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Thought Pieces
Poem by Johanna Featherstone at Creative Innovation 2012
Monday, 17 December 2012
Partnership
One phone touch and I’m sucked
back to work:
banana bread, espressos,
emoticons, evaporations in a water pitcher;
acronyms, strategies, margin loans
in air-con the skin grows plastic,
and blank like the office orchid.
Tuesday, I was scared suitless
of breaking out a mistake
leaving the team
with a lost reputation.
My mouth filled
with nail clippings
the thunderous
rumours of the unannounced
lunch invitation –
Overstrung, overtaxed
overweight, but amazingly
– not fired,
promoted!
Crowned
in a laurel of tax returns:
the best,
the youngest
freckle on earth;
a fine sandwich
on a large silver platter.
Switched off, Saturday bounces;
I hunt and gather
in the hardware store,
farmer’s markets, bonsai clusters;
inspired without pay.
Open day without a tie;
I am uncomplicated as a hole puncher,
certain as a paperweight
longer than a bullet point;
In high relief, at home, I’m no file name
or page number, date, dead line or late;
have no itch to eject from my new leather chair
my sag and bones, paralysed by responsibility.
I’m a sharp magpie with an open beak
shaded in magnolia,
fresh and styled with sleep,
that’s made it to noon.
Heavenly blend of naked
arms, no alarms and mess.
Self-time is blessed
yet, lasts as long as a thumb;
after weekend rest and affection
the want to work is stronger,
with a wide sky energy, skin
exudes elastic happiness
I charge across the earth,
wild flowers behind my ears.
Johanna Featherstone ©
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Ci2012 Event Summary
Monday, 17 December 2012
Solving Your Biggest Innovation Challenge
Thursday, 22 November 2012
by Marla Capozzi and Ari Kellen – HBR
Game-changing innovation is a beautiful thing. Disruptive products and services are unleashed. New markets are created. Customers smile, employees cheer and shareholders win. What’s not to like?
The problem is that large companies find game-changing innovation staggeringly difficult to achieve. Recently, we analyzed the performance of 750 large companies in the decade before 2008. Apple was the only incumbent in this period to grow by creating new markets repeatedly through disruptive innovation.
Our analysis suggests that big companies should focus instead on what we call “innovation at scale” — that is, achieving repeatable and sustainable organic growth from new products, services and business models that build on the core business. This approach, too, is challenging: just 6% of the companies we analyzed managed to innovate at scale consistently through the period. But innovation at scale seems to be within reach of many more companies than might succeed in creating brand new markets.
What does it take to innovate at scale? The first element is robust strategy. In our work with clients, we find that companies that innovate at scale have a deep understanding of their assets, capabilities and what makes them successful. They understand at a granular level where growth came from in the past and where it is likely to come from in future. Aspiring to double revenues by 2020 may be a terrific stretch goal, but it is not a strategy.
Robust strategy is important because it creates the framing and focus needed to drive greater innovation. Ask people simply to “innovate” and the likely response is a mishmash of ideas. Focus, which can come in the form of simple guard rails, provides the crucial guidance on what really matters to the company’s future success and what types of innovation are required. These factors allow people to experiment and take more risks.
The second element needed for innovation at scale is careful attention to organization. While there is no set formula — organization must follow strategy, not be the starting point — our work with innovative companies points to a few areas on which to focus:
- Innovation cannot be a side show. Companies that integrate innovation into strategic planning, budgeting and resource allocation are six times more likely to achieve desired financial targets. Leadership, especially in the C-suite, is closely correlated with innovation outcomes.
- Stay “open” longer. Many companies now use open innovation principles to harvest ideas from consumers, employees and other stakeholders. But once the idea portfolio is set, the process is often surprisingly insular and linear. War gaming innovations early, and testing across multiple economic scenarios, can provide a market view and help to further refine ideas.
- Structure to execute. It is hard to find a clear correlation between organizational design — that is, use of innovation centers, incubators and labs — and successful innovation at scale. That said, these structures can be helpful ways to bring people together, allocate resources and track progress.
- Hand-pick talent. Innovation projects staffed by volunteers tend to underperform those run by people selected for the role. This shouldn’t disqualify people who raise their hands for the right reasons (e.g., passionate about the idea, hunger to contribute) but it is a reminder that raw enthusiasm is no substitute for the right expertise and capabilities.
