Accelerating Innovation

Leadership must drive effective innovation by defining innovation goals, fostering a supportive culture (see also context & Culture) and setting innovation requirements for existing and new processes. It drives value by identifying opportunities, assessing risks, encouraging experimentation and implementing innovations in a timely manner. Here, an ambitious innovative vision, strategy and policy is crucial. By communicating these both internally and externally, you create broad support. Establishing an innovation policy and assigning responsibilities and authority within the organization are essential aspects of effective innovation management.

As a high-tech organization, it is important to establish criteria for innovation initiatives and processes, implement and monitor them to know if they are going according to plan. The innovation team should dynamically monitor changes and their impact and assess the consequences of unintended changes. Design innovation processes that are flexible and adaptable (depending on the type of innovations and organizational circumstances) and integrate with other organizational processes. The goal is to promote and manage innovation. With an emphasis on “learning lessons” and using failures as opportunities for growth.

Comprehensive support is critical for innovation within organizations. Support includes various aspects, such as providing physical and digital resources, attracting talented people, providing time, managing knowledge, committing financial resources, developing competencies, creating awareness (see also Context & Culture), facilitating communication and managing intellectual property. This support is essential for innovation to promote and thrive. A holistic approach to the concept of support is vital to successfully driving and managing innovation in organizations.

Organizations that identify both external and internal challenges can better assess their impact on their innovation capabilities and opportunities for potential new products and services. External challenges can include economic, market, social, legal, political and environmental aspects, while internal challenges are mainly about vision, strategic direction, performance, processes and cultural aspects. As an organization, it is important to understand the needs and expectations of stakeholders and determine how and when to communicate with each other. You want to foster a culture of innovation as much as possible, both internally and externally. Some examples include:

• Openness to new ideas and creative thinking.
• Willingness to take risks and cooperate.
• A focus on customer focus, measurability and continuous improvement.