Practical Innovation in a Digital World - Building the Ideation Ecosystem

Reader Warning:  If you are looking for the kind of levity, light-hearted banter and insightful amusement I usually conjure up after a couple of stiff sherrys then this is probably not the blog for you. This one is a bit serious and is the first in a series of similarly serious blogs that will take an in depth look at the sub-processes that underpin the process of Corporate Innovation.  That doesn’t mean the blogs will be dull (hopefully far from it) rather they will be quite technical and suitable for those that consider themselves practitioners in the field of Innovation.  Warning over, read on at your peril!

This blog is about Ideation* – the elemental and almost magical sub-process at the very genesis of the Corporate Innovation process.   It is a much misunderstood process and a little explored one.  The generation of ideas is often seen to be the exclusive, secret domain of the visionary entrepreneur, the maverick R&D guy or the corporate alchemist, certainly not the result of a process that can be quantified, systematised and regularly replicated.   Now whilst these rare corporate beasts can undoubtedly catalyse and accelerate the process they are most definitely not the process itself and quite often they can actually slow or derail the process in a fit of pique.  Now I have written about the detrimental propensity of CEOs to seek out these Wizard of Oz types in a previous blog and so won’t replay that rant here.  Suffice to say, in practice, the process of Ideation itself is a bit more mundane than the magicians and snake oil salesmen would have us believe.  The generation of useful ideas is a lot more about the outcome of the hard, disciplined work, carried out by dedicated professionals than the result of a favoured kiss from the ideas muse.  Those that have been tasked with delivering Ideation will nod sagely on hearing award winning novelist Philip Pullman’s quote “Amateurs think that if they were inspired all the time, they could be professionals.  Professional know that if they relied on inspiration, they'd be amateurs.”

So how does an Innovation professional set about generating a set of quality ideas that can potentially be formed into concepts that can be prototyped and tested?  There are three key elements for the Innovation professionals to assemble.  The first essential element is having access to a rich source of ideation inputs – the thoughts, suggestions, ideas, tech and stimuli required to generate innovative concepts.  The second is having a reliable, generative ideation process through which to sort, play with, combine and recombine the inputs in a way that generates innovative concepts.  The third is having access to a creative team of stimulated professionals whose brains this ideation process will be carried out in.

The rest of the blog will look at each of these elements in detail.   Without these elements Ideation is a random, haphazard and rare occurrence, pretty much what it actually is for many corporates.

A quick but related digression, I still smile to myself when I remember working with a UK high tech manufacturer that was short on ideas.  I asked them to arrange a meeting with the senior managers to discuss the Innovation process.  “Ooh,” said the coordinator, “we can use the Innovation room.”  I replied that sounded great.  On the day of the meeting I was ushered into the Innovation room – which turned out to be an oblong, grey walled, windowless room with plastic seats arranged in rows.  Strangely I didn’t have to work too hard that day to convince the client that they needed to make changes – especially of they wanted to think outside the very grey box in which they literally and metaphorically found themselves.  So let’s get to it.

1)      Creating a rich source of Ideation Inputs

Generating rich inputs requires high quality networking and an ability to expand and leverage the relationships and ecosystems of the corporation.   Below is a table of a tiny fraction of the different ways Corporates can and do plug into a flow of ideas from the easy to access to the more hard core link ups. 

Hard Core	Serious	Traditional	Easy
Tech Partnerships	Academic Links	Industrial Tourism	Conferences
Tech Start Up Links	Commissioned Research	Staff Suggestions	Social Media Feeds
Specialist Idea Brokers	Supplier Ideas Forums/Fairs	Customer Feedback/Complaints	Guest speakers
Patent Tracking	Big Data Analytics	Internal Data Analytics	Literature reviews

The key here is to generate a manageable flow of ideas that those charged with generating Innovation concepts can handle.  Too few ideas and the Innovation hopper will be barren, too many ideas and the Innovation hopper will be overflowing and unmanageable, creating waste and disillusionment.   N.B. There is no single “secret source”(sorry),  the successful Corporate Innovators will have a whole raft of sources from which they draw ideas.  The key skills required for delivering a rich source of ideas are network building and curiosity.

2)      Developing a reliable, generative Ideation Process

Now this element is a little more complex and a source of heated debate between Innovation professionals.  Again there is probably no right answer here but there are probably better ones.   The minimum requirement is the ability to structure the time spent playing with, combining, refining and assessing the ideas.  This is serious play.   There are numerous techniques available ranging from the basic brainstorming processes, through analytical and scoring techniques to the more developed Triz process and its modifications and abstractions.   The key factor here is that the Innovation professionals actively manage themselves through a process or a series of processes.   The complexity here is that the processes have to encourage room for play, spontaneity, what if debates, flights of fancy and slack time whilst maintaining their rigour as a process.  As a result facilitation is key.  The key skills required to be able to develop and operate a reliable, generative ideation process are playfulness, curiosity and facilitation skills.