Of course, there remains a lot we don’t know about successful, repeatable innovation at scale. How do we build employee capabilities in experimentation, testing and prototyping? How do we apply a strengths-based approach to innovation, understanding that successful teams and networks require a range of different innovation aptitudes? How do we balance alignment with strategic priorities against openness to orthogonal ideas? What we do know is that innovating innovation at scale is a critical management challenge for every big company that cares about sustainable growth.
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Don’t Innovate. Create a Culture of Innovation
Wednesday, 21 November 2012
By Scott Edinger – Forbes
While many organizations focus on addressing problems, the most successful focus on raising the bar. One of the ways they do this is by creating a culture where innovation thrives. When this organizational strength is magnified, it can become a source of competitive advantage.
One of my clients asked me to help identify the best practices of leaders who were the most innovative in his organization. In many interviews and meetings, there was very little discussion about brainstorming, generating ideas, prototyping, and the like—the kind of things most of us think about when we consider institutionalizing innovation. Instead, I heard what many of us would call excellent practices for leadership. My one-sentence conclusion: Excellence in leading innovation has far less to do with the leader having innovative ideas; it has everything to do with how that leader creates a culture where innovation and creativity thrives in every corner. Okay, maybe I cheated by having a sentence with a semi-colon but you get the gist in short form.
So if that is the conclusion, then what are the things that leaders must do to foster innovation? Here are five strategies that make a profound difference.
1. Focus on outcomes
I was struck by the fact that leaders of these teams put a great deal of effort into clearly envisioning and talking about the outcomes in a given scenario, rather than directing how those outcomes would be achieved. They did not micromanage, nor did they abdicate. Rather, they painted a picture of the future and held their teams accountable for how to get there. Clearly, one of the ways that innovation is cultivated is by having leaders who make sure everyone involved knows the outcome and strategic goals of any objective. By focusing on outcomes and results, these leaders free up a lot of energy for the creative process of making it happen.
2. Develop reciprocal trust
Not the garden varieties of trust, but complete and shared confidence in one another. I use the term “reciprocal trust” in these instances because it was very clear that this was not simply confidence that someone could be counted on to do a good job–there was a much more palpable sense of trust that permeated the relationships. Direct reports and close colleagues often described their leaders as protectors and I frequently heard the comment “he/she covered my back.” Certainly consequences existed for going outside the parameters of a project, but never for trying something that didn’t work.
3. Challenge the status quo
The leaders I spoke with were by no means rebels, but they were also not afraid to challenge people higher up in the management chain. I did hear in a number of cases that they are “fearless,” or that they possess a willingness to take on difficult issues, even when it means expressing disagreement with higher levels in the organization. They separate issues from people and are able to disagree, without being disagreeable. Doing so cultivates tremendous respect from their colleagues. One peer in particular used the term “healthy creative tension” when describing the atmosphere of meetings led by the innovator.
4. Be inspiring
“For innovation to exist you have to feel inspired!” said one source. Based on the research in the book I co-authored, The Inspiring Leader, (McGraw Hill 2009) I was not shocked to hear so many comments related to this topic, because most of the data indicate that no other leadership competency influences productivity and engagement more profoundly. Similarly, when people feel inspired by a leader they are more inclined to give more effort and go the extra mile on a project. That extra effort and commitment is often what produces innovation.
If the goal is easy to achieve, there is not much need to innovate. A trend that I observed was that these leaders set stretch goals that were very difficult to achieve. Moreover, they were able to get members of their team bought in to the power of achieving those goals. The goals set within these innovative groups required entirely new approaches in order for the goal to be achieved. The combination of need for innovation and commitment to the goal fueled creative change.
So the next time you are wracking your brain to come up with the idea that will save the day, or the innovative solution to your problems, or just a better way to do something, put your efforts into fostering and promoting innovation within your organization. A culture where innovation thrives in every corner is exponentially more valuable than a culture which anoints one or even a few people as “the innovative ones.” If you create an environment of innovation, who knows where your next great idea will come from?
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The Entrepreneurial Challenge
Monday, 12 November 2012
Doron Ben-Meir
CEO, Commercialisation Australia
At Creative Innovation we celebrate creativity in its many forms, from lateral thinking to the performing arts to new and exciting ways of addressing day to day problems.
From the perspective of a start-up entrepreneur, it is in the fundamental definition of “innovation” that we find true inspiration.
