An #Innovation Amateur's Opinion: The Innovator's Handbook 2022 – "Between the Devil and… Locating a Venture Within an Established Organization"

Textbook Compilation: Innov8rs

Chapter Authorship: Rita McGrath, Professor at Columbia Business School

Innovation is hard. There are countless Harvard Business Reviews covering pilot programs instituted by Google, IBM, Berkshire Hathaway, to list a few, dissecting how their sustainability plans progressed. Each case study details a unique company journey, reinforcing the notion that a strategic innovation initiative is similar to a corporate fingerprint – distinctive as the individual entity. Years of academic research and first-hand professional experience inspired the professor, founder, and author, Rita McGrath, to demystify the subjective conceptuality and simplify the ambiguous practicality of innovative endeavors. Concluding the exercise, McGrath published the following assertations for an established business to execute successful innovation ventures: ?

·??????Framework absolutism. The innovation venture must contain at least three stages, ideation, incubation, and acceleration.

·??????Implementation variance. The innovation venture intuitively overcomes obstacles through meticulous positioning amongst the 7 location archetypes available. ?

Framework fundamentals, ideation, incubation, and acceleration are universally relevant and agnostically applicable lifecycle stages. As the venture matures, phasing escalation unveils proprietary obstacles and unprecedented challenges with the degree of severity contingent upon the core business processes and systems sensitivity during implementation. Navigation between absolutism and variance requires conscientious execution, leveraging theoretical influence to stimulate organic reactions, thus developing a characteristically agile dynamic with naturally perceptive tonality.

The holistic synergy between the three stages and seven location archetypes gradually develops through a series of elastic reactionary scenarios, dictated by cause and effect rationale yet emboldened through exponential progressions. As the innovation venture accelerates through the framework stages, the ownership and alignment within the organization will simultaneously pivot to accommodate, migrating interchangeable archetypes such as:

1.????Assign to Specific Line Manager = least effective with minimal impact.

2.????Allocate to Particular Line Division = low effectiveness with restricted impact.

3.????Expanding the R&D Division = modestly effective but counterintuitive to intrinsic focus.

4.????Attribute to Senior Leadership = moderately effective pending prioritization.

5.????Create a New Division = effective short-term results with long-term stability risks.

6.????Ascribe to Executive Leadership = highly effective for immediate results within a limited scope.

7.????Institute a New Infrastructure = or "Permissionless Organizations;" highly effective for long-term success and developing a company culture of innovation.

In summary, the traditional methodology producing prescriptive campaign workflows in conjunction with appropriated placement within an established organization is obsolete. Excluding the three absolutes, venture stages and location archetypes reject regimented constraints or formalized directives to realize achievement. It is imperative that modern ventures actively undergo self-assessment exercises alongside governance fluidity for authentic health checks reinforced by suitable resources. Innovation is not a "one size fits all" concept, nor is does the effectiveness stem from a preconceived blueprint. Innovative ventures are like a snowflake, exclusively distinctive. Phasing and alignment will always benefit from best practices, but genuine triumph arrives through the perfection of economical metamorphosis.?