Spin Doctors Discover Innovation- Leaders Keep it Real

 

From the perspective of your workforce (as well as with the talent you want to attract) and your customers, company brand has become one and the same- both must be real and transparent. As organizations revise their business strategies to stay competitive, increasingly “innovation” is embraced as a business advantage, and incorporated into brand. An article, You Call That Innovation? in this week’s Wall Street Journal, reports the word “innovation” has been used over 33,000 times in annual reports last year. According to Capgemini Consulting, four out of 10 executives queried say their company now has a Chief Innovation Officer, suggesting an emerging trend. How much of “innovation” is spin (from well-intended marketers) and how much is real? If we promise a commitment to innovation, as leaders, how do we back it up?

What are your leadership practices and systems to create and build innovation as a talent competency and a sustained organizational capability? While innovation needs some open space to think beyond the constraints of everyday operation, having a process to both develop and "manage innovation” is not an oxymoron. Price Waterhouse Coopers paper, Demystifying Innovation addresses a process to manage innovation outside of the R&D function. VJ Govindarajan and Chris Trimble from Tuck Business School explain how to manage the inherent tension between innovation and operations in their book The Other Side of Innovation.

Not everyone is a game changer everyday, however building a mindset and competency for innovation can be incremental. Clayton Christianson, author of The Innovator's DNA, distinguishes between “efficiency innovations” (decrease the cost to deliver an existing product or service without compromising quality and satisfaction), “sustaining innovations” (improve features of an existing product or service to keep it fresh and competitive), and “disruptive innovations” (transform a complex product into a simpler one). I would respectfully add to the definition for "disruptive innovations," offering a truly new product (perhaps replacing an earlier product or service with a ground-breaking offering, or coming up with something the world has not seen applied before, such as in patents and inventions). If your mind-set and culture are characterized by continuous improvement, then the gamechanging disruptive innovations are more likely to surface.

Turning an idea into a value-added product or service takes a process and discipline to make it a real part of your company’s culture and DNA. Be aware of how ideas get incubated, assessed or possibly even squashed because they represent change and rock the boat. When we’re developing innovation in our teams, assemble a team with complimentary thinking styles to make the team experience and meeting space fertile for all types of improvements and innovations. Pearson Learning describes seven critical thinking styles, that I believe align well with innovation:
1. Analytical
2. Inquisitive
3. Insightful
4. Open-Minded
5. Systematic
6. Timely
7. Truth Seeking
Team members can take an assessment Pearson provides to discover their preferred thinking styles, and share each others’ preferred styles. Those shared insights create a powerful norm for how the team will produce innovative performance.

One thing is certain about innovation… the more we get, the more we want, and that’s a good thing. Innovations are no longer top secret—everyone wants it- so the more it is shared, the faster more is created. Here's my take on leadership practices that drive innovation (to lead by example, think about how you would systematize these):

1.     Cultivate innovation by design- Compose teams with complimentary thinking styles to create rich ground for new ideas to spring up.

2.     Create a fertile space and change of place- Normalize time to dabble and daydream, then offer a place to collaborate and connect.

3.     Develop prerequisite competencies- Practice “expanding the inquiry” (a competency described by Peter Senge, author of The Learning Organization) to draw in diverse perspectives and open up thinking.

4.     Look to talent on the horizon- When you’re looking to schools for next gen leaders, consider grads from programs that offer a major or concentration in innovation, or who have taken courses in innovation.

5.     Brand reflects practice- Distinguish between improvement and innovation. Keep it real, call “trial balloons” as you see them; among today’s trial balloons is one with rocket fuel to take your business to a new level tomorrow.

6.     Feed innovation- Reward agility with what is learned from “mis-takes” in the spirit of continuous learning.

7.     Rotate your idea inventory- Timing is everything…develop a process to assess ideas, and incubate them as needed, to revisit when the time is right.

8.     Keep the finish line in mind- Develop a process to incorporate winning ideas into actions that improve a product or service.

9.     Communicate innovation as a real expectation- What gets recognized gets repeated; ask for innovation, and then give innovators the gift of your attention by listening to their ideas.

10.  Lead by example- Like the leaders in the most innovative companies, schedule some “innovation dabble time” for yourself, and make a note in your calendar to share your fresh ideas.

photo courtesy of virtueel_platform