thanks Mark!<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Fri, Feb 4, 2011 at 1:27 PM, Mark Petz <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:ravenwyn@gmail.com">ravenwyn@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding-left: 1ex;">
Frm <b class="gmail_sendername">Nick Jankel</b> <span dir="ltr"><nick@wecreate.cc></span><br><br><a href="http://www.wecreate.cc/nuggets/nugget/the-key-to-sustainable-growth-building-an-open-innovation-culture/" target="_blank">http://www.wecreate.cc/nuggets/nugget/the-key-to-sustainable-growth-building-an-open-innovation-culture/</a><br>
<br><div><a href="http://www.wecreate.cc/" target="_blank">Home</a> <span> > </span> Nuggets <span> > </span>The Key to Sustainable Growth: Building an Open Innovation Culture</div>
<h2>The Key to Sustainable Growth: Building an Open Innovation Culture</h2> <p><b>January 26, 2011</b></p> <p>A
landmark report from The Judge Institute at Cambridge University,
published in the Journal of Marketing, has finally proved something of
unprecedented importance to all innovation professionals.
Innovation success is not driven by innovation�process, star hires,
R&D spend, budget or even the country in which the company is based.
In the�study of 800 firms across 17 countries, company culture was the
single greatest determinant of profitable innovation.
Yet developing a culture of innovation, especially of radical
innovation, is extremely challenging - perhaps nothing could be more
challenging for an organisation, particularly those entrenched in
conventional, risk-averse and hierarchical management practices. What is
more, the usual costs associated with such a wholesale change
management process are prohibatively high in this economy and risk
alientaing staff.
But there is another way...</p> <p>For those that commit to
creating such a culture, the rewards are rich indeed. Having an
innovation culture is perhaps the greatest asset a company such as Apple
or Pixar has. It provides them with a unique, defensible and
sustainable capability to overcome market challenges whist concurrently
shaping the market to fit their own ideas and vision. We believe
creating bot just an innovation culture but an open, collaborative
innovation culture is the preeminent business challenge of this century.
Given the evolutionary law of requisite variety (organisms that thrive
best are those that most closely match the features of their
environment), it is clear that organisations that match the increasingly
open and networked culture of our emerging society will be best placed
to capitalize on the vital role distributed creativity (I.e. the wisdom
of the crowd) can play in creating profitable innovation. The era of GM
stye hierarchies is coming to a close. The future belongs to those who
innovate, and do so collaboratively.�</p>
<p>Here are the 7 specific, smart and cost-effective tools and mechanics
- the �jewels\ to engineer an innovation culture that won�t break the
bank or be resisted by �business as usual� attitudes and conventional
behaviors of the majority.</p>
<p>1. FOCUS ON FOSTERING A VIRAL INNOVATION CULTURE ONE MIND AND TEAM AT A TIME</p>
<p>Top down hierarchical initiatives designed to �make� a company
innovative are expensive and far from certain to work, especially in
challenging times when entrenchment is common and �change fatigue� an
issue. Whilst one needs definitive innovation leadership and commitment
at the top, it it usually fastest, more efficient and more effective to
create an innovation culture at the grassroots, one team / mind at a
time. To make grassroots transformation happen fastest, one needs to
create a set of simple (but not simplistic) tools, practices and
principles, the best of which are set out below. As Buckminster Fuller
said, small interventions - put into motion in specific sweetspots in
the system - can create massive change. He called these trim-tabs (after
the tiny part of a rudder that can alter the course of the largest
tankers). A great way to find them in your organisation is observational
/ ethnographic research into how your teams do and think and what real
and perceived obstacles exist for innovation. Then small but powerful
changes can be designed to transform �business as usual� into
�innovation as usual�. The goal is to create the maximum conditions
likely to lead to sustained innovation - not mandating it from on high.
Lasting competitive advantage comes from harnessing distributed
creativity inside and outside of the organisation as a matter of course -
no longer from managing (through command and control) a small group of
innovators in traditional R&D depts.�</p>
<p>2. INSTITUTIONALIZE INNOVATION HABITS USING HEURISTICS</p>
<p>Innovation is not a �thing�. It is a set of behaviours or habits,
driven by a governing mindset. This is what a company culture is.
Apple�s �best feat may be the culture�that helps generate so many folks
who�ve gone on to create�great products elsewhere� (Business Week).�As
well as coaching and training, we suggest designing and instilling a set
of heuristics (or rules of thumb) which the organisation uses
semi-religiously and becomes �the way things are done here�. E.g �Always
look for the win win win.� or �Fail fast but only fail once� or �Do
things nobody else will do�. This also includes strategically
re-designing the way meetings are run, projects signed-off, people
appraised etc that generates an innovation culture every day. For
example, when people rubbish or critique an idea at any time in a
meeting, ensure that any team member has the right to challenge them to
think of two good reasons why the idea is good (and there are always two
good reasons for any idea, no matter what).�New recruits can be invited
as a matter of policy to present to the team / management the 3 top
things they would change about the organisation, the company or its
products, perhaps a month after joining (when their critical capacities
and lack of group think are keenest).�These small changes ensure new
habits are built in the everyday moments when culture is created and
maintained.�</p>
<p>3. DEFINE WHAT INNOVATION LOOKS LIKE USING THE POWER OF CHECKLISTS</p>
<p>It is vital the the organisation gains consensus on what quality,
innovation and creativity look and feel like when you do create them.
