Is your company ready to innovate?

Innovation is not just a “nice to have” option for companies anymore, and that applies regardless of their size or the industries in which they operate. It has become a “must have”, and the current context only increases its importance.

70% of those who run the companies see innovation as “one of the top 3 growth engines”. Moreover, 80% of them consider that their current business models are strongly threatened.

Find out more about » Business Model Innovation. 

Where does growth come from?

Some companies are aware of the importance of innovation. When they want to grow sustainably, leaders understand very well the options they manage:

• maximize the results in traditional markets by addressing existing customers with existing products and services
• grow by approaching adjacent markets, close to traditional ones, by making incremental changes to the existing products and services in the portfolio, or
• open completely new markets and / or launch completely new products and services

Some companies innovate better, others face difficulties to innovate. The causes for these differences are diverse.

Discover the top 3 challenges of innovation

It may not be surprising that “minor” or “incremental” innovations account for between 85% and 90% of all innovation projects, according to international studies. The degree of risk is, in this case, limited. On the other hand, only 14% of new product innovations are “radical”, but their contribution to the total profit made by companies that innovated in products was as high as 61%.

Innovation does not simply happen…

Even companies that understand the importance of innovation ignore an essential first step: assessing the degree to which they are prepared for innovation.

Moving from ad-hoc innovation (based on one-off projects) to implementing a repetitive process of innovation, is often a long and difficult road. Eliminating this “gap” requires more than good intentions and verbal commitments. It involves important changes at the organizational level.

The temptation to believe that any company can innovate, no matter how well prepared it is, is great. We noticed a certain misunderstanding, even among people in executive positions, about how to approach an innovation project. Without a clear understanding of the objectives, of the process itself, of the roles, and of the evaluation of progress, an innovation project will lead to nowhere and will increase the reluctance of top management on this type of initiatives.

From our point of view, companies need to focus on five main areas when assessing their level of maturity to innovate in a structured and continuous way: strategy, processes, capabilities, resources, and culture.

1. Strategy: the existence of an innovation strategy, aligned with the company’s strategy, to achieve the strategic objectives
2. Processes: how to develop new ideas and turn them into added value for customers
3. Capabilities: the required skills, the experience gained, and the partnerships needed to innovate
4. Resources: the management of human, financial, and material resources necessary for innovation
5. Culture: the behaviors that are required for innovation, as well as the leadership that supports and encourages a culture of innovation

Before starting any innovation project, leaders in organizations should ensure that all these elements can support innovation. Unprepared, organizations will generate failed projects, wasted resources and employee frustrations.

To what extent is your organization ready for innovation?

If you are interested in the topic and believe that innovation can be one of the main growth engines of your company, please fill in the questionnaire below:

After completing the questionnaire, you will be invited to a discussion that will help you understand how ready your company is to innovate and what it needs to implement a culture of innovation.

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