¿Cuáles son algunos conceptos erróneos comunes sobre la innovación que los ejecutivos deben evitar?

Innovation is a by product of curiosity. Curious people push the envelope of what’s possible. Hire curious people and you will have innovation at all levels

At the executive level, part of what drives this specific misconception is the desire to be part of “the next big thing” ignoring the fact that innovation isn't just about ‘big’ breakthroughs; it's more about a way of thinking on how to make things better, bit by bit. Sometimes, the best innovations come from tweaking what we already do, making our processes more efficient, improving quality, or just making customers or the community happier. It's vital for leaders to encourage this broader creative thinking across the board, recognizing that new ideas can be big or small. It's also crucial to champion efforts that help us learn and experiment, even if they don't always lead to a big, shiny new product or service right away.

I find it useful to to distinguish between 4 main dimensions of innovation, with the scope of innovation increasingly moving from more local to more systemic. 1) Product, service innovation 2) process innovation 3) organisational innovation (both formal and informal structures and procedures), and 3) business model innovation. R&D has traditionally focused on new product/service development, but should increasingly include the design of business models. This becomes particularly interesting when considering that the integration of digital technologies in the existing products bases often extends what possible with the new offerings (new opportunity space), requiring appropriate business models to create and capture value from them.

Innovation transcends just creating new products or services. It's deeply rooted in enhancing current systems and processes to boost efficiency and customer satisfaction. True innovation often lies in subtle yet impactful improvements, fostering a culture that values every small step towards betterment. Executives should nurture this holistic view of innovation, recognizing efforts across the organization that contribute to this continuous journey of improvement and learning.

In one study that was done that asked people to innovate, 75% ADDED something to an existing product. Subtraction is a great way to innovate. Best story I've read recently was about Strider Push Bikes. IN 2007 Ryan McFarland was frustrated with the addition of training wheels to teach kids how to ride a bike. He built a kids bike with no pedals so they could learn to balance first, instead of trying to balance and pedal. Sold his 2 millionth bike in 2018. The joy of innovation is to take a simple concept like subtraction, and apply it to everything you see. One idea, many uses.

One of the messages I heard being increasingly distributed from engineering consultancy firms is "we deliver fast innovation". This is prophesying a misconception, in my opinion 1) that we can plan in advance for innovation 2) and that visibility of the outcomes of an initiative is short-termed. We can plan in advance for product, services, organisational or business model transformation in our business. But their impact, how innovative these initiatives can be, is a chemistry of factors often beyond our reach of control. How will the market react? are we interpreting the market correctly? is a competitor conceiving a better solution? And how fast is the implementation of those steps? How demanding it is to accomplish those objectives?

It's messy and this has to be messy. That's the nature of creativity, where organizational advancement is built upon innovative failures. Innovation is not a one-off event. It is purely Darwinian adaption otherwise it is extinction. In the natural history museum sector, in order to stay relevant to our audience's needs, we count on the lessons learned through innovation and experimentation. For example, climate change can be explained through hundreds of million of years, but contemporary thinking expressed through experimentation helps to provide answers to our questions now. Adapt and innovate constantly or perish.

Innovation is a culture and way of working within an organisation. For example if it is not ok to fail, if the consequences of trying something new are likely to lead to negative and not positive experiences, innovation will be slow. You have to foster a culture across your whole business of people wanting to think differently and challenge the way things are done and why. Companies that can foster this culture will keep making mirco and macro strides forward.

Innovating is a hugely valuable capability that can deliver future streams of profitable revenue to an organization. It is less about luck and deep pockets and more about learning and developing. Just as it is easy to spot the Olympian from the Amateur athlete, it is easy to spot the organization that perfects and hones its innovation capability every day, project by project. The primary benefit of developing innovation as a capability is the consistency and reliability of results. Many companies use the innovation capability-building process called Stage-Gate® to guide projects and decision-making in a manner that institutionalizes learning.

I cannot express how backwards the career trajectory of new hires affects the innovative framework. Do not just hire the person who 20 years experience in your field because they bring industry knowledge and relationships! Sure that is valuable, but a person who has gone narrow and deep may struggle to accept external inputs and alternative approaches. Case studies across multiple disciplines can often apply and bring new approaches for innovation. Be generative!