This means knowing what the �minimal viable� value add is. To create a
common approach - as well as ensure optimal iteration of all ideas as
far as they can be pushed - we use checklists, which are designed around
organisational values, business practices and goals. Checklists have
been proven to be extremely powerful in shifting behaviour in the real
world and they are very simple. They can be put on credit card sized
aides, desk accoutrement or within forms on and off line.</p>
<p>4. GIVE MAVERICKS & THEIR NETWORKS PERMISSION TO INVENT THE FUTURE</p>
<p>Lack of ideas is never the problem. Most of the winning ideas already
live within your teams, partners, customers / users and networks. The
trick is to harness them within impactful and / or profitable
innovation. Mavericks within the team (and outside the organisation)
have more ideas and passion than most. But often they are sidetracked,
ostracized or ignored. Clustered around them are often the other kinds
of people needed to generate successful innovation - commercializers and
those great at implementation. Centralised R&D / innovation
prevents distributed innovators from prototyping, testing and iterating
at the rapid pace they can work at when not managed centrally. Give
natural innovators permission - and space / time / budget / credibility -
to turn their ideas into innovations. Research also shows that diverse
teams are often better than crack teams at solving complex problems so
ensure that the team is made up of people that dont have the same
perspectives. Encourage �team member to understand the vital importance
of their own personal and professional networks in their innovation
capacity - and give them time and space to nurture their strong and weak
ties inside and out (including online and in social media). Banning
Facebook may not make your organisation more competitive.�</p>
<p>5. HARNESS THE PLEASURE PRINCIPLE BY CELEBRATING THE ROLE OF INNOVATION IN GENERATING FLOW STATES AND PERSONAL FULFILLMENT</p>
<p>IIf you want people to shift to be more creative and inventive, show
them the benefits of being innovative rather than forcing them, cajoling
them or threatening them. Being innovative is a fundamental competitive
advantage to any�professional�and also has many positive benefits
within our personal lives. It allows us all to solve our own, and our
organisation�s, problems no matter what life throws at us. More than
anything, innovators tend to experience the psychological phenomenon of
�flow� far more often than others because they are so engaged. Inspire
your teams to explore their potential as innovators and creative leaders
for their own benefit. Fear rarely creates the right conditions for
innovation and it is vital to repeatedly prove to people that taking
risk and making mistakes will not lead to �pain� (in the form of
ridicule, alienation etc) Once they start to shift, it is vital that you
trust them to grow and develop themselves and their ideas. All
innovation projects can lead to valuable learnings for individuals and
the organisation. This means you reframe �failure� as �successfully
learning how not to do something�.�</p>
<p>6. INCENTIVISE INNER MOTIVATION AS MUCH AS LEVERAGING FINANCIAL OR PROFESSIONAL REWARD</p>
<p>Recent research has shown that human beings are highly motivated by
the excitement and kudos of cracking a problem or mastering a new skill.
In fact, when we reward inner motivated people with money or promotion,
often their performance falls! True innovators are highly motivated by
problem-solving, making things better and taking on new challenges so
allow them to self-organize and self-direct. That said, for many others
types of people necessary within innovation teams, unless innovation
habits or behaviours are measured in evaluation programs, it will not be
prioritized. Ensure your incentivisation levers are balanced, rewarding
innovation with a mix of credibility / kudos, promotion and material
benefits. With open innovation, sharing rewards is as important as
sharing the efforts. Incentivising entire teams can work better than
incentivisng individuals which can just drives non-collaborative
practices.�</p>
<p>7.GIVE INNOVATION CLEARLY SANCTIONED SPACE (& BRING IT TO LIFE)</p>
<p>Unless innovation has an officially sanctioned physical place and
conceptual space, it will often peter out. GIve people time to
experiment, try new protocols, shift their mindset as well as space to
take real risks and make mistakes. Signal to teams that some areas of
the office (which can grow over time as the viral innovation culture
spreads) are set up for innovation. In some cases, taking people out of
the office into a new space like a �skunkworks� - where new habits /
principles apply rather than the old ways of doing things - can
radically shift their behavior towards innovation (and it can replicate
the start-up atmosphere that leads to more disruptive innovation). Turn
complex innovation processes and approaches into visual tools that can
go on walls, in rooms and even on the floor. We even work to turn
innovation process into 3D experiences, as in the latest museum
exhibits, that act as both training programs, design tools and <i>aide memoires</i>.
</p><br>
</blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>P2P Foundation: <a href="http://p2pfoundation.net" target="_blank">http://p2pfoundation.net</a>� - <a href="http://blog.p2pfoundation.net" target="_blank">http://blog.p2pfoundation.net</a> <br>
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