Strategy-Driven Innovation(sm)

My dear friend John Madigan, President and Founder of Executive Talent Services (http://www.etshr.com), invited me to give an executive briefing to many of his clients who were all senior leaders from variety of backgrounds with deep corporate experience.

The session was very engaging. During the interactive exchange and free flow of Q&A that was occurring, I realized how important it is for all current leaders (and aspiring leaders) to better understand the Game of Innovation.

Over the last 25 years being an entrepreneur along with real-world field experience, our applied research shows that it takes many elements to nurture innovation, two of those elements are:

1) Innovation is elusive; it cannot be produced on demand, nor can it be corralled or scheduled. In fact research shows that over 75% of ideas that turn into practical business ventures come from unplanned activities.

2) Real breakthrough innovation that matters and has a major impact in practice is extremely difficult to achieve. At best, the organization can create an environment in which innovation seeds are planted and nurtured— so the fruits can be harvested quickly thereafter. This requires foresight, courage, and persistence by the leaders at all levels.

3) Like a game of soccer or ice-hockey, innovation is arduous, difficult and tricky. Be prepared to score a game-winning hat-trick once, maybe twice – but only if you are ‘in the game of innovation’.

-Jatin