"managing the unknown isn't the same as managing the known". The tendency to overlook this truth is a main challenge. In Europe, businesses have honed efficient management practices, embedding procedures in processes, structures, incentives, hiring policies, and culture. These measures bring remarkable efficiency. But they come with an limitation. They do not work in presence of uncertainty. And innovation, by definition, is about uncertainty, assumptions and hypothesis instead of facts. However, the upside? It's entirely possible to manage effectively in presence of uncertainty—a controlled chaos, if you will. Some companies achieve this, maintaining discipline within what might seem chaotic to others familiar only with what's known.

Innovation starts on the factory floor, not in the boardroom. Those on the frontline who regularly interact with stakeholders need to be empowered with the right tools and psychological safety to innovate. A culture of innovation includes collaboration and experimentation at all levels. Don’t make experimentation a function of research and development. Every employee should have the freedom to experiment and learn from failures.

Beware thinking that innovation (only) means "idea harvesting" from your employees. Yes your people have great ideas (which often don't make it to senior leadership) and you should gather them (there are many platforms), but that's not where an innovation strategy ends.

Differentiated innovation - also the most rewarded - is one of the most difficult endeavors an organization can undertake. This is because of the initial ambiguity and uncertainty inherent in the early stages, expert problem-solving and designed-in value, and the adaptations required of the organization for execution. This type of initiative will draw on expertise from almost every function, will require investment analysis from the cross-functional leadership team and will require numerous people throughout the organization (up and down) to learn something new and/or change how they work to support the success of the innovation.

"Innovation starts on the factory floor, not in the board room", comes with several corollaries. But fundamentally, board room C-Suite fostering a mentality of appreciation for innovation in all of its declinations, together with a certain tolerance for risk taking or deviation from existing internal standards, are mandatory. Depending on the declination of innovation sought a spread awareness of how the firm operates is necessary, and only the top level can drive that. When boards do not even realise their real business model(s) and their arena, this leads to void discussions about the organisation, about the processes and which product/service should be sought. Discipline and ability to analyse organisation and market are needed.

You can't have innovation without understanding the reasons why things are the way they are right now. There is so much innovation that is just rebranding of existing ideas that have been tried already or offer no clear reasons for why anyone should adopt your solution over existing solutions.

Innovation success is crucially about culture and its ability to harness, develop and drive change from an engaged team. To be successful, it’s critical that there are foundations of transparency, trust and effective communication.

Three key questions to ask continuously throughout your innovation journey: 1. Is it Real? Is there a real unmet customer need? 2. Can we Win? Can we develop a winning solution? 3. Is it Worth It? Can we make money at it?

A 2016 Article in the Journal of Product Innovation Management statistically proved that process formality had the single highest impact on decision making quality, agility, and results -- far more than Strategic Clarity or Innovation Climate. If you're interested, I can share the key graph with you. Just send me a PM. PS: The article is called: Antecedents to Decision-Making Quality and Agility in Innovation Portfolio Management (Kock/Gemunden, 2016)

Innovation is certainly not limited to creativity or technology. It can originate with unforeseen ideas that have nothing to do with the company’s main products or services. As an example, Henry Ford had purchased land to supply wood for his auto plants, and Edward Kingsford was instrumental in securing the property. Ford pondered over what to do with the waste wood generated from the sawmills and discovered that the waste wood could be processed into blocks of reconstituted char. Hence, the new product, Kingsford Charcoal, and their well-known charcoal briques were born.

Innovation is far from a risk-free journey; it is inherently laden with uncertainties and the potential for failure. True innovation thrives in environments where risks are not just taken but are managed with strategic foresight. Experimentation and failure are not stigmatized but seen as critical steps towards groundbreaking discoveries. Encouraging a mindset that views each setback as a learning opportunity fosters resilience and paves the way for transformative innovations. It's this very ethos that differentiates stagnant entities from dynamic, future-leading organizations. The most significant breakthroughs often emerge from the ashes of failed attempts, reshaping industries and setting new paradigms.

