Innovation Vertigo
Cliffs, contagions and chaos have been the watchwords for business over the past five years. We strive to survive and try to tolerate chaos. But is surviving enough?
In order to thrive in the craziness and take advantage of change, leaders are increasingly realizing they need to take smart risks constantly, not just in special cases. It’s enough to make executives dizzy.
The rapid pace of change has prompted a sensation we call “innovation vertigo” in GE’s annual “Global Innovation Barometer.” While the 3,000 executives polled for the Barometer agreed that innovation is critical to charting a new course in uncertain times, they have conflicting points of view about what must be done to maintain a competitive edge. For example, 90 percent of executives think that innovation is a priority but 30 percent believe that increased competition and advancement puts them at a disadvantage. And there is a clear tension between open markets versus protectionist policies and practices.
Still, leaders are finding ways to move forward and benefit from flux. The survey reveals a growing willingness to look to new models and new ways to extend value. The trend is toward new business models and customization versus stand-alone product innovation, reflecting the rise in applications and services that extend value. But this takes time and often requires different skills, confidence and patience as new models scale – that’s why we see a gap in the Barometer between the 87 percent of executives who believe their firms would benefit from partnering and 68 percent who have actually collaborated with another company.
Executives who pursue collaboration quickly find that it is critical to innovation, especially in new markets. Partnerships allow sharing of risk, access and speed to markets and technologies, but also create tensions around IP protection, talent gaps, incentives and shared vision.
At GE, we’re working hard to become better innovation partners – creating more together with customers and start-ups. Global competition is fierce and in challenging industries like energy, health and transportation, problems aren’t easily solved alone – even for a company as big as ours. We need good ideas and capabilities to make things happen – no matter where they come from. Like in Chengdu, China where we’ve opened one of five global customer innovation centers. Working here, we’ve been able to bring together collaborative efforts from within GE – engineers, designers and marketers – and work directly with doctors, nurses and administrators inside local hospitals to create diagnostics tailored to the needs of rural China but that also will find markets around the world.
Collaboration works. I’m reminded of a great quote from IDEO’s David Kelly, it works, he says, because “you get to a place you just can’t get to in one mind.”
Photograph by Krista Kennell/Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit
Executive Value Strategist @ ServiceNow | Simplifying the Path to Value of AI Investments to Drive Tangible Impact
11 年The article states, "...we see a gap in the Barometer between the 87 percent of executives who believe their firms would benefit from partnering and 68 percent who have actually collaborated with another company." The gap between what companies "say" and what they "do" (innovation vertigo) reminds me of the same friction that exists in our personal relationships. This perception or story we tell ourselves is often skewed just as the Barometer reveals. Now we can begin to see the "seam of opportunity" and explains what is meant by the author when she says, "different skills, confidence and patience" are needed.
I get inspired by ingenious system - d. And the whole effort is to blend it with organised standard driven lab innovation.
Retired at 54, need I say more... Private Client Group Constituent & Consultant
12 年Companies shy-away from taking substantial risk in real leaps for products they want to bring to market, instead taking the incremental steps that only add some functionality, but no real market enthusiasm to enliven your brand. The flux of frequent change is exhausting to organizations engaged in these growth spurts, but they are familiar with the rhythm, so the market keeps chugging along at this pace. It takes a giant to set a new trend, where competitors will change course reluctantly but invigorated with a chance 'shine.' To reduce risk of setbacks and regulatory stagnation, cross-industry collaborations are essential, applying best practices and lessons learned in the journey forward. Fitting too many technology changes and ‘extension of purpose’ into one package compromises ‘primary purpose,’ the intended function. It introduces complexity and increases the use case scenarios, test requirements, and challenges associated with product integrity and the impact on customers and consumers alike.
Sales Director, France at Vonage API, Conversational Commerce (Jumper.ai), API: video, marketing, notification (SMS, RCS, whatsapp), verification authentication (MFA, Silent Authen., biometry, voice), Network API
12 年beyond words, what is GE's real proven ability to work with other. GE has a very strong culture that sometimes is a strength but also can play against openness and working with different culture and different basis. Risk is supposed to be rewarded? How far does GE walk the talk? I have lots of innovation to offer to GE, who do I talk to?
Biologist ◇ Chemical Engineer
12 年It is inspiring to hear that companies are taking a service and customized tack to doing business. As mentioned - customer specialized products make sense for building relationships with with customers. This is great news for the world of site remediation, bioremediation, and even certain focused biofuel companies.