MODERN BUSINESS
W
hile Australian businesses
generally agree that
innovation is a critical
ingredient for success, the question
of “how to innovate” tends to be
more challenging. They often try to
implement this through techniques
such as brainstorming and blue
sky thinking. The most progressive
organisations however, have several
things in common when it comes to
driving innovation.
1
They make it accessible
For many people, innovation can
feel like something that is out of
reach, either because they don’t have
the word innovation in their job title,
or because they don’t feel as if they
have the skills needed to innovate
effectively.
To overcome this challenge,
Commonwealth Bank of Australia
implemented CANapult, an ordinary
tin can that helps launch ideas
into action and makes innovation
accessible to anyone within the
bank. When an employee comes
forward with an idea, they are sent
a CANapult can, which contains a
handwritten note from an executive
and a stack of tools to help define,
test and pitch their idea.
The internal innovation team are on
hand to support all participants and,
in addition, people are assigned a
‘Buddy’ from within the business who
is going through a similar journey,
allowing them to share experiences.
2
They ensure there are
“champions” to support
innovation
Most large organisations that
take innovation seriously, appoint
people to be innovation catalysts or
‘champions’. At Pfizer there are 500
innovation champions worldwide
who dedicate 10 to 15 per cent of
their time to helping facilitate and
coach people through the innovation
process.
Organisations such as Virgin
Australia, Lendlease, Mirvac, and
Nestle have also trained up groups
of innovation champions to coach
others within the organisation
identifying customer problems
to solve, generating solutions
and testing those solutions with
customers.
that has deliberately balanced
their approach to innovation, by
empowering employees with
the skills and structures to drive
innovation internally, as well as
looking externally for inspiration. The
property and construction company
has a formal innovation program for
employees as well as considering
their longer term portfolio against
disruptive technologies through
exploring investments in start-ups
and joint ventures.
3
They insource and
outsource innovation concurrently
Corporate Venturing, whereby
companies invest money into
external businesses and start-ups,
has become an increasingly popular
innovation strategy within Australia
over the last few years. However, a
trap that some companies fall into
is that they believe they can simply
outsource innovation to start-ups,
rather than put in place structures
internally to support employees with
innovating.
Lendlease is one company
Dr Amantha Imber is the Founder
of Inventium (www.inventium.com.
au), Australia’s leading innovation
consultancy. Her latest book,
The Innovation Formula (http://
www.booktopia.com.au/theinnovation-formula-amantha-imber/
prod9780730326663.html), tackles the
topic of how organisations can create a
culture where innovation thrives.
October 2016
ModernBusiness
55