3)      Building a creative team of Dedicated Professionals

Finally it is important to remember that innovation is not some abstract event.  Humans are not just catalysts in the process they are a living Innovation substrate.   Ensuring that your Innovation team is in the best possible shape to innovate is therefore important.   This, of course, means that recruiting or renting the right people, with the right aptitudes to work effectively as part of an Innovation team is crucial, as is providing them with the right physical locations, stimuli and props.  However, it does not mean keeping them overly comfortable.  Necessity is the mother of invention and diversity and conflict (in small doses) can be excellent catalysts.   I’m aware I’m making this sound a little like alchemy and of all the elements I’ve looked at in this blog this is the one that is the most esoteric.   However, having an effective team leader that can manage the state of their team to enhance Innovation is a real find.   Whether that means exposing the team to third world experiences or cosseting them in comfy cushions, the ability to keep changing it up is essential.  The key skills required to build a team of creative, dedicated Innovation professionals are therefore team management and creativity.

Hopefully that has provided a bit of an insight into Ideation, the primary sub-process of Innovation and its base elements.  There’s much more that can be said and written about these elements but that is not the stuff of a blog.  Do get in touch if you wish to discuss.  Further blogs on the other sub-processes will follow.

N.B. I’d be remiss if I didn’t add that in today’s digital environment it is also possible to “outsource” the ideation process by setting up hackathons, hosting social media discussion groups, sponsoring prizes for innovative solutions and all manner of other mechanisms.  These are all relatively new mechanisms but are proving popular and well worth trying.  Have fun Innovating.

*The process of ideation in a corporate setting is the process for the generation of ideas that, if applied to the corporation, could have a relevance to one or more of the stakeholders of the corporation.

Innovation - Four Corporate Operating Models

This blog has recently been enhanced and published as a Capgemini Point of View but I thought it would be fun to publish it in its original format for the regular readers of the blog.  So here it is in its unillustrated, raw state. Hope you find it useful.

If Innovation occurred as a natural reaction to the expressed wishes and exhortations of the CEO on the subject of Innovation then this would be a very short blog.

However, those of us that are practitioners and advisors on the topic know that it does not.  In fact those of us who carry any kind of Innovation related title should take a good hard look at ourselves and admit we’ve let our industries down by colluding with the idea that somehow all we need, in order to generate Innovation in our businesses, are some verbal signs of support from the senior executives.  This is nonsense.  Think it through.   

If I meet up with a CEO and ask him/her to describe to me their financial management process they will have no problem in outlining the process, the systems underpinning it, its governance rules and the roles of the people who manage it.   The same will be true if I ask about the people management process and as of relatively recently, they’ll even be able to walk me through the risk management process.

But ask about the Innovation process and they’ll almost immediately flip their responses to start telling me about the specific “innovations” that have occurred in their businesses in the last 2 years or so.  Not the process, just the outcomes.  When really pressed they might be able to point to a Head of Innovation who reports into the Head of Product development somewhere and they may be able to point out that they have a more or less sophisticated employee suggestion scheme but almost none will be able to talk me through their Innovation process. The simple reason for this is, that on a corporate scale, they are highly unlikely to have one.  No clear operating model, no end-2-end process, no underpinning systems and technology, no real investment or resources and no real chance of delivering a regular flow of innovation. Ouch!

NB – before pharmaceutical and technology clients start feeling smug about themselves as they start casually pointing to their tried and tested R&D process for creating new products – can you tell me the process for corporate innovation in any area other than new product development e.g. service innovation, cost reduction innovation, business model innovation, distribution process innovation etc?  Thought not. 

So rather than rant on about how sad a state of affairs it all is and that someone, somewhere should do something about it I thought I’d grab the bull by the horns and outline four different operating models that an executive who wants to remedy the situation can think about implementing.

First off, some basics.  For any innovation operating model to work it needs to have a clearly defined end-2-end process, good funding and resourcing, clear governance, effective technology and systems and executive support.  Without these you can design what you like it just won’t work very well.  Now to the models, all be it at a very high level.

Model 1 – The Culture of Innovation.

This works great for companies that live or die by their ability to innovate and can be seen in action in companies such as Google and 3M.  In this model Innovation is the responsibility of all the members of the company and each individual is expected to contribute.  To support this employees are recruited for their creativity/entrepreneurial tendencies and are given a proportion of their week to work on developing new cool ideas.  To support this model recruitment needs to be targeted and very effective and the reward system for developing innovative concepts needs to be clear and generous.  In addition individuals need easy access to prototype developers and concept testers to support their efforts.

