Have
you ever been told “no”
by a member of your staff? Have
you ever been really upset that
things aren't being done the right
way? Have you fixed those problems?
Well, if so, you just killed the
two key factors of innovation -
Openness and Freedom. Elements like
these affect what we call “the
environment” and it is the
most overlooked area by executives.
What we find is that most executives
rarely look at improvement in more
than one or two of the three areas
necessary to manage an innovative
organization: People, Process and
Environment.
The Valen Group has
worked in growth and innovation
serving clients who are leaders
in innovation for more than a decade.
That experience and sole focus shapes
our philosophy and comprehensive
view in what organizational factors
are important in innovation. We
have assembled and use a set of
proven survey instruments and best
practices in our assessment model
that meld the best from academia
and practice from the fields of
creativity, problem-solving, research
and product development.
People
We utilize a survey instrument,
like the Myers-Briggs approach of
innovative thinking which maps the
preferred problem-solving thinking
style of each person involved in
innovation in context of the basic
innovation process - Ideation, Conceptualization,
Optimization and Execution. When
project leaders and team members
become aware of their own thinking
style, which style is most appropriate
at which stage in a project, and
how they might change that style
to better serve the innovation process,
the project moves forward more productively
and with better results. Unhealthy
tension and unproductive discussions
are redirected to discussions on
which innovation stage the project
is within (e.g. ideation or conceptualization)
and what method should be used to
progress. It is a quick and effective
way to kick-off your next project
or improve productivity within existing
work teams through a common understanding
in problem solving styles.
Process
Most processes are glaringly too
rigid (e.g. driven by one tool or
method) versus a framework with
options and breadth in how to proceed.
We find these flawed processes are
driven by a leader's comfort with
a given method, even qualitative
or quantitative research preferences,
but this is wrong. An innovation
process should provide a clear line
of sight of a project beginning,
middle and end right from the start.
It must allow for iteration and
flexibility to follow inviting leads
and changes due to insight. If it's
too general it will lack needed
definition of support tools such
as the framing of unmet needs, benefits
sorts; research method options defined
by stage; competitive positioning
analysis and tools like decision
criteria and the business case.
Getting this right is harder said
than done and most process models
fail some simple tests like these.
When we assess an innovation process,
we want people to be able to focus
on content (ideas, facts, judgment,
decisions) not the basics of running
a project from beginning to end.
Revisit your process to ensure it's
optimized and understood.
Environment
The factors that influence how people
interact and make decisions are
the most overlooked and can create
significant improvement by including
this area in the assessment. Human
nature can be a barrier or an asset.
We utilize a survey instrument that
measures the key factors of an innovative
company environment. We compare
results against the results validated
to fit norms of innovative and stagnant
companies for each attribute (such
as risk-taking and freedom) where
ideal scores are not always highest.
We can develop with confidence a
plan for improvement while maintaining
actions that support innovation
through a change management and
training program. In addition, the
organization can be surveyed again
six months or a year later to actually
measure progress, learn which changes
work and which do not, to optimize
the innovation environment.
Innovation isn't easy,
but by assessing objectively and
with good benchmarks the people,
process and environment within your
organization, you can increase the
probability of success in realizing
a step-change increase in innovation
performance. Don't skip a key step
to success. |
