Open innovation - when a flash of inspiration strikes from outside!
Reinhard Willfort
November 17, 2024
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Innovation manager is a very exciting job, but it's not easy to always be in a good mood. The pressure in many industries to innovate and develop digital business models is increasing all the time. As a result, more and more companies are employing someone with the challenging job profile of "innovation management". This is basically a very good thing and we are also noticing that innovation management training courses are in high demand. Innovation managers are also increasingly in demand in the job advertisements on various job portals.
What does the everyday life and reality of innovation managers in companies look like? What difficulties are associated with this and how can they be solved?
There are many hurdles that need to be overcome in innovation management in order to make progress. In this newsletter, I would like to shed some light on the three "perennial issues" and provide some inspiration as to what can be done about them. Basically, it seems to be the case that the future of the company is put on the shoulders of innovation management. If there are only 2 shoulders per 1,000 employees in the company (i.e. 1 FTE), this burden can quickly become very heavy. Which 3 challenges or difficulties burden innovation managers the most?
Innovation leadership is in demand today, but unfortunately not always a given! Innovation managers therefore often suffer from a lack of attention for their proposals and projects. The warning signs are usually very clear: the kick-off for a future project has already been postponed three times. Then you manage to find an appointment with the CEO, but other managers make excuses... Future projects are often given lower priority than other projects. As a result, some innovation managers quickly leave or at least become frustrated.
Effective innovation management should always be closely coordinated with top management and integrated into strategic corporate management. In most cases, innovation management is anchored as a staff position under the CEO or board of directors, which is not fundamentally wrong. However, it has been shown (as with other staff positions) that it is difficult to take all the heads in the company with you into a positive future from this position. At this point, I would also like to refer you to the newsletter "Innovation is a matter for the boss".
Things are going well, sales are good and the positive annual financial statements are pleasing the shareholders. Why on earth should anything be changed now? This is where innovation management has to convince people to change. If sales are good, a share of profits must be reserved for future projects to ensure that there is a cash cow on the market in the future. This requires an understanding of product life cycles and strategic thinking. If point 1 is fulfilled, this task is much easier. Digital tools can help to generate the necessary reach. In the 21st century, innovation concerns EVERYONE!
High expectations that need to be met with few resources. This is the classic case in innovation management. In large companies, it is therefore particularly important that innovation projects are also included in the budget planning. Otherwise, it can be difficult to initiate and implement the "big leaps" that may be required in the company next year! A future-oriented CFO knows that he/she must have a little patience until this investment in the future is recouped several times over through new solutions and services. If R&D is required, it can take three to five years for the investment to pay off.
These 3 pain points are certainly not the only ones, but experience has shown that they are the ones that cause the most frustration in innovation management. Many innovation managers are highly creative and resilient enough to get ahead and solve these problems anyway.
What is the situation regarding these 3 points in your company?
How important is renewal and innovation in your company?
I look forward to your feedback and, as always, wish you a relaxing and creative Sunday!
Reinhard Willfort, Innovation Doctor, www.willfort.at Let’s innovate together!
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