Three fundamental steps to stay ahead in innovation
Being at the forefront or ahead in terms of innovation is not the same as coming up with creative ideas all the time. Usually I define innovation as the process of creating and implementing something new that creates value for the end user and/or customer beyond the business itself.
For this reason, leadership in innovation is necessary to overcome challenges and to transform disruptive ideas into creative actions that add value.
“Without leadership, no one will hunt for ideas or act in accordance with them, nor, of course, transform them into cutting-edge products, services or solutions”
Even when an innovation squad is in place to pursue innovation in the company, leaders and senior management face challenges to foster disruptive thinking and innovative action. Therefore, when it comes to innovation in processes, products and services, it is advisable to work in three areas:
Seek harmony between daily business management and innovation leadership.
Companies that work on innovation in processes, products and services have to find the balance between the management of their current businesses — daily to do — and the generation of innumerable disruptive ways in which they could create new opportunities for the business.
It often happens that new and promising ideas are ignored or put off, victims of the rhythm of daily operations and the pressure to achieve short-term goals.
However, innovation and everyday business can and should coexist in an organized manner without hierarchical pressures.
Accept constant change while maintaining agility and pace.
Long way path of innovation is difficult, variable and causes companies and those who work in them to be faced with constant changes and challenges, which are sometimes not always effective and tend to create disappointed feelings among the participants.
On the other hand, leaders are also required to be agile with regard to innovation in processes, products and services.
Trying to maintain the status quo is not a sustainable choise over time. And even when there is no ideal formula for innovation success, the best we can do is push innovation practices to become a daily basis job.
Actively adopt a holistic perspective for the entire company.
Usually it can be difficult to abandon the old image of innovation as the original result of the flash of intuition, perception and prior knowledge of a single creative person, or the tasks that have been entrusted to one department to carry out that function.
Lasting efforts toward innovation in processes, products, and services come more from people from different backgrounds, with different points of view, network, collaborate, and build on the ideas of others.
The organizational challenges of our era are so complex and ambiguous that they cannot be solved by a single person, so here’s the reason why it’s necessary an innovation squad working along with other enterprise units/areas in order to develop new products/services.
