“The innovations perception gap” in Endless Innovation cites a report indicating a difference in the level of satisfaction with innovation within companies as reported by executives, mid-level managers, and professional employees (75%, 70%, and 60% respectively). Douglas Klein, president of Sirota Survey Intelligence, suggests that this may be a cause for concern, especially when one considers that the professional employees are the ones “most responsible for the development of new ideas that lead to practical product and service innovations.” Yet, there are two observations that must be made here.
First, while the professional employees are directly responsible for the generation of new ideas and the development of the products and services that those ideas enable, corporate executives bear fully responsibility for the innovation agenda of the company, its implementation, and the results of the selected innovation programs. In a public company, the executives carry the burden of shareholder accountability for their delivery on the innovation agenda by virtue of their fiducial obligation to the shareholders. This is why it is imperative for senior management to determine the metrics of alignment that will be used to steer innovation initiatives in directions consistent with corporate objectives.
This brings me to the second observation. These metrics of alignment are often neither articulated clearly by management nor used effectively by professional employees. It is critical to a sustainable innovation program that this issue is addressed.
Senior management must accept that innovation is not something that can be neatly isolated and delegated to others. The success metrics of the organization must be encapsulated as criteria of evaluation. These criteria must then be communicated so that innovation workers throughout the organization are empowered to make good decisions that map to the company’s goals. Professional employees must adopt proper repeatable innovation practices that include the evaluation of possible paths for their alignment with the company goals.
Incorporation of the corporate alignment metrics in the front-end of the innovation disciplines will enhance the likelihood that selected concepts will lead to successful product and service innovations. The need to improve the conversion rate of ideas to successful innovations is at the crux of the innovation challenge facing most organizations. Concordance between executive management and professional employees through clearly communicated metrics of alignment is necessary to establish a successful repeatable innovation practice. A shared vision of the innovation objectives will help to close the perception gap.
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