Saturday, October 3, 2020

The Monthly “Unpuzzling Innovation” Book Tuning: Innovation Logic and Paradox Oct. 2020

10:23 PM Pearl Zhu No comments

Innovation is a managed process of transforming novel ideas to achieve its business value and it is the development of a new combination of available resources in a way that solves real-world problems in a suitable way.

Digital is the age of innovation. And innovation is what leads to differentiation. There are many ways to differentiate and, therefore, there are many ways to pursue innovation. Digital Master refers to those high-performing, highly innovative and high-mature (less than 15%) digital organizations; at the individual level, Digital Masters are those cross-generational digital professionals who are equipped with the advanced digital minds and build a unique set of digital capabilities.

Talking about innovation is not new nowadays, everybody, every organization now is talking about innovation. It's been at or near the top of the business or economics agenda for a long time. However, there are a lot of confusions about innovation and there is no magic sauce to guarantee its success. Innovation is not serendipity, but a discipline.

Innovation Logic and Paradox

Innovation Logic and “Walk the Talk” Scenario Digital organizations are in the middle of a sea change. The definition of innovation is simple - to gain benefit by doing something different. Innovation is not “nice to have,” but “must-have” differentiate business competency, to gain a competitive advantage in the face of fierce competition and continuous disruptions often led by emerging technologies. Business innovation today expands both horizontally and vertically. It's not serendipity, Being innovative is a mindset, digital innovation management is a system that can be fine-tuned in a structured way to improve its success rate. There is a logic behind any innovation effort, and it's important to manage innovation systematically.

Innovation Paradox and Manageability Digital innovation has an expanded scope and it is benefiting the widest audience of the digital ecosystem. It is one of the differentiated business competencies which are underpinned by varying business elements such as people, process, and technology. To demystify innovation, businesses today have to make the strategic choices all the time of where and when and how they innovate. Often creativity is sparked by conflicts. There are paradoxes and tensions in innovation management. Organizations just have to strike the right balance, and improve the success rate of innovation management.

CIOs as Chief Innovation Officer: How to Deal with Those Innovation Paradoxes From conventional wisdom, innovation is serendipity. In the majority of companies, innovation management has a very low success rate. But innovation does not just accidentally happen, it can be managed in a more systematic way. Innovation is a differentiated core business capability. Exploring innovation starts with leadership, strategies, and culture, it can then naturally flow through to the customer's needs. Design then follows. Innovation leaders face dilemmas and have to deal with innovation paradox well. And the focus & rewards of the innovation playbook is the core management discipline for riding the innovation curve and achieving the business results.

Master Pairs of Paradoxical Roles of Innovation Leadership Leadership is all about change and innovation. We all know that the "good old days" of prospects knocking on your door are gone. The businesses and the world have stepped into the digital era with "VUCA" characteristics (Velocity, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity). Innovation is the most desired change. As change is often uncomfortable, yet the necessary part of reaching the future and sustaining business success. Innovative leaders are in strong demand, they are able to think of new ways to run the business and master the paradoxical roles of innovation leadership effortlessly.

Innovation Architecture and Competency Innovation is a managed process of transforming novel ideas to achieve its business value and it is the development of a new combination of available resources in a way that solves real-world problems in a suitable way. This is especially true if you are looking at new sources of value that haven't been tapped before. Managing innovation to fit the market often requires strategies, architecture designs and product introductions that build towards the long-term perspective. You have to manage it in the right way with the right elements strategically and systematically to achieve consistent business results.

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