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Brain Circuits
Management myth-busters: the innovation hero
Companies often fall into the trap of equating a cool-looking innovation lab with value-creating innovation output, investing in trendy office spaces, speaking in buzzwords, and hiring charismatic innovation leaders. However, these surface-level changes fail to address the fundamental challenges of fostering innovation within a corporate environment.
Five reasons to beware the innovation hero
1. False sense of progress
You may feel like you’re innovating because you have all the trappings of an innovative environment – but you may be no closer to creating meaningful change or new value for your customers.
2. Lack of alignment with core business strategy
Innovation efforts need to be totally aligned with your core business strategy. This is about building relevant new business ideas with a focus on creating tangible value, not experimentation for experimentation’s sake.
3. Unwanted impact on organizational culture
If people with an entrepreneurial mindset are “siloed’ away from colleagues, the culture is likely to shift more and more towards the typical corporate culture – the opposite of what you’re trying to achieve. You need to create an environment that nurtures entrepreneurial thinking while maintaining strategic focus.
4. No clear mandate
Like every other strategic aim, you need clear objectives for your innovation efforts. Innovation must have a real P&L impact, with metrics to evaluate what success looks like.
5. If you need a hero, there’s no system in place
If you’re celebrating heroes, it suggests you don’t have a system for innovation in place and your approach is haphazard. Companies don’t celebrate every marketing campaign or other business initiative. Why should innovation be the exception? Instead, build a system for strategic value contribution using a fact-based, methodical approach.
Checklist: how does innovation happen in your company?
1. Is your strategy based on “random” experimentation?
2. How do your innovation activities relate to your core organizational mission?
3. Do you have a dedicated innovation lab staffed by people who rarely integrate with senior leadership and others?
4. Do you set clear financial targets for your innovation efforts?
5. How do you measure success?
Key learning
By busting the myth of the innovation hero and embracing a more strategic, fact-based approach, companies can unlock their true innovative potential, find competitive advantage, and achieve sustainable growth.
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