BY JO GERAGHTY
THE CHANGING
ORGANISATION
“Innovation is one of the cornerstones for future growth and prosperity in Europe.” So says the first line of the executive summary which introduces the Euro-CASE policy paper on European Innovation. In recognition of this, in 2014 the EU made the Innovation Union one of the flagship initiatives of the Europe 2020 strategy, reflecting a wider acknowledgement of the importance of adopting a culture of innovation to help to drive growth across the globe.
What is particularly interesting about the Euro-CASE paper is that it acknowledges the way in which innovation has moved on from purely being another word for invention; now being seen as a cultural transformation which embraces collaboration, agility and entrepreneurialism. This sentiment is widely reflected in PwC’s 18th Annual Global CEO survey which reflects a strong movement towards adaptability, disruptive change and collaborative innovation.
However, despite the general acceptance of innovation culture as a transformational force, there is a long way to go before innovation is embedded in corporate DNA. In fact a survey in 2014 revealed that 53% of UK executives say their board often talks about innovation but
nobody seems clear what it means. Partly I suspect that this lack of understanding results is from the legacy of seeing innovation as being synonymous with invention; but whatever the reason, organisations are taking as long nowadays to innovate and get products to market as they did five years ago. the time for change is long overdue.
We now live and operate in a globalised, homogenised world. Brought together by the power of technology and the internet we can no longer count competitive advantage in terms of size, reach or product. When an individual in Belgium can source and sell products as easily as a corporation in Spain, and when a small business in the UK can advertise its services via its website and social media as easily as can a multi-national from elsewhere then the differentiators change from what to how, putting customer excellence, collaboration and fast innovation at the heart of business success.
But although adopting a culture of innovation is not rocket science, neither is it a bolt on which can be simply added to an existing organisational structure. A true innovation culture touches every aspect of an organisation from people to processes and from interactions to IT.
HOW TO EMBED
CHANGE THROUGH
INNOVATION