The strengths of the model are that it is rarely short on ideas and as long as collaboration is encouraged and facilitated the flow of new innovation is relatively constant.   The weaknesses are that this is a hopeless model for those businesses that recruit people for their ability to comply with process and follow the rules e.g. Insurers, Accountants etc.  There can also be an over focus on the development of new product rather than other forms of innovation and a tendency for innovation to peter out after the prototype has been developed and given an initial testing.

Model 2 – The Golden Thread of Innovation

This works well for those companies that are in a growth cycle and are looking to expand.  In this model Innovation professionals are deployed across the business to develop and manage the innovation process on behalf of the business units.   They work to an agreed process and are supported by the Business Unit executives who have the overall accountability for (and are bonused on) the Innovation delivered.  The Innovation professionals working in the Business Units are supported by an Innovation CoE that sits in the corporate centre to provide coordination and support (access to prototyping and testing capability etc).  Companies that have previously used this type of model include GE and RBS (pre credit crisis).  The key to making this model work is to ensure that the business unit executives are absolutely on the hook for driving innovation and that the capability is properly funded.  It cannot be seen as a nice to have by the business units.  Careful recruitment is also required to select the right individuals.  The key roles in this model are those liaising with the business unit executives to drive Innovation.  This requires both innovation skills and great sensitivity to business realities.

Model 3 – The Innovation Hub

This is a model suited to those corporate businesses that have limited investment resources and are in a cost reduction/contraction phase.  They know they need to drive innovation in order to survive but need the attention of their executive team focused on resolving the current challenges.   An Innovation hub or hubs concentrates the organisations innovation resources into units that sit outside the day to day running of the business.  The capabilities in the hubs are supplemented by external providers that enable the hubs to ramp up and ramp down in line with investment capability.   The external providers also provide access to specific skills or infrastructures that the business cannot afford to build or maintain at the current time on a permanent basis.   Innovation hubs can often be constructed as joint ventures with the corporate trading off some of the future profits from the innovation ideas in return for a reduced cost of the support from the external provider.  The strengths of this model are its flexibility and ability to leverage wider innovation ecosystems.  The challenge lies with finding the internal innovation experts who have the skills and capabilities and aptitude to work in this kind of environment.  A lot will be expected of them as they will need to manage both the Innovation process and the day to day management of the Innovation hub plus have an ability to work with stressed out, under pressure executives. 

Model 4 – Innovation as a Service

Much as you can outsource a Finance and Accounting process or an HR process you can also outsource the innovation process.  This is a model suited to those businesses who know they are not innovative in their nature and who do not employ innovative people.  In this model an external provider takes over all or the vast majority of the Innovation process delivering an agreed level of implementation ready innovation concepts back to the business on a regular basis.   The corporate does not need to worry about ideation, prototyping, testing, piloting or the building and testing of business cases.   As long as the corporate is capable of implementing the innovation concepts then the Innovation process can be outsourced.   The strengths of this model are that the Innovation process is managed by professional innovators and should therefore provide reliable outcomes at a reasonable price point.   The challenges are to overcome the cynicism and inertia that can be injected into the process by corporate executives who have an aversion to anything “not invented here”.

That’s it for the high level canter through the models – more details are available on request.  Happy Innovating.

The connected workforce - connected by design or chance

Perhaps one of the most exciting and relatively unexplored frontiers of the digital revolution is the new possibilities for workforce performance improvement through digital technology and it’s natural fit with human behaviour.

The place where bytes meet neurons.  

Digital technologies have already changed the environment we are in, creating possibilities for real-time data analysis, global connectivity, 24/7 mobile access to information, enhanced communications and on-demand digital tools and apps. Our workforces are already connected and becoming more so on a day-by-day basis.

Our new, digitally enabled, tech rich workforces are like fertile gardens. We can design the layout, plant the right digital capabilities, cultivate the right behaviours and remove the legacy of dead wood. Alternatively, we can let the wind blow in whatever direction it will, and allow our workforce to be a digital wasteland - barren in parts and populated by unwanted weeds.  Businesses should take a moment to consider whether their workforce is connected by design….or by chance?

If they’re not sure, it might be useful to think about what an effectively connected workforce looks like.   There are a number of features that are recognisable as inputs to the creation of the connected workforce. The big outcomes are:

1. The employee is able to access and use the right data, at the right time and location to make the best possible real-time decisions
2. The employer is able to generate valuable insight from analysing the data associated with the actions of their employees. This enables them to continually enhance the quality of MI, advice and support

In theory this creates a wonderful virtuous circle of learning between employee and employer, and the development of a very smart learning organisation. 

