I am reading a book called “The Game Changer” by AG Lafley (P&G Chairman) and Ram Charan who also wrote “Execution”. A must read for anyone wrestling with innovation within their organization.
The writers offer a good combination of innovation philosophy and innovation how to. P&G is obviously unique but they have one thing in common with the rest of us…..building a management process centered on the customer. Many of the things they learned would transfer to any of us. Lafley and Charan believe in using an integrated, systematic management process and not innovation by accident.
Their approach is not a simple 3 step process. It’s hard work and speaks to the core building blocks required for innovation to make money. Some firms will jump into the middle of the process by organizing a brainstorming session with the same people year after year and hoping for innovation. The best of those ideas automatically turn into a project. Are those projects really the best and most effective for achieving long term business results? Or do they make incremental changes based on a singular point of view? Or worse, what if the organization's culture/environment is not ready to accept new ideas and often kills innovation in the early fragile stages. The damage can last years.
What is exciting for me- innovation combines a little creativity with a strong dose of management systems and processes. In other words, it’s so much more than a single R&D person toiling away in the corner. The System includes leadership, motivation, strategy, culture and understanding core strengths; offering a great opportunity for senior leadership to have a significant long term impact.
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