Be Consistent

Depending on who you listen to, there are two contradictory ways to think about innovation inside a large organisation:

1. Innovation needs to produce a clear return on investment, so it’s essential to manage it in a rigorous, predictable manner.
2. Innovation is a creative, non-linear activity, so it can’t be subjected to the same treatment as other parts of the business.

Let’s refer to believers in the first and second schools of thought as ‘innovation dictators' and 'innovation anarchists', respectively.

Surely both perspectives can’t be right. The dictators instinctively want more control, whereas the anarchists want as little as possible.

And yet, like many things uncertain and ambiguous, it’s important in innovation management to be able to hold two apparently contradictory ideas in one’s mind at the same time.

In a previous edition of Culture for Lunch, I introduced three essential principles. These are the three pillars on which I believe a healthy culture of innovation needs to be built:

?? Be Kind

?? Be Open

↗? Be Consistent.

Since we already covered “Be Kind ”?and “Be Open ”, we’re going to talk about the importance of?Being Consistent today.

Over the years I have learnt to empathise with both innovation dictators and anarchists. Even if there's no such a thing as a silver bullet, I’ve come to believe that consistency is the key to squaring the circle of these two polar-opposite mindsets.

Let’s explore why.

1. Consistency as a catalyst for habit formation and long-term exploration

Innovation management, like other professions, thrives on consistent habits and routines. And crucially, a company’s long-term performance thrives on a consistent commitment to explorative innovation.

This means not just maintaining well-defined, documented processes but also continually investing in explorative portfolios of new ideas, technologies, and business models.

It’s the only way we can adapt to market changes, maintain a diversified innovation portfolio, and avoid complacency.

?? What this looks like in practice:

• Agree on a common communications infrastructure throughout the company, which governs information-sharing, meeting etiquette, communication style, and other norms.
• Business leaders should allocate specific hours each week to support teams in their research of emerging trends and business models.
• Use a digital tool where employees can openly submit and review innovative ideas. Ensure that the selection criteria for new ideas are clearly defined, transparent and non-arbitrary.
• When a new innovation project or venture gets the green light, the founder can count on a pre-defined allocation of resources (x people, y budget, for z weeks)
• Innovation budgets should not fluctuate according to the business cycle, current profitability or the mood of a few directors. While a single project can be discontinued in the short term, building an innovation capability is a long-term strategic investment.

2. Systematic innovation policies

Only when we implement clear, straightforward innovation policies do we support a systematic approach to explorative innovation.

This means establishing a deeply coherent combination of innovation strategy, tactics and operations.

By doing so, our organisations can ensure a steady, focused pursuit of both incremental and wild, breakthrough innovations.

?? What this looks like in practice:

• Craft (and communicate) a clear innovation strategy that aligns with the company’s intent and vision.
• Implement a formal process for evaluating and progressing or killing ideas. This provides a structured framework (appealing to 'innovation dictators') for idea evaluation, ensuring accountability and ROI, but it also allows for the flexibility to progress or discontinue ideas based on their merit (addressing the 'anarchists' desire for creative freedom and less rigid control).
• Include innovation-related objectives in executive performance evaluations.
• Offer consistent training programmes on the innovation process and tools.
• Establish a system for employees to give feedback on innovation policies and processes.
• Create a playbook for innovation management that is consistent throughout the organisation.

3. Balancing consistency with flexibility

Innovation requires a balance between consistent practices and flexibility in thinking.

For innovation to have impact, we need to strike a balance between disciplined practices and flexibility in thinking. In other words, we need to satisfy both the innovation dictators and the anarchists.

Organisations like Google exemplify this by blending structured innovation frameworks with freedom for exploration. This balance ensures that a consistent approach to innovation means there is also room for adaptability and responsiveness to new opportunities.

?? What this looks like in practice:

• Create cross-functional teams that can adapt to different innovation projects.
• Make clear which elements are immutable (like alignment to strategy) and which are open to adaptation by individual teams (like ideation techniques).
• Allow teams some autonomy in decision-making during innovation processes - but always the same type of autonomy. You can’t allow just one team to throw out their kanbans and allow a different team to skip the stage-gate process. By standardising the level of autonomy across teams, you establish a rule that meets the 'dictators' need for predictability, while the autonomy itself caters to the 'anarchists' preference for freedom and flexibility in the innovation process.
• Innovation processes should get reviewed once every 3 months (or 6, or 12) - but not on an ad hoc basis or driven by crisis
• Establish open communication for regularly sharing insights and learning from different departments.