Now that is either very exciting or very scary depending on your viewpoint. 

Our work phones and tablets provide rich two-way sources of data, allowing employees to receive real time direction on their “next best action” and employers to receive real time insights into the behaviours of their employees under changing conditions.   Taken to its relatively realistic conclusion, it will be possible for organisations to make and effectively action real-time course corrections based on changing external conditions. 

This is a vision of the truly connected workforce and once we get past the Matrix/ Terminator/ Cybermen “machines have taken over” worries, we really need to sit down and think through how we build the workforce infrastructure, ethics and architecture that will enable our organisations to thrive in this fast approaching world.  This is not science fiction – recent MIT/Capgemini research into digital transformation neatly illustrates that the “Digirati” (those companies that are leading the way on digital) are spending serious time and money to get this right.  They are definitely not leaving employee connectivity to chance.

Now it’s never quite as simple in practice as it is in theory, and my experience to date says it is definitely worth breaking the concept of the connected workforce  down a bit to have a look at the component parts, otherwise it may all seem a bit too sci-fi and unobtainable.

Here are a few of the key base building blocks that are in place in digitally smart organisations which are working towards creating a connected workforce:

• Employees have easy (often mobile) access to real-time decision support tools that are supported by effective data analytics
• These tools are supported by a digital infrastructure that allows employees across the business to have a shared view of the customer and the customer issues
• Employees have easy access to a wide range of communication channels that enhance their connectivity and accessibility to their colleagues – particularly those that support teaming and knowledge sharing
• Employees behaviours (particularly around learning and compliance) are influenced and modified by the use of “gamification” and other digital solutions, they are not left to chance
• Employees can access the services that support them in their roles such as Admin, Knowledge Management, Learning and Development and Performance Management tools across multiple channels (including mobile) on a 24/7 basis
• Management have the ability to monitor and assess the multi-layered People Risks that exist in the organisation using multiple data sources
• Where appropriate, non-front line employees, have the ability to choose the devices and tools that best enable them to do their jobs (Bring Your Own Device schemes etc)  

Once these are in place, the prospect of a connected workforce is a real possibility with all the associated business benefits and ethical/behavioural conundrums.   We will need to think hard about how we feel about being “controlled by the machines”. Are we ok with the fact that our decisions will be increasingly informed by an aggregation of everyone else’s decisions?  Will I no longer be able to think independently? Inevitably the answer will be yes and no.   Philosophical challenges aside, we need to recognise the digital genie is already out of the bottle and we need to respond effectively to this new digital world.

Three steps to a digital workforce

So what has to change?  What have the smart CEOs and HRDs got to get to grips with in order to connect their workforces by design?   According to what I am coming across with my clients, there are three areas that require action.  To develop a connected workforce, organisations need to build a digital infrastructure, develop a digital aptitude and determine their digital appetite.  This takes a lot of leadership and a good deal of vision.  Let me try and unpick it a little.

Infrastructure

Firstly the organisation needs to build a digital infrastructure to support the connected workforce.  This infrastructure needs to be able to do four things really well.  It needs to be able to “sense” what employees need and require (digital senses).  It needs to be able to collect and “interpret” employee related data (digital brain).  It needs to be able to connect with and instruct the workforce on the next best action (digital spine) and it needs to be able to provide the employee with the digital tools and methods required to support them in the delivery of their tasks (digital limbs).

Aptitude

Secondly the organisation needs its leaders and workforce to take on new digital attitudes and skills (digital aptitude) to take full advantage of the digital infrastructure.  As occasionally happens in sport, new enthusiasts can be accused of having “all the gear and no idea”.  Having digital infrastructure without digital aptitude is just a bit embarrassing.  It is really important that the CEO and HRD work on shifting the culture using behavioural psychology and digital gamification to shift old school behaviours and learn new skills.  The connected workforce will require new digital skills (data analysis and basic programming etc).  Recent research by O2 suggests 745,000 additional workers with digital skills will be needed before 2017.  What an opportunity and what a challenge.

Appetite

And finally the organisation needs to determine its approach to digital risk management and governance (digital appetite).  Digital appetite is a proxy for deciding on the level of risk, security requirements, transparency and external engagement the organisation is prepared to work with.  It’s really important that the organisation is able to think through the controls required and to communicate them effectively to the organisation.  Not everyone needs to see and share everything.

So to conclude, a properly connected workforce that underpins a real time learning organisation is no longer a pipe dream but a very real possibility.  

This blog is also published in Bdaily Business News https://bdaily.co.uk/technology/03-10-2013/connected-by-design-building-the-connected-workforce/