Unlocking Innovation: The power of exploring what's possible

Innovation is about navigating the "chicken and egg" dilemma. In the conversations I’ve had with business leaders this has been coming up a lot.

Saying to management, leadership or the board “we think we’ve found a better way to do something, but we need some investment to explore what’s possible,” can often be met with the counter perspective, “show us what’s possible and then we will be happy to invest.”

No wonder the phrase “innovation happens under constraints” came about. But this attitude comes with associated risks. Are people truly exploring an innovation, is it just cutting corners or a waste of time? When there is a reluctance to invest in, or back, the ideas surfaced from the business, this creates a culture where ideas become unsanctioned “experiments” with limited or even no visibility of what’s happening, introducing risks to the business.

This is especially true when it comes to securing buy-in for game-changing technology. Can you imagine trying to get a business case over the line back when Henry Ford began manufacturing and selling cars? “You’re asking us to invest in something that has only just been invented, there’s no proven track record” given in the horse's case, it had thousands of years of reliable use.

We face the same challenge today with emerging technology. Now while I’m not sure how you would cut a corner and “quietly experiment” with a new Ford back in the 1900’s, today experimentation is alive and well in most knowledge-based businesses, given the ubiquitous access to technology like Generative AI

Over the course of the year, it feels like I’ve been having similar conversations across the range of businesses and stakeholders I engage with. It’s the classic scenario, everyone sees the potential, and they can point to the returns on offer, but unlocking the funding required can be problematic. Investing in innovation is something that “we’ll wait for the market to turn first,” or “we’re not seeing any of our competition doing it” and there are others.

For people in the business looking to innovate, seeing how they can apply and benefit from emerging technology, having it “just there” but not being able to get to it, is frustrating.

But it’s not all doom and gloom. Other conversations I’ve had are with leaders looking to differentiate, create better experiences for team members and customers and explore possibilities. There are businesses out there looking to reduce or remove the low-value work teams have to do, take advantage of the, in some cases, thousands of years of collective experience they have and harness that to invest in innovation.

With these businesses, some trends are appearing. Broadly speaking there are 3 types of approach being taken; as a fan of alliteration, I’ve called them Test, Try and Transition.

Test – Investment from $1-2,000

These businesses focus on small-scale, low-risk experiments and may not be entirely sure how to apply emerging technology. So, they “test the waters”, dipping a toe, but not more than their foot in. Typically, they may only try something specific for a short period, in some cases, it may only be a month.

The goal is to learn and establish how to prove value quickly, with minimal investment, before deciding whether to continue or stop. The beauty of this approach, you gather concrete data on the benefits of the technology without committing large amounts of time or resources. You gain real-world experience and insight to support broader adoption and have the option to just turn it off.

Try – Investment from $5-8,000

Some organisations have already taken the time to explore what could be possible and have a short-list of high-value opportunities. Unlike in the introduction where you are looking to prove value with no budget, investment is available for a period, usually up to 3 months. During this time, they can get up and running with a core group of team members and really “kick the tyres” to make sure there is enough of a return to justify broader application.

Businesses using this approach focus on two or three high-value workflows. They aim to prove ROI not just in theory, but in practice, by transforming a small and meaningful part of their business.

Transition – Investment from $35-40,000

Other businesses recognise the possibilities and returns available from investing in emerging technology. Perhaps they have transitioned through “Test” and “Try,” or are starting at this point as they have found multiple opportunities to create efficiencies and be more effective. Regardless, they are ready to get started as part of a broader strategy.

These businesses aren’t experimenting, they’re transitioning into a future where innovation is a fundamental part of their DNA. They are looking to drive long-term competitive advantage with their investment in technology to create better customer experiences, streamline operations, and unlock new business opportunities.

Remember, there are other risks

By embracing emerging technologies, the need to maintain or implement strict compliance and robust data security becomes paramount. It’s critical through the desire to innovate and gain an advantage that regulatory requirements, privacy and security stay top of mind. Some important questions to ask include:

·????? Where is your organisational data stored?

·????? What national and international laws is your data subject to?

·????? How can you guarantee data privacy for your customers and team?

·????? Who can access your data and has ultimate control over it?

·????? What levels of audibility and controls are in place?

·????? Who else may gain from the use of your data?

As you proceed, do so with caution and if something isn’t clear engage a specialist in this space.

The Value of Getting Started

Regardless of where a business starts its journey, the key takeaway is to start.

The worst thing is to wait for the “perfect” moment to begin. Innovation needs to be a fundamental part of your business operations, an ongoing discipline. Those who are willing to explore and experiment will gain a head start over their competitors who hesitate.

Exploring what’s possible isn’t just a technical experiment, it’s an investment in the future success of your business. The lessons learned, the capabilities developed, and the innovation unlocked today will position your business to thrive tomorrow.

The most significant risk is not in investing; but in missing the opportunity.

They say in sports you either win or you learn, with this approach, I believe you win and you learn.

My observations are based on the businesses we’ve been working with, many of them have some form of internal technology capability and/or team. The costs indicated are relatively minimal compared to the size of the business (normally a minimum of 100 team members). Please note that where external providers need to be engaged, costs may be higher.