4. Consistency in leadership and its ripple effects

Leadership plays a crucial role in building a consistent culture of innovation.

Consistent leadership —in supporting new ideas, learning from failures, and dedicating resources to exploratory initiatives— sets a standard for the entire organisation and builds a forward-thinking culture.

?? What this looks like in practice:

• Demonstrate consistent support for innovation through personal involvement in projects. This doesn't mean micro-management, but it does mean showing a genuine and candid interest in the team and the problems they are trying to solve.
• Communicate regularly about ongoing innovation projects and their progress.
• Conduct workshops for leaders to align them with the innovation strategy.
• Publicly support employees who take calculated risks for innovation.
• Ensure consistent allocation of resources for innovation initiatives.

5. Incentivising consistency in innovation

As always, incentives are what drives most behaviours inside a complex organisation.

From both a practical and moral perspective, it’s important to reward employees who consistently engage in the innovation process, especially those who contribute to challenging explorative initiatives.

When leaders recognise efforts in exploring new opportunities, adapting solutions based on feedback, and showing commitment to long-term innovation, they reinforce the importance of consistent exploration.

?? What this looks like in practice:

• Introduce appropriate awards, bonuses and verbal recognition for employees who consistently contribute to innovation.
• Link consistent commitment to innovation to career progression opportunities.
• Assign mentors to guide employees through their innovation career (not just to manage a single project).
• Include innovation-related goals in all personal development plans.
• Regularly share stories of successful and unsuccessful innovations, with the intention of learning.

6. The role of consistency in building trust

A consistent approach builds trust among both the innovation dictators and the anarchists within the organisation. Trust is fundamental for encouraging risk-taking and idea sharing, both crucial for explorative innovation.

?? What this looks like in practice:

• Maintain transparency about the innovation process and its outcomes.
• Hold regular sessions for employees to voice their ideas and concerns (not on an ad hoc basis)
• Uphold consistent ethical standards in all innovation-related activities. This is obvious but you need to make explicit what consistent ethical standards mean for your organisation.
• Strive for symmetry in the costs versus the rewards of innovation. For example, there is no symmetry in expecting a corporate intrapreneur to put their career on the line in defence of a project, if they don’t also benefit from any upside if the project is a runaway success. Employees should be able to expect a degree of risk and a level of reward that are fundamentally correlated.

7. Measuring consistency in exploration

One part of Being Consistent is to measure the impact of explorative practices on an ongoing basis.

While we can’t allow the innovation dictators to monitor everything, we also can’t bow to the anarchists’ demand to “just leave us alone”.

When we set clear metrics for new exploratory initiatives and we're open to adjusting our ideas based on feedback, we ensure a dynamic innovation culture.

And a dynamic culture satisfies both the need of the innovation dictators to prevent out-of-control spending, and the need of the innovation anarchists for speed and creativity.

?? What this looks like in practice:

• Conduct regular meetings to review the progress of innovation initiatives.
• Use data and feedback to adjust innovation strategies and processes.
• Regularly survey employees for their input on the innovation environment.
• Compare innovation practices with industry benchmarks on a regular basis (say once per year).
• Define and track specific metrics to measure the impact of innovation activities. Don't overdo it, but do it it consistently for all innovation teams, in all locations.

Conclusion

Imagine asking a band of jazz musicians to improvise a tune. You need to give them a steady beat and a basic set of chords, which form the structure around which they can get highly creative.

Likewise, think about how you can create a ‘backing track’ for your innovation teams. This track should give them a predictable framework in which to unleash their creative potential within a guided environment.

But 'Be Consistent' means more than just following a bunch of set routines; it involves a perpetual commitment to explorative innovation at company level.

To neglect this principle is to expose our organisations to stagnation and decline.

When we flip-flop, we flop.

Instead, when we keep up this sustained focus on exploring new horizons, we ensure that an organisation not only keeps up with the present but is also actively shaping its future in a volatile business landscape.

As we conclude, reflect on how you can integrate these principles of consistency into your own innovation culture.

How will you keep the innovation dictators and anarchists happy, and balance structure with creative freedom to explore?

???This is my bi-weekly newsletter in which I share important insights and tips on building a healthy culture of innovation.

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Enjoy your lunch,

Stephen