usain Bolt Has Never Run a Mile (No, Really), Time, Staff Writers
  2. Innovation Leader Magazine Spring 2016
  3. Under pressure, Lockheed opens up about secret weapons unit, Reuters, Andrea Shalal and Howard Goller

Five ways to create a culture of innovation

/in /by

Does your business have a culture in which innovation thrives? Do you encourage your team to challenge the status quo? Or do you struggle to find time to listen to and seek out new ideas?

Building a culture of innovation is hard work. However, the scientific research into how to create a culture where innovation thrives is both plentiful and precise. Following are five of the most impactful drivers of an innovation culture.

Hi there! This article is available for free. Login or register as a StrategyDriven Personal Business Advisor Self-Guided Client by:

Subscribing to the Self Guided Program - It's Free!


 

About the Author

Amantha ImberDr. Amantha Imber is the Founder of Inventium, a leading innovation consultancy that uses scientifically-proven techniques for boosting innovation performance. Her latest book, The Innovation Formula: The 14 Science-Based Keys for Creating a Culture Where Innovation Thrives, tackles the topic of how organisations can create a culture where innovation thrives. Amantha can be contacted at [email protected].

Scan for the 3 key ingredients of trends to survive in the Expectation Economy

/in /by

Right now, at this very minute, there are hundreds if not thousands of brands out there heightening your customers’ expectations. Companies like Google are heightening expectations around data-driven personalization. Patagonia is spreading expectations around supply chain transparency. Periscope is creating entirely new expectations around media consumption. Tesla is rewriting expectations around how drivers purchase a vehicle. If you work for a small firm or a giant organization, in fashion or finance, in Texas or Tanzania, you are competing in a ruthless, globe-spanning Expectation Economy.

Hi there! This article is available for free. Login or register as a StrategyDriven Personal Business Advisor Self-Guided Client by:

Subscribing to the Self Guided Program - It's Free!


 

About the Author

Maxwell LuthyMaxwell Luthy is the author of the new book Trend-Driven Innovation. Based in New York, Max runs TrendWatching’s North American business, regularly delivering keynotes and workshops for leading brands, from Disney to Samsung. Max has been quoted as a trend expert in the Financial Times, The Next Web, and strategy+business. Max also oversaw the TW:IN trend spotter network until 2013, hosting meetups everywhere from Johannesburg to Manila. A contributor to five of TrendWatching’s most-recent annual Trend Reports, Max now lives in the oft-overlooked trend hotspot of New Jersey.

Strategies for Success in a Dematerialized World

/in /by

Are you prepared to get vaporized? During the past twenty years I’ve worked with companies all over the world, big and small, helping them to craft a strategy so they can transition from the old world of producing physical products to a new world in which most things tangible – products, devices, stores, and even companies – will simply disappear forever to be replaced by invisible software.  I call this getting vaporized.

My motto is “Whatever can be vaporized will be.” That means any part of your business or product that can be replaced by pure digital information almost certainly will be.

You can’t stop this transformation process because dozens or even hundreds of other companies are already working on it. They are catering to the two billion consumers wielding smartphones who demand instant access to apps and services.

For start-up ventures with no stake in the old physical economy, this poses no particular challenge – just a wealth of opportunities.  But for old-school bureaucracies, it’s a scary new world that requires managers to rethink the basic principles that govern established businesses.

From health care to handbags, no industry is immune. At least some portion of every firm’s activity will be transformed from the old-school physical industrial process into a vaporized state of information available on demand. You won’t be able to stop this process, but if you react soon enough, you will at least have the option to determine how and when you will respond.

The secret to success when technology is driving change rapidly in an established industry is to envision possibilities that many consider unthinkable: to make an effort to envision what a disruptive change might look like, and how it will transform the entire business process. That’s easier said than done. To do so, you have to set aside everything that made your company a big success and focus on the changes that will wipe all of that success away. This is not an easy exercise for anyone.  To get started, ask yourself the following questions:

Hi there! This article is available for free. Login or register as a StrategyDriven Personal Business Advisor Self-Guided Client by:

Subscribing to the Self Guided Program - It's Free!


 

About the Author

Robert TercekRobert Tercek invents the digital future. He has launched satellite TV networks, the first video on mobile phones, multimedia games, and live interactive learning programs. He provides strategic insight to Turner Broadcasting, InterPublic Group, PBS, and other firms. He previously served in executive leadership at MTV, Sony Pictures Entertainment, and most recently as President of Digital Media at OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network. And is the author of VAPORIZED: Solid Strategies for Success in a Dematerialized World, For more information, go to: http://www.roberttercek.com/

Why Your Business Needs To Start Monetizing Its Data

/in , /by

Because of the digital age that we live in, most people know of and even understand what data is. They say that information is power. In the business world, that is quite right! Firms of all shapes and sizes have and deal with a lot of data on a daily basis.

Data examples include contact details and even the way customers pay for their goods and services. It’s a well-known fact that running a business is tougher than ever these days. But, the sad truth is that organizations aren’t using the data they have to make some money!

Data monetization is a lucrative market. The sector is large, but it could be bigger if more firms used the information they hold to increase their revenue.

If you’re still not convinced, keep reading to learn why your business needs to start monetizing its data today!

Why Your Business Needs To Start Monetizing Its DataPhoto courtesy of Sean Ellis

You learn more about your customer spending habits

Let’s face it, we all have uniquely personal spending habits. Some of us lead an extravagant lifestyle and are happy to pay for high-end products. Others prefer to count the pennies and only buy things we need rather than all those things we want.

Customer loyalty cards are one of the best ways of gaining insights into how people spend their money. It’s a classic way of fostering data monetization. Why? Because you can target specific promotions to individual customer groups.

Let’s say that you own a retail store. People will sign up for loyalty cards if they know they can enjoy special offers and deals that are applicable to them. Yes, you can offer targeted promotions to loyalty card holders.

But it’s also a good way of learning which products are best-sellers and which ones are nothing better than loss leaders.

Work with other firms to cross-promote products and services

If you run an ISP business, you could work with retailers that sell computers to offer your services to their customers. Likewise, you could offer discounted rates to people leaving particular competitors.

Sharing data is always a neat idea for two sets of organizations that can complement each other’s wares. There’s no point trying to go solo if there’s an opportunity to work with someone else. At least on an opportunity that is mutually beneficial of course!

Sell anonymous data to relevant organizations

No one likes the idea of companies selling their personal details to other people. But, did you know that you can sell anonymous data to third parties without it being controversial?

For instance, let’s say that you are a commercial property developer. And you own a shopping mall. Market research firms may wish to buy data from you like the following:

  • Number of shoppers per day, week, month or year;
  • Average store occupancy rates;
  • Shopper spending habits (e.g. Do they spend most of their cash on clothing, food, or electronics?).

As you can see from this example, anonymous data can be attractive to third party organizations. And because you aren’t selling any personal details, you won’t fall afoul of the law.

Return to the Tactical Execution Forum