Innovation strategy
According to Hamel (2006) Is the need to manage change within companies with the aim of adapting them to new environments of increasing competitiveness. Is the consideration of innovation as a business process which needs to be managed from a strategic perspective, which translates into the need to establish a strategy for innovation that guides it so that the company can acquire competitive advantages and that In turn, it creates value for the company itself, as well as for its clients.
Best practices of innovation strategy
Power (2013) affirms in his investigations that the most successful growth companies adopt at least four best practices:
- Find the Next S-Curve. The time to innovate—the innovation window—is when the first growth curve hits an inflection point. How do you know when you're hitting the inflection point? You never know. So the best companies are forever paranoid and make innovation a continuous process.
- Lean on Customers. The loss of contact with the customer has become a serious problem for companies. IBM's top 50 executives had to visit five customers per week and deliver a write-up to Gerstner.
- Think Like a Designer. Managers are trained to make choices, but they don't always have good options. Innovation involves creating new options. This is where designers excel.
- Lead the Way. Unless the CEO makes innovation a priority, it won't happen. Innovation requires a level of risk-taking and failure that's impossible without executive air cover.
Elements of innovation strategy
The Six Elements of an effective Innovation Strategy according to Linder, Jarvenpaa, and Davenport (2003):
- Objectives and Roles: Specify the objectives of the new product development effort and the role product innovation.
- Arenas and Strategic Thrust: Focus is key to an effective Innovation Strategy. Specify where you will and will not attack. The concept of strategic arenas is at the heart of Innovation Strategy.
- Attack Strategy and Entry Strategy: Improving competitor's strategy rapidly and differentiation product.
- Deployment-Spending Commitments: How much you spend on new product development and the emphasis you place on each strategic arena naturally leads to the next key decision to bucket resources for each arena.
- The Strategic Product Roadmap: A strategic product roadmap is an effective way to communicate a series of major initiatives in your attack plan.
- Tactical Portfolio Management Decisions: Using a method to monitor Innovation Strategy execution improves the odds that you will successfully implement it.
| Innovation strategy — recommended articles |
| Innovation management — Exnovation — Continuous innovation — Strategic goal — Transformational change — Product development strategy — Value innovation — Nature of strategic management — Management by innovation |
References
- Hamel, G. (2006). The Why, What and How of Management Innovation. Harvard Business Review.
- Linder, J. Jarvenpaa, S. and Davenport, T. (2003): Innovation Strategy. Stage-Gate International.
- Power, D. (2013) Innovation Strategy: 4 Key Tactics of Top Growth Companies. Harvard Extension School
Author: Gonzalo Martinez-Cañavate Gomez-Millan
