Who's Responsible for Innovation?
Update: Leading Innovation report published September 2007
| Editor's note: the following eNews outlined research that BlessingWhite was conducting in May 2007. In September 2007 we published a comprehensive report on this topic titled "Leading Innovation". You can download a copy of the report at http://www.blessingwhite.com/reports |
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Innovation is hotter than ever as a topic in the business press. Yet it doesn't appear to be any easier to make it happen.
In our Leading Technical Professionals 2006 Report, 69% of the
leaders surveyed agreed that encouraging risk taking and innovation within their team was important, but only 42% rated themselves as effective at doing it.
What
about the 31% of leaders who apparently don't think
that encouraging innovation is important to their success?
At a time when innovation is touted as critical to market
differentiation, this finding surprised us. Perhaps
these leaders think innovation is someone else's job?
Or perhaps they interpret it as a responsibility for
creating the 'next big idea' — not something to apply
to their team's daily activities?
Either way, organizations need to quickly take steps to help
leaders foster innovative ways of working. If they don't, they will squander the intelligence they so want to keep and fall behind in the marketplace.
Everyone's Job
Most
leaders we talked to agree that innovation needs to
be everyone's duty. One leader described how his employer
discovered that if innovation was mandated to some, the rest
of the workforce abdicated their responsibility for
creative thinking: "We rounded up a group of engineers
and gave them the specific responsibility to 'be innovative'.
They did — but then everyone else didn't."
A high-tech firm known for growth and innovation is reputed to have
told employees they should spend 60% of their time on the job, 30% being helpful to others, and 10% "thinking." Yet the leaders we talked to warn of mandating creative
thinking; they felt it can't be forced but needs to be cultivated and guided. A common concern: Unless everyone is completely aligned with the organization's
business strategy and goals, a firm can end up with innovation just for the sake of it ("17 new ways to turn your computer on and off") — instead of something the
organization or its customers really need.
Big "I," Little "i"
The leaders we talked to did not necessarily define innovation
in the same way. One executive we interviewed suggested the following differentiation:
Invention — creation of something completely new, whether it is a product, service, or process
Innovation — creation of a substantially new approach on an existing product, service, or process
Stepped improvement — small changes, e.g., speeding up a process
Leaders, however, did agree on the need to drive the "big ideas" while encouraging creative approaches in everyday business activities.
Dee
Bliss at at Avenue A / Razorfish, is one example. Bliss,
who is Director of Organizational Development at the
global interactive communications firm, explains: "We
have to balance innovation and the day job like every
other business, but we have several initiatives in place
to stimulate innovation. Our Ideas Lab — based
in California — looks at three to five employee
ideas every quarter. The creators of one idea will be
awarded 90 days 'off the job' to bring the idea to launch
stage. On a different scale, we also have an employee
'Wiki' where employees can communicate and log their
ideas and also brainstorm client issues."
Risky Business
You can't talk about innovation without discussing risk. The leaders we interviewed often
described how an organization's culture and "unwritten rules" can stifle creativity and punish risk-takers. They agree that it's up to leaders to build a trusting environment, define
what an "appropriate" or "informed" risk looks like, help employees capture lessons learned from failures, and not sacrifice short-term productivity and "smooth sailing" for the
detours and disruptions that innovative thinking can sometimes cause.
To
live up to its mission statement Inventing the digital
future, the leadership of Avenue A / Razorfish,
led by Global President Clark Kokich, tries to create
a collaborative culture where innovation is not only
encouraged but also expected. Bliss explains, "Our leadership
team works to create a culture where it's safe to try
things. Our president toured our offices worldwide last
year explaining that to be innovative we would inevitably
make tons of mistakes and that these would be forgiven.
In fact not making mistakes could be seen as not making
an effort to innovate."
More Tips From Our Conversations with Leaders
Formally support new ideas. Knowledge workers in particular thrive on brainstorming.
They like to share ideas with each other. So let them! Create the physical and electronic means for them to do so. Just make sure there is a process defined
for owning and executing great ideas. One leader we interviewed warned: "Ideas are cheap. Implementation is hard."
Model
from the top-down. The leadership behaviors that
effectively encourage innovation in your organization
need to be modeled from senior levels on down through
the leadership ranks. This is especially critical if
your organization espouses creativity or innovation
in your core values. There's nothing more de-motivating
than lots of talk with little walk.
Stay close to customers. Customers are often the first
to think of new product applications or process improvements. One leader's advice: "Listen for phrases like 'wouldn't this be neat?'
or 'we really would like?'" Bliss describes another good reason for partnering with clients: "It's faster and it enables both sides to assess and make decisions on the
inevitable risks that go along with pushing out the boundaries."
Build a strong, authentic communication platform. Employees
need to understand how your leaders define innovation. They need to hear stories of risks that succeeded and lessons learned from those that didn't.
Individual leaders can make a difference by sincerely asking for new ideas, listening with an open mind. One leader reminded us: "People share ideas because
they want to be heard. Any leader can do this with his or her people."
For more information on how BlessingWhite
can help your leaders create an environment that encourages innovation, call 1.800.222.1349.
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