Walk the Talk! at Innovation by SIT

In our previous post we wrote about how talking about innovation is not enough: you also have to act on it. In this post we will give you our insights on how to translate the innovation and creativity talk into real action.

If you are the kind of leader with the insight that innovation is important, and you also do not accept that relying on chance or unpredictable events are valid leadership qualities; if you are the proactive, hard worker who wants to create innovation, what can you do?

Here’s a suggestion for a good start:

* Acquire knowledge – Learn about how you can implement effective innovation through systematic and focused efforts. There are many good training programs and tons of literature for this. Start with a simple test, by asking your associates how they define innovation. If you can agree on this, you have a base to build on. Then move on to gaining more knowledge about principles and models for systematic innovation.

* Create a strategic plan for innovation – Integrate a long-term plan for innovation into your overall business strategy. The plan should answer five basic questions:

1. First, what are your goals for innovation and how do these help you fulfil your overall strategic business objectives?

2. Where do you see opportunities for innovation? By revamping your products, services, processes, your business model, marketing message or maybe even your overall business strategy. What segment of your business needs renewing?

3. How radical do you need to be with innovation, and what risks can you take? Is it enough to take small incremental steps forward or do you need to do something more radical to differentiate, add value, and gain the competitive edge?

4. How can innovation be organised and managed? That is, what processes do you need to implement and what tools, competencies, skills and resources—human and financial—are necessary to effectively run these processes?

5. How is innovation measured and controlled? Which metrics do you need to obtain information for good decision-making about innovation? How are these metrics integrated into your overall business scorecard and how are they linked to your management processes and incentive system?

* Put innovation on the agenda – Innovation should be a regular item on the agenda for your senior management meetings. It should be given the same status and time for discussion and decision-making as with any other business-critical activity.

These points are just the beginning, but beginnings are important. Make sure your senior management leads these activities.

Managers who want to invest in innovation and work to overcome structural and cultural obstacles in the organisation also need support. That’s why it’s important that initiatives like the ‘Nordic Innovation Leaders’ and ‘Innovation for Growth’ get encouraged to grow and strengthen.

For example, the industry-wide Nordic Innovation Leaders(N I L) was initiated two years ago, and is already the largest Nordic network of managers who lead innovation. Its vision is for Scandinavia to become a global leader in innovation. It is an action-oriented forum for sharing and developing practical knowledge and experiences.

The Innovation for Growth program was announced in the Dagens Industri, the Swedish daily business newspaper, on September 10. This program brings together industry, academics and other institutions such as IVA.

The most important result these initiatives can bring is immediately providing concrete support to managers who want to work with innovation. And they should be prevented from becoming simply another institutional talking forum that leads nowhere.

Consider carefully, is renewal and innovation important for your organisation? Do you regularly discuss the importance of innovation, and is it integrated in your business strategy? Does your organisation just hope for innovation to happen, or do you work proactively and systematically to bring innovation about, as you do with other mission-critical activities in your business? Do you walk the talk?

This post is based on an article that was originally published at InnovationManagement.se

Orren Shalit is the founder of SIT Scandinavia.

Gunnar Storfeldt is the CEO and a partner in SIT Scandinavia.