Innovate to Win or Else

Believe in Innovation to Win

It's viewed as a leading indicator of future growth and profitability, so why don't all companies innovate? The culture has to be born and bred in the company

There is no doubt most companies today are big believers in the idea of innovation. Its importance is heralded in corporate visions and mission statements. The chief executive officer speaks its glory in almost every speech, and its importance is celebrated on internal posters as well as in the company's marketing materials.
It's simple: Wall Street believes innovation is the leading indicator of future growth and profitability. There's even an index fund that just invests in what it thinks are the country's 20 most innovative companies. So how come we're not being overwhelmed by innovative new products and services? Unfortunately, that's simple to answer as well.
Saying you believe in something is one thing. Living what you believe is another. Let's not fool ourselves. Even the biggest "glass-is-half-full" optimist has to concede the reality: Most companies don't believe in innovation enough to do much more than pretend.

Three Common Approaches

You can see the proof of that in three approaches companies typically take to try to show the world they're innovative:
1. The big sweeping announcement. "Five years from now, we will get 50% (or some other big number) of our revenues from products that don't exist today," the chairman announces with great fanfare. Everyone applauds, and then absolutely nothing changes about the way the company does business.
2. Let's make a list. The company hires an ideation company to help it brainstorm all the things it might want to add innovation to, and then nothing happens—due to turf wars over resources or a lack of commitment to the idea by people who say, "I would have loved to do something with that list, but I had to keep doing my day job."
3. The innovation drive-by. The organization hires a company like ours to help it create a new product quickly. But like anything new within the company, it ends up being mired in internal politics, bureaucracy ("Whose budget do we charge for this?"), and turf wars. It really shouldn't be so hard to get a product out the door. No wonder there are only 20 companies in the innovation index.
Why don't companies make innovation an essential part of the way they do business? Because it's hard. Because it requires an unwavering, wholehearted leap of faith—backed by a major investment, not only of money, but of people, processes, and infrastructure. It requires audacious goals, evangelism, consistency, education, training, diversity, expert tools, expert processes, and an environment conducive to creating sustainable innovation results that are aligned with financial outcomes.

Transforming a 100-Year-Old Product

Google (GOOG) and Apple (AAPL) are the obvious examples of companies that actually do this, of course. But let's keep it real; if your company didn't start out like Google or Apple with innovation firmly implanted in its DNA, then you might believe radical innovation within your company is unrealistic.
But it doesn't have to be. Consider the Sterno Group (a client of ours), the company that invented the "safe, portable fire" category a hundred years ago and continues to dominate the category to this day.
They demonstrate how you can turn around a "battleship"—if you want it enough. via businessweek.com
________________________________________________________________________

If you're not irate in the first 10 minutes of reading, if I don’t provoke you to revolutionize your management and leadership from think to execute, if you aren’t teetering on the brink of reaching for the Maalox, if you don’t innovate like a banshee, then I have failed you. 
To learn more about how uncanny abilities can increase your competitive advantage and top line growth contact us for a consultation. 
Jim Woods CEO & President, InnoThink Group
A leading strategy, innovation and hypercompetition consultancy.
www.innothinkgroup.com
719-649-4118