Innovation Practice: Get It!

There is an interesting post today on NussbaumOnDesign titled “The “Clown” Theory of Innovation.”  In it Bruce Nussbaum highlights a comment Mark Dawson posted in response to “Who Is Tired of Innovation?”

In the original post (“Who Is Tired of Innovation?”), Nussbaum observed that a rift is forming separating top executives into two groups: those that get innovation and understand that building a culture of innovation is a long view initiative, and those that don’t get it and are tiring of the effort because their expectations that innovation was a one-off event that would produce the silver bullet for their company have not been met.  Mark counters with the objection that such a classification is counter-productive and that classifying organizations based on understanding why they are turning away from innovation is more important.

However, both Bruce and Mark are hitting on a common and important theme.  While the act of innovation around a specific issue or problem may have value, there is much greater value to be realized when companies understand that developing a repeatable and sustainable innovation program is vital to their on-going growth and success.  The Vice-chairman of a fortune 500 manufacturing firm once said to me, “You can lean your way to profitability, but you can’t lean your way to prosperity.”  To drive the growth and value of the enterprise, companies need to develop innovation as a core competence.

This is where Bruce’s observation really does hit the mark.  Companies that are retrenching around a singular focus on efficiency truly don’t get it.  They don’t get the fundamental principles of sustainably driving corporate value—a sad situation for shareholders.

On the other hand, Mark is correct in noting that many companies are beginning to understand that innovation is more fundamental than just fixing today’s problem.   Developing innovation best practices and putting in place the right support systems to drive innovation excellence is key to deriving the optimal return on investment in R&D, driving top line revenue, and ultimately, delivering superior valuation growth.  Companies are missing the boat if they believe that running the periodic innovation exercise and accepting sporadic results is okay.  It is most definitely not okay, and there is a better way.

The leading companies of the future will be those that invest in establishing an innovation practice as a core discipline that is employed every day at every level of the organization.  There is too much at stake to not make this goal a top C-level priority.

So, what is your position on innovation?  Do you get it?

Comments

[Chuck Yorke]

You've got it! Establishing an innovation practice as a core discipline that is employed every day at every level of the organization is the key. It also needs to be expanded thoughout the supply chain.

[D.T.]

Well I mostly agree with you. But do you really think that there is something like a "best practice"!?? I`m not sure if there is. Establishing an environmet which is able to foster innovation is harder than it sounds. It has always to integrate corporate learning to be sustainable. Management decisions are mostly based on current needs, which of course is a problem. But it is understandable in many cases. I have posted an article on dynamic capabilities (dataorange.de) which may explain better what I`m trying to say and might be interesting to read.

my best regards,
D.T.

[James Todhunter]

Hello, D.T.

Yes, there are most definitely well understood best practices for innovation. Of course, you are pointing out another related issue which is how to deploy such best practices in an enduring and sustainable manner. Any major shift in an organization’s ethos requires proper change management. It also requires executive management commitment and an understanding of the transformative nature of the change. This is as true about moving from being an accidental innovation organization to a high performance innovator as it is of any organizational sea change. But with the commitment and follow through, tremendous results are attainable.

[D.T.]

Well I guess you are right. I need to explain better what I was trying to say.
There is no doubt that there is a "best practice" in the sense of: "proven strategies which are more likely to provide an innovation enhancing climate". The problem is that these strategies often lead managers to the tempting assumtion that once applied to their company success is guaranteed - without thinking about own innovation resources. I know that this is their own fault, but isn`t a "best practice" just too tempting and disregarding the - transformating nature of change - ??? To me it sounds a bit like the wrong mantra. You may believe in it, but it doesn`t help anyone to really "get it".