Whilst often used interchangeably, innovation should not be mistaken for invention. Equating the two is a common misconception which leads to the belief that a pure focus on research and development and idea creation will ultimately lead to a more innovative society.
In fact, innovation = invention (creation) + adoption, meaning that only when a new invention is adopted by others may its inherent benefits be derived.
Whilst some inventions are bequeathed by their creators for the public good, the most common mechanism of generating adoption is via commercialisation. If people want to buy your invention they are more likely to use it.
As the CEO of Commercialisation Australia, it’s no wonder I am so often asked: “why don’t we see more successful businesses being built off the back of our world class creativity?”
The short answer is “because too many fail to rise to the real challenge: the construction of a value proposition.” It’s not enough to create a new product or service offering a host of features and benefits that convincingly address a real world problem. You also have to be able to answer the question, “why will someone buy my product or service?”
Unfortunately, the real world very rarely lays down the red carpet. Instead, having blockaded the front door to strangers, it forces you to find another way into the building.
Finding a way in is the entrepreneurial challenge, and it’s a challenge that requires a very different set of skills and experience than those required to create the new invention or idea in the first place.
I often refer to the necessary work as ‘Commercialisation R&D’ because, much like the creative process, the results are never guaranteed, there are plenty of dead ends, and the final result is often dramatically different from the one initially contemplated.
The secret to successfully commercialising a creative invention is to critique your proposition through the eyes of your target customer. How important are the features and benefits? What about after sales support…will you be there for the long haul…do you have credibility? What are the inherent risks in dealing with you? Who are you up against…how differentiated and compelling is your offering? Is purchasing from you an easy or a hard decision?
Depending on your target customer, the answers to these questions may vary considerably. For example, a major corporate client’s tolerance of risk may be substantially lower than that of an SME because the purchasing officer will typically gain little upside for a good decision but may suffer a variety of career limiting consequences for a bad decision. The SME, on the other hand, may be prepared to accept a higher level of risk if she believes it will deliver her a substantial competitive advantage.
But surely the most important element is that the product or service is fit for purpose i.e. it works?
Fitness for purpose is essential but not sufficient.
We all know the story of Betamax and VHS Video tape. Betamax was generally regarded as technically superior but VHS won the marketing battle and became the de facto global standard.
Some of the most important elements of a value proposition have nothing to do with the underpinning functionality. They go to the overall package that makes the buyer comfortable to deal with you rather than someone else.
As a start-up business, your challenge is to find ways of engendering confidence, respect and desire in your target customer so that the way is clear to make a purchasing decision.
However clever the invention, and however apparently perfect the solution to a problem, market success can prove elusive for many reasons. The good entrepreneur knows when to persevere and when to pivot and try something else. Success relies on having deep knowledge of the subject invention and the target market (its players, politics, trends, sensitivities, insecurities and opportunities) and a compelling value proposition. Those challenges are what make good entrepreneurs so rare and the ultimate prize so sweet.
For us to achieve a greater commercial conversion of our creative talents, we need to combine quality entrepreneurism with thoughtful inventiveness to deliver well targeted propositions. Success and failure along that path are but two sides of the same coin which one must manage and overcome in the ultimate realisation of innovation.
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Boosting innovation in the Asian Century
Thursday, 8 November 2012
According to Australia in the Asian Century white paper, the Gillard Government is emphasizing on investing in people, industry and research to create the new jobs and opportunities of the Asian Century.
Senator Evans said “”We cannot rely solely on our natural resources for future prosperity.” and “”Industry, the research sector, the workforce and all levels of Government will need to work more collaboratively to ensure we have the innovative products, services and processes, as well as the skilled workforce and solid networks, that are essential for success in the Asian century,”.
In this century it is crucial to help Australian businesses to improve their understanding of the opportunities that are available in Asia regions, create new jobs in emerging markets, build relationships and partnerships in new markets.
According to Senator Evans “”Our future prosperity will depend on innovation driven by collaboration between industry, investors, researchers and entrepreneurs who are connected to the fast growing and developing Asian region.”
This year, Creative Innovation 2012 (Asia-Pacific) will be featuring scientists, organizational leaders and thought leaders from all over the world with the theme of “Wicked problems, Great opportunities! Leadership for volatile times” . Join us Nov 28-30, Sofitel Melbourne On Collins!
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