Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Expanding Your Business Innovation Capacity


(Image courtesy: www.techmankanata.com)

"The sudden awareness of the urgent need for change and looking into the future in a more structured way, made this little sexy word (innovation) very popular, trendsetting and chic. However, how would you define innovation? What makes a company innovative?"

According to Mariana Ferrari Quijano, it is better not to define it (the word innovation), but to accept all it's synonyms: change, alteration, revolution, upheaval, transformation, metamorphosis, breakthrough; new measures, new methods, modernization, novelty, newness; creativity, originality, ingenuity, inspiration, inventiveness, shake up.

Mariana has authored a significant article on innovation, titled Innovation: what's in that little, trendy, sexy word, wherein she examines an innovator's determinant factors to survive and grow in downturns. She believes cash flow and balanced (or lean) costs are the two significant factors that can either make or break a company. Further, she alludes that during such periods, a company's capacity to innovate takes its maximum weight, as it supports and increase in productivity based in the human capital.

Which brings us back to the image that I have shared at the beginning from her article wherein she defines a company's Innovation Capacity.

Innovation Capacity =
Employees' Brain Preferences + Innovative Work Behaviors + Innovation Practices

Mariana has conducted extensive research on each element that will induce large Innovation Capacity - by encouraging employees to be more creative and providing them opportunities to experiment, rewarding innovative work behaviors that result in successes, and implementing real innovation practices that allows you to build an innovation factory.

Mariana postulates that innovation is about looking ahead, projecting the future, identifying future needs and creating solutions for those needs. By doing so, a company leads the future in its sector, leaving competitors behind. In other words, innovation is about creating the future.

A pertinent example provided is of PROCESOi:

"At PROCESOi we consider innovation to be a strategy, to increase a companies' present value, keep it ahead of its competitors and create sustainable growth.

Innovation is a three-phase process:

Phase 1: Spark: innovation surges due to an interest, inquisitiveness or concern about the present situation.

Phase 2: Creation: unrest or problems can lead to brainstorming, and the unleashing of imagination to reach a solution or identify an opportunity that had not previously been apparent.

Phase 3: Implementation: when the solution or opportunity is identified, an investment is made to make it happen with the aim of generating new income."

I commend Mariana and her team for the work she has undertaken, and creating a benchmark for measuring the Innovation Capacity. She even defines an innovator (although earlier she did not want to define innovation): "An innovator is defined, as an individual, who has a global way of thinking, is intuitive, takes risks, is imaginative, and often breaks the rules."

In short, this article by Mariana is a must read for CEOs, Innovators, Entrepreneurs and Leaders, and is sure to provide you key takeaways towards driving innovation in this tough economic environment.

Would you like to become an innovator? I invite you to participate in the Innovation Bootcamp workshops:

The Innovation Bootcamp consists of Six Engaging Online Workshop Sessions (details below):
1. Benchmarking and Leading with Innovation
The Business Case for Innovation
2. Unblocking Creativity and Innovation
The Essential Processes and Skills
3. Unleashing Team Innovation
Great Teams Deliver Great Innovations
4. and 5. Business Innovation Case Studies
Learn how Top Innovators Lead with Innovation
6. Building an Innovation Factory
Create a sustainable, scalable Innovation Process

Or, download my leading eBook on Creativity and Innovation in Business used by over 1,000 professionals, faculty and innovators at educational institutions and businesses all around the world including EDS, Ericsson, Center for Sales Strategy, IdeaChampions, Acara Global, Byrne Dairy, Cleveland Clinic, Magpie, DOJ/FBI, HP, Hewlett Packard, Intervista Institute, Fryett Consulting Group, Satellite Shelters, ProductVentures, Speakeasy - a Best Buy company, Jarden Consumer Solutions, Hallmark, Infinium, DeakinPrime - Deakin University, Lucas-TVS, McCann Worldgroup, S.P.Jain Center of Management, Suffolk University, RiCoMan, AmpControl, Craig Rispin, Momentive, Champion Laboratories, University of Phoenix, University of Washington, SFR - Neufbox, Attwood as Edison, Academy of Sport, Ideogenesis, Principled Innovation, Meridian Partners, Ananzi, Tangibility, Syngenta Global, Speedy, The Business Lab, Deloitte, Lane Management, University of California at Irvine, Wharton Business School, Babson University, Larsen & Toubro, Nokia, Credera, Pfizer, Bilkent University, Indian Institute of Science and many more.

This eBook is a 212-page collection of over 55 best practices, case studies, and insights on the current state of Innovation in Business at Top Innovators including Apple, Google, Netflix, 3M, Proctor and Gamble, Johnson and Johnson, Toyota, GE, BMW, Deloitte, Frito Lay, IBM, Nike, Starbucks, Southwest Airlines, Microsoft, Dell, Intel and more. With pertinent articles from the award-winning Creativity And Innovation Driving Business Blog, this Faculty eBook provides real-world examples on how the Top Innovators innovate and grow their business successfully time and again, especially during economic cycles. Creativity And Innovation in Business is a definitive guide that will help you unblock creativity, uncover and create game-changing innovations, and make exponential business growth a reality. Learn more...

Mariana sums up her article with these lasting words: "innovation is a synonym for Joy and Happiness, and should not be made a "serious business strategy". Joy, because creating, learning, making mistakes is fun, and happiness because achieving far-fetched, almost unbelievable results makes everybody happy. Don't just take my word, ask Steve Jobs."

References:

Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , , , , , ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)