Advancing Innovation. Patrick J. Stroh

OF INNOVATION GOVERNANCE?

Do you need an “office of innovation governance” (OIG)? My initial response would be “Not likely.” Creating a separate OIG defeats and contradicts the importance and belief that innovation governance should be embedded within the business. As with anything, structures take varied forms in different organization, and an OIG may make sense in your company, especially if it is extremely large. However, I’d take caution in creating something that is seen as standalone and not integrated into the core daily business.

      INNOVATION GOVERNANCE—YIN & YANG

      After reading this chapter, do you see the value and synergy in having “governance” with “innovation”? When innovating in your organization, it is not sustainable, repeatable, and holistic to simply have some creativity and ideation with a few individuals. You need that execution and discipline via governance to establish some boundaries, give some guidance, and effect larger scale innovation for many people to be involved and to drive the most value. Find the right balance in your business and for your culture, but ensure you have both components of this equation to drive innovation value.

      With innovation governance as the base, it’s time to identify “important innovation.” This isn’t just about how you should evaluate innovation value in your organization—it is also for defining important innovation for your employees and other stakeholders. Knowing and understanding what is deemed important allows them to focus on innovating rather than trying to guess what leadership may or may not want.

Notes

      1 5 Harvey Wade, Director of Innovation Strategy at Mindjet, as quoted in “Rise of the Chief Innovation Officer—Leading the Way to Transformational Innovation,” Information Age, April 9, 2014, pp. 1-2.

      2 6 Harvey Wade, Director of Innovation Strategy at Mindjet, as quoted in “Rise of the Chief Innovation Officer—Leading the Way to Transformational Innovation,” Information Age, April 9, 2014, p. 2.

      3 7 Marc de Jong, Nathan Marson, and Erik Roth, “The Eight Essentials of Innovation,” McKinsey Quarterly, April 2015, p. 1.

      4 8 Merriam-Webster online dictionary, www.wordcentral.com.

      5 9 www.businessdictionary.com.

      6 10 www.businessdictionary.com.

      7 11 Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton, The Strategy-Focused Organization: How Balanced Scorecard Companies Thrive in the New Business Environment, Harvard Business School, 2001.

      8 12 Marc de Jong, Nathan Marson, and Erik Roth, “The Eight Essentials of Innovation,” McKinsey Quarterly, April 2015.

      9 13 Gary Hamel and Nancy Tennant, “The 5 Requirements of a Truly Innovative Company,” Harvard Business Review, April 2015, p. 7.