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Defining Innovation part 1: Why clarity is important

ByIAadmin
If your company is like 75% of those in the 2021 BCG global innovation survey then you have innovation in your top 3 priorities. This probably means that you have big plans for innovation as part of your company strategy. But have you defined clearly enough what “innovation” actually means for your company?

In this article, the first in a series on Defining Innovation, I will explore why it’s important that you have a clear definition of “innovation”. In later articles we will see why defining innovation is not as simple as it first appears and I’ll show you a way to build your own definition that is right for your business.

To deliver innovation, you need to define it

If you are not clear about what you mean by “innovation”, then how are you going to drive it effectively? How can you set business performance targets for “innovation” when it’s not clear what’s in or out of scope?

How do you know you are on course to achieve your innovation plans?

Delivering innovation is a team activity, requiring work from people in all parts of the organisation and increasingly, in external partners too. How can you mobilize and motivate them to deliver “innovation” if they don’t really know what it is? Additionally, many of these people don’t only work on “innovation” and so have other things to do. They constantly need to evaluate priorities and make trade-offs. How can people prioritize innovation correctly if it’s definition is not clear?

The cost of ambiguity

Imagine a company where “innovation” is the top priority, but the term is not at all defined. In this company almost anything can be considered “innovation”. In the absence of clarity, well-intentioned colleagues will try to claim their project is “innovation” so that it receives priority treatment.
People across the company will spend valuable time discussing what is or is not “innovation” rather than focussing on delivering the innovations the company actually needs. Projects with the most convincing (or most persistent) supporters will tend to get prioritised perhaps to the detriment of other, more worthy activities.

In this company, valuable time will be lost, frustration will be high and ultimately the ability to deliver innovation will be reduced.

Essential to driving innovation: shared clarity

If you want to avoid the issues of our fictitious company above and if you want to drive innovation performance effectively, the definition of “innovation” needs to be (a) clear and (b) shared across the organisation.

So, how do you get to a clear definition?

In the next two articles I will explain why defining innovation is not as simple as it first appears and how to build your own definition that’s right for your business.

Want to know more?

Defining Innovation is one of a group of activities which in the Strategic Fit dimension of the Six Dimensions Framework. You can find out more about the Six Dimensions here. Feel free to contact me if you have other questions or comments.