The Joy and Pain of Running Innovations Within a Large Organization
The first 9 months of 2020 have been an eventful period in my professional career. I am leading both the Digital and Advanced Analytics department as well as the Business Innovation and Experimental department in a multi-national company. What is interesting is that the company decided to park a small business unit within the business innovation department with the good intention of accelerating innovation, experimentation, and design a new go-to-market model for the industry. It is a lofty vision but challenging when it comes to execution.
First Step — Vision Alignment
In 1961, President John F. Kennedy was visiting NASA headquarters for the first time and introduced himself to a janitor who was mopping the floor. Kennedy asked him what he did at NASA. The janitor replied, “I am helping out a man on the moon.” Any company that wants to do innovation must get a majority of the employees to believe in and live up that vision. This is an ideal example of vision alignment in an organization.
Within the Business Innovation and Experimental Department, we have a simple vision statement.
“We aspire to be the most innovative, disruptive and trusted Pharmaceutical Companies in the Country”.
