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APING APPLE?
Apple, Google, Amazon and other Silicon
Valley giants are the companies that most
people mention when asked to name exciting
innovators.
“They are all great examples, but there is
more than one way to measure innovation
success. The prerequisites differ from one
industry to another,” says Roos.
It can be measured, for instance, as the
renewal rate of products, the number
of filed and granted patents, or the cost
savings achieved through new processes,
technologies or ways of working. Depending
on which metric you choose, different
industries will be favored. For example, it will
be fast-moving consumer goods companies
if you focus on the renewal rate or ICT
companies if you are looking at patents.
Even a public institution can be a radical
innovator. One example is the Pentagon’s
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
(DARPA), which has produced an unparalleled
number of breakthroughs with its ‘special
forces’ model of innovation.
Its recent inventions include an ultralight
metal nanomesh that is nearly 100 times
lighter than Styrofoam. In developing this
groundbreaking material, DARPA clearly
defined its ‘grand challenge’ and put high-
caliber teams in place to solve it, forcing them
to compete against each other as well as
collaborate.
“The teams were pushed hard, constantly
having to validate their chosen path.
This high-stress state of constant creative
tension obviously isn’t for everyone, but for
feature
“Innovation isn’t
about balance. Balance
represents the status
quo, while innovation
means
challenging
the status quo.”
innovators it’s a great learning experience –
and they really pushed the envelope,” says
Roos.
THE GOOGLE WAY
Although organizations differ in their styles
of innovation, those that remain consistently
innovative have one thing in common: a clear
vision and strategy. This applies across all
geographies.
“Successful innovators define why they
need to innovate, what their focus is, and
how they plan to get to their envisioned
future. DSM for instance made their
innovation strategy their whole business
strategy to drive change – and it paid off,”
says Roos.
Strategy comes first, but it must be
supported by efficient decision-making, adds
Roos. Sometimes moving forward requires
tough choices: divestments, closures and
project cancellations.
“Google offers a good example: they try
out hundreds of ideas and force them to fail
fast so they can learn what works and what
doesn’t.”
The third crucial driver of innovation is a
leadership style that energizes people to try
out new ideas. As
Steve Jobs
famously said:
“Innovation has nothing to do with how
many R&D dollars you have. It’s about the
people you have, how you’re led, and how
much you get it.”
“You can’t force change,” Roos says. “You
have to make people want it. Here leaders
need to be role models – and what they do
is more important than what they say. If
‘innovation’ is the last item on your meeting
agenda and you run out of time before you
get to it, you communicate that it’s not
important. Innovation must be top of the
agenda and woven through everything you
do.”
PROUDLY FOUND ELSEWHERE
Can the risks, costs and payoffs of innovation
be balanced – can you innovate
and
play it
safe at the same time?
“Innovation isn’t about balance. Balance
represents the status quo, while innovation
means
challenging
the status quo. There
will always be risks, but it’s a matter of
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