Innovation has always been one of the most talked subjects. How much should the company invest? What constitutes innovation? How to go about innovating?
There was a multiyear study performed by McKinsey comprising in-depth interviews, workshops, and surveys of more than 2,500 executives in over 300 companies, that focused on why innovation is increasingly important to driving growth and implementing new business models.
The research found a set of eight essential attributes that are present, either in part or in full, at every big company that is a high performer in the product, process, or business-model innovation. The first four, which are strategic and creative, help set and prioritize the terms and conditions under which innovation will thrive. The next four essentials deal with how to deliver and organize for innovation repeatedly over time and with enough value to contribute meaningfully to overall performance.
Here are the eight essentials for testing for innovation:
- ASPIRE โ Do you regard innovation-led growth as critical?
- CHOOSE โ Do you invest in a time and risk-balanced portfolio?
- DISCOVER โ Do you have differentiated business, market, and technology insights?
- EVOLVE โ Do you create new business models?
- ACCELERATE โ Do you beat the competition by developing innovations quickly?
- SCALE โ Do you launch innovations at the right scale and markets?
- EXTEND โ Do you win by creating and capitalizing on external networks?
- MOBILIZE โ Are you people motivated?
To conclude, In the digital age, the pace of change has gone into hyperspeed, so companies must embrace innovation and implement it in their culture.
Source: De Jong, M., Marston N., and Roth E. (2015, April). The eight essentials of innovation. Retrieved from Mckinsey: https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/the-eight-essentials-of-innovation
