In the current business world, you need to be fast enough to outrun the competition because when the pace of change outside your organization is greater than the pace of change within, you will be beaten by the competition. It is discouragingly easy for the competitors to copy your product, rip off your business processes and go after your customer base. To prevent this, companies must continually reinvent itself that it doesn’t hold still long enough to be copied- a company must have a culture based on innovation. A culture of innovation is the best secret weapon and it starts with a single individual, someone at the top who sees an opportunity for improvements and runs with it.
There are 3 waves of change that the innovative company will undergo, starting with leadership-driven capacity. The second and third waves are structural driven capacity and organic capacity respectively. There are three necessary ingredients for a pervasive culture of innovations to emerge:
1) The ability of the people within the organization to be innovative
2) The desire of the people to act an in innovative manner
3) An environment that enables and empowers innovation.
It is a misconception that the biggest and key problem in most organization is the lack of innovative ability of the people. It is rather observed that the right environment is the biggest issue or blunder in achieving innovative culture.
Innovation is akin to Jazz music where the structure is simple but not random and is not rigid that it allows room for creativity. Getting the right environment involves looking at business as a portfolio of capabilities rather than as organizational silos or process-oriented “pipes” of work. Successful innovations demand collaboration in order to avoid optimizing one capability at the expense of others or of overall performance. Focusing on the interaction, rather than on isolated activities provides the flexibility needed for innovation. Employees have to be trusted to search intelligently for improvements. But they do need guidance, training and tools to fulfill whatever solutions they come up with.
Diagnosing your innovative potential- there are 21 factors that help create a powerful environment of innovation. All these are needed in one form or another.
These factors are:
1) Surface and challenge assumptions
2) Invest time and money
3) Create a Networked organization
4) Focus on goals rather than procedures
5) Employ advocates and owners rather than managers
6) Get the right measures and incentives
7) Use optimistic language
8) Get the right people in the right roles
9) Provide encouragement
10)Design for process flexibility
11) Strive for simplicity
12) Be consistent and build trust
13) Provide strong leadership
14) Use internal markets
15) Collect and connect dots
16) Ensure strategic alignment
17)Eliminate administration
18)Create and align context
19)Target high-value capabilities
20)Focus outside in
21)Revel in differences
For each factors, relevant questions are asked to help diagnose the environment if it is conducive to innovative thinking. A rating of scale from 1 to 10 is used to indicate how well the company is currently performing and another rating for target for each item. The difference of the two is the gap and whichever has the highest gap should be the areas to focus on.
Such questions would be:
1)Are root causes of problems identified and addressed?
2)Is time allocated for innovative thinking, reflection and planning?
3) Are procedural or technical standards used only where informal condition is ineffective? Is data shared across the organization?
4)Are clear goals and outcomes provided to avoid ambiguity?
5)Do process owners serve as advocates for innovative thinking throughout the organization?
6)Are stretch targets used to create a challenge?
7) Are employees encouraged to stay open to new possibilities?
8)Are people matched with jobs to minimize boredom or avoid their being overwhelmed?
9) Are efforts of individuals and teams privately and publicly acknowledged?
10) Is technology used to enable innovations rather than prescribe procedures?
11) Is over-analysis avoided?
12) Does management demonstrate the organization’s commitment to the success of initiatives and individuals?
13)Do leaders demonstrate their commitment to innovation? Do leaders make tough unpopular decisions?
14)Is internal competition used to keep people on their toes?
15)Are people encouraged to explore new ideas?
16) Are all initiatives aligned to the overall strategy?
17)Are knowledge workers freed to focus on value-adding activities rather than administration? 18)When selling new ideas internally, is “why” addressed before “what” and “how”?
19) Are capabilities targeted that create the greatest stakeholder value and represent the greatest opportunity for improvement?
20)Does the organization stand in the customer’s shoes and observe their processes in action? 21) Does the organization develop teams with diverse skills and analytical styles?
A shortened version may be used if assessing 21 factors prove to be overwhelming. This is “NOW Just Do IT” model where “N” stands for Need- a burning platform for change is communicated and well understood throughout the organization; “O” is for Opportunity- you need to be in a business that has a chance of succeeding; “W” is for Will of senior management- committed leadership with the “intestinal fortitude” to see the change through. All three are needed to be successful. Then “Just” stands for “Justification”- a business case for change; “Do” means the company needs “doers”, not talkers; and finally “IT” stands for “Information Technology”.
Other useful “Top tips”:
1)Encourage a culture of tension- Although tension is often thought of as undesirable, but usually debates and discussions unleash creativity and new ideas.
2)Educate all employees- shape the way people see the world, and you will change their actions. 3)Use the new orientation to bring managers closer to customers – Often, customer service personnel are quick to pick up and less resistant to the idea of this new way of thinking than are the company’s managers. The closer these managers get to its customers, the easier it is for them to make the journey.
4) Buy expertise that you do not already have in-house- Outside help can surface and challenge assumptions that may be invisible to the rest of the organization.
5) Communicate clearly, continuously, and repeatedly- Remember the rule of 50s, the first 50 times you tell people something, they don’t hear you; the second 50 times you tell them the same thing, they don’t believe you; the third 50 times you tell them, they begin to listen.
6) Build in safeguards that prevent the organization from taking backward steps- Companies should develop several strong leaders on the team so that there is someone to carry on the role of champion if and when one of the others move on.
7)Realize that one size does not fit all-No two companies will pass through the transition for the same reason or by following the same sequence of events.
Any leader worth his/her salt should be enthusiastic about creating a culture of innovation. Once innovation becomes a way of life in the company, it will begin to attract the best and the brightest- people will want to work in those companies. Companies with culture of innovation will rise to the top and will be a leader- not a follower- in the marketplace.
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Excerpt from
24/7 Innovation:
A Blueprint for Surviving and Thriving in an Age of Change
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