Innovation :Harnessing the Power of Speed

Innovation has been consistently fueling the progress of mankind and
enhancing the quality of life ever since the primordial man learnt hunting and
discovered fire. However, the pace at which innovation takes place has undergone
phenomenal changes over the years. Gone are the days when one had to wait for
years for innovation to become commercially viable. For instance, people had to
wait for forty four years for the first commercial flight after the Wright
Brothers maiden flight attempt in their rudimentary flying machine.

Todays market economy and highly competitive business environment has forced
innovation cycles to become shorter, which has proved to be a critical success
factor of many global organizations. Further, some breakthrough innovations such
as the microchip, which in itself is evolving at breakneck speed, have acted as
force multipliers and have transformed the way people think and behave.

So given the context, it is most critical for organizations to harness the
power of speed in their innovation cycles for gaining competitive advantage.
There may be many thoughts on this. However, it is universally agreed that great
ideas spawn great innovations. But this poses a key and pertinent questionwho
in the organization will generate ideas? The simple answer to this question is,
Everyone in an organization should be generating ideas. Though it seems
simple, it is easier said than done!

Inception

To do so, the first step is to break the myth or abandon the mindset that it
is only the ability of a privileged few geniuses to generate stunning new ideas.
Many organizations still believe that it is an innate gift which only a few in
the organization possess and it is only their responsibility. But the truth is
that it is not just the job of focus groups/task forces/offices to do
innovation. It is the job of everyone. The understanding has to set in that it
is a skill anyone can learn, and with diligence develop to greater levels.

While this thought is best realized in the nascent stage of conception of an
organization, where everyone is dynamic, bursting with brilliant and promising
ideas, things plateau once they attain success. It is because the moment we
learn to do something in a particular way, we regard ourselves successful and
become complacent, and therefore do not seek newer and more effective ways of
doing the same.

So to innovate, the familiarity trap needs to be broken, and to break out of
the familiarity trap, one needs to unlearn and learn on a continuous basis.
Thus, in the context of an ongoing business, innovation is not about creating
something out of nothing every time, rather sifting through existing ideas and
facts, and coalescing and synthesizing them in various combinations that can be
taken to the marketplace at practical costs. This is best illustrated with the
fact that to generate fresh music, one does not need to invent the piano every
time. One has to creatively combine the notes on the piano. And again,
innovation is not just about individual performances. Its power is harnessed
when it is converted into a high-performance orchestra, which brings in
synergistic collaboration. So, innovation is all about teamwork within the
organization and across the industry ecosystem. Hence, innovation is a process
that is geared towards identifying potential candidate ideas that can then be
collaboratively taken forward, as a team, to fruition. And this is the mantra of
successful or winning organizations.

Evaluation

The process of innovation then transcends to the next critical step,
evaluation of the ideas. Idea evaluation and risk assessment are about asking
the right questions without any bias or emotional attachment. As the
organization would be committing time and resources to take these candidate
ideas to the next level based on the outcome, there should be an impartial
evaluation of the opportunity presented by the idea. This should be done by a
thorough and realistic scrutiny of whether or not the idea is feasible to be
replicated reliably in quick time on a commercially viable scale. Risk
assessment and business case evaluation should be done thoroughly right upfront
before committing time and money. It needs utmost honesty and integrity.

Since idea evaluation is the go/no-go decision-making stage, it is very
crucial to come to the right decision. No matter how robust the decision-making
process is, it is not possible to visualize the future accurately. Following a
decision-making framework that incorporates all the available inputs at that
point in time seems to be the best bet for faster innovation cycles. The
framework should allow the organizations to develop an evaluation matrix that
plots the benefits of a particular idea and the cost of implementation of the
idea. The evaluation matrix needs to facilitate quick categorization of such
ideas that have a higher return on innovation at a lower cost and set the
innovation cycle on a fast track.

Execution

Once the idea passes the evaluation and risk assessment stage, it should not
be misconstrued that it will be smooth sailing from there on. Winners are aware
that execution is where the idea really takes shape as a salable product or
service. There will be a whole lot of learning and improvements to be made in
the process of development of a pilot, testing and finally in the launch and
support of new products and services.

So now comes the time when the rubber meets the road and at this stage,
commitment to rolling out the idea implementation plan is essential at all
levels and must begin at the top. Execution plans must clearly explain their
aims, why they are necessary and what impact they will have on the organization.
This communication to achieve understanding of the big picture is absolutely
necessary for implementation success, because people cannot implement what they
do not understand.

Involve-rather-than-instruct should be the motto to get individuals and
teams to own and execute new strategies and they need to be given the freedom to
learn and revise the implementation methodology during the course.

Besides this, one needs to set up effective data collection systems that are
accurate and cost effective in providing quick-time decision support. Rapid
feedback regarding results is a powerful motivator that can enable individuals
and teams to assume complete responsibility, improve performance and achieve
goals. Also, for idea implementation to be successful, organizations should
encourage a learning culture that fosters curiosity and adaptability. There has
to be constant communication involving people at all levels to roll out the
strategy, which will enhance enthusiasm and commitment.

Further, execution is all about attention to details, budgets and deadlines.
Effective execution requires the right people to do the right things at the
right time and do so consistently. Effective execution requires an open and
supportive organization culture. It calls for great amount of discipline and
dedication to ensure success, as we all know history has always belonged to
those who execute best, because strategies can be readily copied.

What organizations should understand is that implementing an idea is not
about one-time delivery. Rather, it is about continuous improvement, wherein
individuals and teams look for ways to continuously improve their processes to
enhance productivity, quality and the level of service and keep multiple
innovation cycles live at any point in time.

Today corporate innovation is a critical core competence. Therefore,
corporations cannot afford but to mainstream innovation, which is driven by
three primary factors: social changes, economic situations, and technical
transformations. Given the current global financial turmoil, the ensuing credit
squeeze and overall slowdown of economies, effective innovation has become
critical like never before and is the core competence that truly confers the
ultimate competitive advantage.

Therefore, the race is now onto out-innovate the innovators. Organizations
that harness the power of speed in their innovation cycles will emerge as
winners and laggards will have an epitaph that will read failed to innovate,
hence ceased to exist!

So, wont it be a better idea then, to get out of our comfort zone, envision
our future and reinvent ourselves as individuals, as teams, as organizations, as
industry ecosystems to add value to ourselves, our organizations and our society
at large.

Janardhanan R Vaidyanathan

The author is associate director, CSC India

maildqindia@cybermedia.co.in