The Innovation Dilemma: Where have all the Innovators gone?

The era of corporate innovation that followed the initial waves of change and inspiration driven largely by Silicon Valley tech businesses between the 2000s and early 2010s rests fondly in my memory. I am sure we remember the time when tech giants like Google, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon and Alibaba (also, Spotify and Uber), were at the forefront of driving innovation in the corporate world, with domains such as cloud storage and computing, mobile, and analytics paved the way for a new era of business.

New ways to do existing things better, and new way of doing business abounded. New titles such as Creative Technologists, Appreneurs, Social Listeners, Futurists, UX Designers, Growth Hackers, Cloud Architects, Data Whisperers (just made this one up, but it's plausible) were commonplace, and the general inquisitiveness and openness to hear new ideas (and stories) made us all draw a little closer to what could be done.

Fast forward this to recent years, it is safe to say larger - more entrenched - companies have generally struggled to keep up with the pace of innovation, and things have gone quiet. Customer demands haven't slowed. Although the one element that has 'tempered' the digital evolution is that people (consumers) still trust the brands their parents did, and those they grew up with. That being said, the digital buzz seems to have died down somewhat.

Agile coaches, working in teams with tribes and chapters, proofs of concept, innovation labs, VR goggles, and rapid ideation sessions seem to have gone a bit cold. The actors in this decline are numerous and include businesses that have been slow to adopt new technologies, organizations with a culture that doesn't support experimentation, and companies that have lost touch with their customers' needs. It is also indicative of a post-pandemic fatigue and hangover that has sapped energy, and budgets.

The emergence and evolution of cutting-edge technologies such as AI, robotics, blockchain, and IoT have unlocked tremendous potential for innovation. Organisations that have adeptly embraced these technologies have gained a considerable competitive advantage in their respective industries. There are examples that - when you dig deeper - have their roots set in the early 2000s where innovation roots and success stories sprouted into meaningful outcomes.

An example of a large corporate that adopted impactful innovation is Walmart who invested heavily in AI and machine learning together with eCommerce platforms to optimise their supply chain together with improving their customer experience. They use machine learning algorithms to optimise inventory management, forecast demand, offer personalisation, and pricing optimisation. Here forecasting decisions have moved from weeks down to hours, customer delivery periods from days to hours, sometimes minutes.

We can likely think of a few more. There are sadly fewer pinup cases of true digital transformations for legacy businesses. The buy over build approach has trumped that, which shows that old habit die hard, and it is difficult to sustain innovative practices across larger pockets of a workforce. The challenge starts around the C-Suite table. And as Clayton Christensen's Innovator's Dilemma taught us, is that the enemy of innovation is good managers. The folks who do their job well (and the last few years have been about back to basics), are not incentivised to seek innovation.

Innovation in the corporate world should be driven by cross-functional teams with diverse backgrounds, skillsets, and perspectives. This approach fosters creativity and enables companies to explore new ideas and solutions that may not have been possible with a narrower focus. Companies that have successfully innovated in recent years, such as Tesla and SpaceX, have a culture that supports experimentation, risk-taking, and continuous improvement. This is a top-down mandate, rather than a pocket of innovation, or a way-of-work in a department or business unit. Not everyone can be a SpaceX, or have a segregated pockets of people having fun; innovation should therefore not be a word, more a way of work.

Measuring the success of corporate innovation initiatives has also been challenging - there is often close to no return on investment. The start-small-scale-fast approach innovators saw as a mantra proved difficult once the operationalisation aspects kicked in - training people to roll-out, adopt, use, provide feedback, change existing habits is the often forgotten and less glamorous aspect, which energy to overturn such ovations, has dwindled.

Going back to basics. Innovators should still fall back on key indicators of success - asking the questions of how the certain initiative will result in increased revenue (with plausible cost/run assumptions), customer satisfaction (across representative audiences), and employee engagement (those who support innovation, and those whose lives will be impacted). Companies that successfully innovate tend to have a culture that supports experimentation, risk-taking, and continuous improvement and this is sponsored with senior members who are willing to 'back' the team and ensure the rollout and sustainability is maintained on the highest level.

The "boom" era of corporate innovation is not (truly) dead, and it should never be - who knows where Moore's Law is now; what we know is technology is innovating faster than we mere mortals can grasp. Next gen technologies like AI, blockchain, and the Internet of Things (IoT) offer significant potential for innovation, and companies that adopt these technologies will have a competitive edge. These technologies have shown themselves to drive meaningful change and transformation in various industries, from healthcare to manufacturing to finance. AI-powered chatbots are enhancing customer engagement and satisfaction, IoT is facilitating smarter and more efficient workspaces and supply chains, while blockchain technology can further streamline supply chain management and secure data transactions such as financial remittances.

Embracing generational technologies, fostering diversity and creativity, and focusing on customer needs need to be top of mind. The shift should be in adopting ways of work that are innovative, rather than chasing innovation itself. If the culture in your existing environments feels like this is an impossibility, in that change and adoption of modern tech is improbable, the warning signs in your head should be flashing bright red.

The rate at which AI enabled businesses are springing up is alarming. Companies can drive meaningful change and stay ahead of the competition through rewarding the right performers, encouraging smart business case development and user experience design, while driving operational procedures to make innovation a reality. It starts with the right mindset, and perhaps the time is now to awaken that feeling we all had when we downloaded our first batch of apps.