As noted in the previous post, the current tumultuous and unpredictable times call for flexible, responsive organizations. This is a widely recognized truism, one acknowledging most organizations already innovate at some basic level of low risk sustaining innovation. This is simply a matter of survival.  However, to be proactive and get "ahead of the curve” requires systematic tracking of innovative trends and events.  This level of commitment is an entirely different matter for leadership teams to consider because it means becoming innovative at the strategic level. To do this will require a new leadership mind-set and an organization culture that motivates and supports personnel imbued with the desire and capability to innovate and manage strategically.

This is an entirely attractive vision (think Apple). However, leadership teams and staff that want to follow this model will not embark on an easy journey. Innovation is risky, demanding, and difficult. Unfortunately, there is no well worn path to becoming innovative at the strategic level of performance. The need for predictive frameworks to help us understand the required innovation processes are only now being seriously addressed in the literature.  http://www.deloitte.com/us/innovatorsmanifesto

Remembering our objective stated in the introductory posting:

Identify or create a series of activities that boards, CEO's, executives, and key managers can work on individually and as a team that will, address both the personal and organizational challenges of strategic management, but without the need to immediately begin a formal strategic management process.

This article introduces executive leadership to a most demanding strategy management challenge: Creating a strategically managed, innovation focused organization. Change management is the order of the day in strategy management, but innovation management is change management on steroids. When an entire organization is innovation focused, leadership challenges rise exponentially as innovation accelerates and intensifies the change process.

More specifically, how is this accomplished?

We suggest that leadership begin by considering a set of prerequisite considerations that will help define the direction, scope, and level of the innovation focus they must possess before undertaking the strategic management challenge of becoming an innovation-focused organization. This work is done both individually and as a team. The objective is to immerse leadership in a learning process that will lead to a commitment to becoming strategic leaders and thinkers.

Make an assessment of organization's current ability to innovate strategically.

Recognizing the need and having a willingness to innovate requires having the necessary ability and resources to translate into effective action. What is required is an inventory and assessment of the current competencies, capabilities, and available resources to dedicate to becoming an innovation focused organization.

• Can your team conduct an environmental scan (both internal and external) to identify trends and events pertaining to innovation?
• Can you do a SWOT (or OTSW) evaluation based on the results of these scans?
• Can you identify ONE strategic goal focused on innovation?
• Can you identify Key Result Areas derived from this goal and then deploy them into the appropriate functional areas?

Make an assessment of need and desire to innovate.

Conduct an assessment of the organization’s board, management and staff awareness of the need and desire to become innovative at the strategic level. Anything less leaves innovation initiatives in an uncoordinated state at the lower level of the various functional levels where it now resides in most organizations. For example, just having a multi-million dollar R&D department does not equate to being a strategically oriented, innovation focused organization. It is only at the highest levels of leadership that the capacity to balance, coordinate, and deploy an innovation strategy can be realized. Therefore, consider such questions as the following:

• How passionate is your board, management and staff about being or becoming an innovative organization?
• Do you know understand the innovation process well enough to begin to make it a major focus in your organization?
• Do you have innovation champions capable of thinking strategically at the organization level?

Make an assessment of board, management and staff willingness and ability to accept risk

Being an innovator is tantamount to being a risk taker. Leadership needs to determine at the very outset, the willingness and ability of the board, owners, executives, managers, and staff to undertake the risks required to becoming innovative.

• How will they react to failure?
• Will they accept the long run view that innovation requires?
• Will they individually accept the challenge of becoming innovative?
• Can we assemble (or do we already have) a core group that will coordinate the challenge of being/becoming an innovative organization?

Develop a statement of a shared strategic innovative direction.

Incorporate the shared concept of innovation as envisioned by the core strategic management team in a statement of the organization's strategic direction with respect to innovation. This initial statement, however, embryonic, needs to then be communicated throughout the organization.

• Will the core strategy management team be able to formulate a vision statement that includes being/becoming innovative as a central theme?
• Will the core strategy management team be able to make a mission statement that contains the organization's purpose in achieving that vision statement regarding innovation?
• To what extent do the management and staff hold being/becoming innovative as core personal values and will they accept them as organizational values?

These are questions that come to mind on our end. What are your thoughts on these points? What additional considerations do you believe there should be?  After all, this is basically a sharing process in an area of increasing importance to those of us that see the benefits of managing innovation processes from a strategic perspective.