An innovation program is only as strong as the corporate strategy behind it.
Innovation leaders, with their broad reach of responsibilities across offerings, departments, and divisions are tasked with the opportunity to improve operations company-wide. While in a position to drive change and improvement, their efforts are often met with hesitation due to the sometimes unpredictable and ambiguous nature of “innovation” projects both large and small, hindering their ability to see those projects to fruition.
According to McKinsey, over 30% of companies manage their innovation program and efforts on an ad-hoc basis. They’re lacking an approach to strategic planning and innovation, and jumping from project to project when a need or problem arises.
“They need some initial awareness of what innovation is and what it’s not, and the difference between random innovation activities and total innovation management.”
– David Williams – Founder, Total Innovation Management Foundation
This sporadic approach makes it more difficult to plan projects, track progress, results, and ROI. In turn, it makes it harder for innovation leaders to obtain resources from top management for future developments and opportunities compared to the ad-hoc projects they are familiar with.
Commitment through Corporate Alignment
Buy-in from top management is dependent on aligning the innovation program with corporate goals and strategy. From there, creating a repeatable process for improvement to carefully identify and seize opportunities instead of jumping from fire to fire. Opportunities for this alignment are only possible through collaboration between innovation leaders (CIOs) and top management (CEO, COO, CFO, Board of Directors). Together, define corporate goals, align improvement efforts, and create a formal organizational structure for innovation that only 30% of companies tout.
Once goals are defined, its best practice to outline a prospective innovation portfolio with a diverse mix of projects in accordance with corporate strategy. Diversifying approaches to accommodate a mix of small and large projects, new and existing markets, technologies, and processes mitigates risk and hits targets company-wide. With a strategic approach that outlines innovation efforts, budgets can be optimized, resources allocated, and long-term ROI more accurately calculated, all while building trust and obtaining authority to lead further projects.
Like management, innovation leaders must be allowed to plan for the future, not just put out fires in the present. To make that work, the innovation program needs to align with the objectives management is working towards. Accordingly, management must be transparent with the problems they’re looking to solve and ideas they need. With some simple coordination, trust is built in the innovation program, and buy-in achieved for the resources it needs to reach its full potential.