Uncertainty is not risk. It simply means you don't know the answer (yet). You can drive uncertainty down by learning. Once you become more familiar with something, you can assess the degree of risk involved. You do not want to prematurely kill a high-potential innovation idea for lack of information or because of uncertainty. The Stage-Gate innovation process is a learning model that drives uncertainty and risks down and the likelihood of success up.

What better way to describe innovation and the inherent risk that may be experienced when embracing innovation than to remember the brilliant Thomas Edison? Most people are aware of the “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work”. The lesser known is “Failure is the most effective technique to optimize strategic planning, implementation, and processes”. Successful executives not only need to tolerate ideas from all levels of the organization, they need to have the fortitude to allow failures as innovation is not an exact science. Suffocating desire and attempts at innovation is a zero-sum endeavor.

This prompt made me giggle as it proves itself correct. Sometimes AI makes odd conjectures with obvious over-generalizations. The lesson here is that intelligence doesn't replace real human experience.

Innovation (Noun) Means Change, Literally I got to say it. I don't believe LinkedIn invites me to write articles/contributions to adhere to the status quo. The market is full of non-innovative identical products; some are weaker than the patents tied up in courts that can't come to market. The term "innovation" is so loosely, used; it's irks me. Innovation means "change," not repackaging or selling the same things with different marketing tactics. Sometimes, you don't have to innovate; just find where you fit in within the 8 billion people, that can afford what you're selling. If you invest time innovating something not worth innovating, people are smarter and recognize it and are uninterested being sold the same thing by a new face.

Addressing misconceptions about Innovation is crucial for effective leadership. Here are a few common ones that executives should steer clear of, according to my experiences: . Innovation is Solely about Technology. . Innovation Happens Spontaneously. . Innovation is the Sole Responsibility of R&D. . Failure Means the End of Innovation. . Innovation is an Expensive Endeavor. . Innovation is a One-Time Event. . Customers Need to know What They Want. . Innovation Isolated from Strategy. . Innovation is Only for Startups. . Innovation is a One-Size-Fits-All Concept. By addressing these misconceptions, executives can create a more conducive environment for Innovation and propel their organizations forward.

As the article states, there are many misconceptions about what Innovation is and isn't. So, imagine my surprise when I recently heard a start-up CEO say "Continuous Improvement" is NOT innovation! I believe a culture that encourages curiosity, experimentation and celebrate-the-learning mindset is essential for innovation: whether step-change or incremental. Sustained small incremental improvements will create significant improvement over a period of time. The benefit is in minimal change management.

Executives should avoid misconceptions that innovation is solely about technology or big breakthroughs and requires only large investments or R&D efforts. Innovation isn't confined to isolated labs and can't be forced instantly; it's a company-wide process that includes incremental changes and can occur in any industry. A structured approach is necessary, but excessive rigidity can stifle creativity. Understanding that not all innovative ideas succeed and learning from failures is crucial. Customer insights are invaluable for identifying unmet needs and debunking the myth that customers don't know what they want. Creating a supportive culture for innovation is key across all levels and departments.

Here are a few other common misconceptions about innovation that executives should avoid: Thinking innovation is only about breakthroughs or disruptive ideas. Innovation also includes incremental improvements and optimizations. Assuming innovation is chaotic and unstructured. The most successful innovations balance creativity with discipline. Neglecting the human aspects of innovation. Focusing solely on innovation with no regard for execution. The best ideas mean little without the ability to successfully implement them. Thinking past innovations will guarantee future success. Organizations should avoid complacency. The key is approaching innovation as an integral, strategic capability woven throughout the organization!

Executives should avoid misconceptions about innovation, such as believing it's solely about technology; it's often about novel processes and business models. Innovation isn't always linear; it involves a flexible, adaptable approach. Small, incremental changes can be as impactful as significant, disruptive ones. It requires a supportive culture and structured approach, not just spontaneous bursts of creativity. Innovation should be encouraged across all departments, not just confined to R&D. Importantly, viewing failures as learning opportunities rather than setbacks is crucial for fostering a healthy innovation environment. Understanding these points is key to nurturing practical innovation.