Foreword
Innovation is a word associated with many walks of life and industries; whether it’s an entrepreneur working on the next big garage idea, or a global corporation exploring digital transformation by creating new portfolio offerings.
The question is: how do we provide a structured approach towards something that can be deemed to be a complex and lengthy activity, and what best practices should you follow to begin your innovation journey?
This in-depth guide explores:
A practical way of thinking about innovation and how to get started.
Questions that readers should ask when developing their vision.
An understanding of the real business value of innovation.
How having the right people in place provides a faster way towards execution.
Driving innovation successfully in the workplace can result in significant benefits. Having a clear strategic focus and alignment upfront is a differentiator in being able to deliver on innovative initiatives, compared to those that end up being just experiments.
In thinking about creating a culture of innovation, it’s essential to ensure employees, customers, and beyond are included during the ideation processes, and not only for brainstorming. A balance is key, as is the need to both explore and exploit during the ideation process.
You will often hear the term "Fail Fast" – the main lesson here being not to fall in love with your idea when experimenting. Ultimately, it is necessary to have a strategy in place to sprint into results, using for example design thinking methodology. Also, bear in mind that every experiment should have clear learnings to adapt to the next – and eventually, the engine will result in successful deliverables.
This guide also addresses different types of innovation, and how to think about innovating with the right technology stack. With the exponential growth of innovation resulting in disrupted markets, it can be overwhelming to know where to start in relation to emerging technology, whether it be an IoT platform, the latest evolution in Artificial Intelligence, or considering a way to ideate on the topic of Blockchain.
Remember, the concept of innovation is wide. Small, incremental improvements can dramatically impact organizations as well.
Simplicity is the key ingredient in leading successful innovation programs – from simple communication with stakeholders to simple ways of progressing an idea, whereas complex thinking creates complex environments and confusion.
As such, this guide has been created to provide you with a clear and simple way of structuring your approach and will help kick-start your innovation program effectively and pragmatically.
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