Enterprise innovation: 5 phases of not doing it.

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While approximately 56% of organisations believe digital innovation should be prioritised in order to continue operating, approximately 90% fail due of a lack of creativity.

While the majority of firms adopting artificial intelligence (AI) and experimenting with the technology, only 12% employed it to achieve a competitive edge.

Consequently, innovation is similar to good habits. Surely we will do it, but not just now. Ma?ana, Ma?ana.

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Stage 1. Grandiose aspirations: We are not ready for innovation.

When it comes to innovation, people and organisations envision a high entrance hurdle. That it is prohibitively costly or demands significant time and resource inputs.

E.g., before we do anything, we need to grow more, earn more, or whatever more. But, later. Oh, later. We'll innovate like crazy.

Yet innovation does not have to be anything on a massive scale - a cure for diabetes or a rocket powered by dandelions.

It can be small things (no, not nano robots) such as improved in-building navigation (digital maps, mounted displays), meatballs in IKEA, or a checkout form on a website that saves your size and color preferences without attempting to sell your data.

Those tiny things make a big impact, and behind them are individuals who care regardless of their job, title, or socks color. This does not need a CINO (Chief Innovation Officer) and you probably already have skilled people in place who can handle it without the need for a dedicated person.

It's all about passion, vision, consistency, and leadership skills. Every day, you have to strive to build something somewhat greater than what it was before. A better process, a better working atmosphere, or a better cookie flavour.

Encourage innovative cooperation among your existing team members.

Focus on building an innovative atmosphere.

Turn empiric experience into Models.

Give a shot for every mad idea. Whatever it is. Ok! Let's explore it.

Stage 2. Gravitational force against operations: We don't have time for innovation.

We once supplied a system to automate the processes of 80 senior professionals and at least treble their performance. To get started, they had to devote a whole day to describing the choir. It took them around 10 months on average. We are so committed to the established path that we fail to consider the shortcuts.

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It is better to begin with little successes rather than pursue enormous ambitions. If you have a boring enterprise system that functions. Innovation does not imply creating a new system in which unicorns spew rainbows and all buttons are mind controlled. Start small, and figure out how to eliminate one single process part or a single form field using a novel idea.

Incorporate short kaizen sessions, individually or as a group practice.

Create windows for reflection.

Implement incentives.

Make it a priority and encourage others to pay attention to it.

Serve as a role model.

Stage 3. Idea to idea syndrome: We have lots of ideas, no execution.

Excellent. You've got folks who care. You have a creative atmosphere. Now, you need to concentrate on execution. Unfortunately, if the execution is a failure - everything is a failure.

James M. Schlatter had a concept for a new antacid, but he botched it with poor execution and accidentally invented aspartame instead. Okay, the example is terrible, but you understand that execution is important.

Create a bias towards actions. Focus on how you allocate the energy. Concentrate on one concept at a time or spread ideas across owners. Capture and delegate actions. Create a competitive climate for implementing such ideas.

On a side note: assigning execution of an idea to the individual who came up with it may sometimes destroy the innovation environment, as people may conceal the next idea for fear of having to execute it. Have an open discussion about it, and consider transferring the implementation.

Create a bias towards actions.

Employ the art of critique.

Lower the pressure to innovate.

Create a competitive climate for implementing such ideas.

Stage 4. Innovation hell: We tried. We failed.

The organization is always striving to innovate, but its efforts are hampered by bureaucracy, fear of failure, and a lack of clear direction. As a consequence, the firm is unable to turn its concepts into profitable goods or services.

It is the dark side of creativity - failure is inevitable. Scientists throughout the globe see failure as a kind of recompense, believing in the mantra: our failure is a success because other people will learn from our experience and produce a better outcome. You should try that too.

There are myriads of reasons why your concept may fail. It is written in human history. There is no fix for this. Failure is necessary for success unless someone's luck outweighs genius. For the rest of us, mere mortals, the appropriate advice would be:

Don't do pilots. Do experiments.

Pilots (MVPs) are often fully developed concepts that are costly, time-consuming, and have a high chance of failure. Experiments may be simply one component of a concept that is regular, fast to execute, focuses on learning, and has a low risk of failure.

As an example, there is an old effective approach for testing ideas: instead of creating an MVP or concept, do develop a single landing page with a short explanation and a phony registration form; purchase ads; analyze the conversion. Is there interest? What was the rate? Experiment with the landing information to see if the product is worth producing. More often than not, you will find that proposal is not financially viable (product interest < investments). Continue experimenting. Accept that some brilliant ideas can fail.

I persisted through the harsh failure of my first fourteen brilliant hypotheses for my doctoral research. But I didn't stop. And my last five hypotheses collapsed in a really graceful and elegant way.

In the end, it is a combination of setbacks and improvements that lead to success.

Learn from failure.

Experiment.

Pro tip: make sure to capture the results of your successful experiments so you can share them with your colleagues, stakeholders, and, most importantly, Mom.

Stage 5. Post-traumatic innovation syndrome (PTIS).

Experiencing repeated failures or setbacks in the innovation process, as well as internal resistance of corporate guerrilla warfare to prevent the adoption of new techniques, may result in post-traumatic innovation syndrome in the company.

While PTIS is not a recognized physical condition, that I made up; it is a genuine phenomenon with important implications for a business's ability to innovate. The team start avoiding innovation and may instead stick to the retro methods, even if they are no longer effective, leading to a culture of innovation paralysis and hindering the organization's ability to adapt to change.

Here it's all about consistency and balance. So let's tie things up:

Establish a favorable innovation culture.

Learn from failure.

Celebrate accomplishments.

Employ the art of critique.

Lower the pressure to innovate.

Experiment.

Learn from others.

And finally, if you've made it this far in the innovation journey, it would be wise to formalize and do the budget. But maybe a little pink instead of red tape?

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