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Learn the most pressing challenges that you will encounter when putting an innovation program into action – from budgeting issues to incentivizing employees to participate.
This is the second installment of an exclusive three-part series of articles from Alex Goryachev on how CEOs can create a roadmap for successful innovation programs.
Welcome back to my “Roadmap to Innovation” series, where I guide you through the essential steps for creating an innovation program with lasting impacts on the culture of an entire company or organization. Last time, I wrote about getting started on your innovation journeys – identifying which types of innovation align best with your business strategy and building your teams. (Read part 1 here.) In this installment, I’ll explore some of the most pressing challenges, obstacles, and pitfalls that you will likely encounter as you put your program into action – from budgeting issues to incentivizing employees to participate. Let’s get started with funding and budgeting.
Introducing a new program requiring additional staff and resources into the budgeting mix can be a little unsettling, even for the most lucrative enterprises. Because innovation is an ongoing, ever-evolving effort – not a one-and-done exercise – it’s a little trickier to plan for than a traditional R&D or product development initiative. At the same time, the pace of change across industries is simply too fast to get hung up on itemizing expenses and waiting for approvals on funding. Nonetheless, you need the capital to support these innovation programs, as the survival of your organization depends on it.
According to KPMG and Innovation Leader’s Benchmarking Innovation Impact 2018 report, 70 percent of innovation executives say that innovation programs are funded through the annual budget. Twenty percent said their innovation budgets came from separately governed investments; and 10 percent said they had a different approach, such as a hybrid of annual/separate budgets, or even “ad hoc” or “as-needed” funds. So, which works best for your program?
While every business differs, I strongly suggest creating a completely separate innovation budget, especially if you are focused on transformational innovation. Not only will you encounter fewer challenges down the road, but you’ll also have greater flexibility, allowing you to rapidly pivot to address new market trends, evolving business goals, and unexpected turns in the program itself. Even if a separate budget does not seem feasible now, get the conversation started with your financial team and ensure buy-in from your executives to support you when the time comes.
Although funding and budgeting are major challenges for budding innovation programs, the top obstacle identified in KPMG’s study included politics and turf wars. For large companies in particular, overlapping efforts lead to a lack of strategic alignment and lost focus. Similarly, cultural issues, such as “not invented here” syndrome, as well as an organization-wide aversion to risks and negative stigma around failure’s impact on career future, are hindering innovation. This must change.
However, there is some good news for the C-Suite: according to KPMG, insufficient CEO support was the least-cited obstacle to innovation. Keep up the good work, but my experience has shown that strong commitment from the top helps prioritize and fuel enthusiasm around new and ongoing innovation programs. This especially helps to overcome the barriers of mid-management resistance wanting their teams tied to traditional, spreadsheet mentalities to “make the numbers” on a quarterly or set timeline.
Lead by example, encourage risk-taking, and reassure them that failure is not the nail in the coffin for an idea; it is an opportunity to fine-tune or shift focus. Innovation can take time and multiple tries to bring an idea to fruition.
The final, and perhaps most important, obstacle to innovation is the challenge of inspiring your employees to join in on your innovation programs. Even with C-level buy-in, innovation simply won’t work unless you have full support and involvement from employees across all levels and functional areas within the organization. This is because innovation is all about people, not technology. I have found that innovation can come from anyone, anywhere, at any time. The most transformative ideas might spring from individuals, but turning them into marketable solutions or services has more value as a cross-functional team effort. Therefore, you need to empower your diverse group of employees, of all ranks and roles, to tap into their inner entrepreneurs and form or join venture teams to co-develop the most innovative outcomes. It’s crowdsourcing at its finest.
As you set up your innovation programs, establish significant recognition and rewards programs to incentivize employee participation. This could include PTO, cash bonuses, sabbatical time to “incubate” their ideas, and recognition by leaders in companywide meetings and publicity. Notably, KPMG found that almost half of the organizations offer some sort of recognition or award for employees’ best ideas. We do this at Cisco with our annual Innovate Everywhere Challenge (EIC). Mimicking a startup environment with angel investors and mentors, the EIC inspires our 74,000 global employees to collaborate and co-develop on venture teams. We have some 40 “My Innovation” programs to engage employees, including a quarterly Innovator Award to existing company teams that exhibit our “Attitudes of innovation,” and we share the winners’ project story across the entire company. Employee recognition – no matter how small – goes a long way.
This is just a snapshot of some of the innovation obstacles your company may encounter, but I highly recommend mapping out the possible challenges and their potential solutions before getting too far into your program. In the meantime, turn a sharp focus on your most valuable innovation asset – your employees – and consider how you can lead by example, show them how to overcome fears, and set them up for success.
In the third and final part of this series, I’ll dive into delivering and measuring the success of your innovation program. Because innovation is an abstract concept – a state of mind, like happiness – many CEOs and business leaders don’t know how to measure it. I’ll also share some of the most common characteristics of mature innovation programs and discuss how you can emulate them. Meanwhile, keep the ideas flowing and start paving a clear path for the next steps in your innovation journey.
This article originally appeared in Chief Executive on October 2, 2018
What Alex Can Do For You
Developed and led AI and Innovation strategy for multiple Fortune 100 companies, driving double-digit revenue growth.
Over 20 years of hands-on experience driving transformative business and technology solutions for global brands like Dell, Amgen, IBM, Pfizer, and Cisco.
Recognized by Forbes as “One of the World’s Top Experts on Innovation” and named a “Top AI Keynote Speaker to Watch.”
Frequent contributor to Forbes, Entrepreneur, and Fast Company, sharing actionable insights on AI strategy, the future of work, and innovation.
What sets Alex apart from other top AI speakers and innovation experts?
With AI and innovation elevated to buzzwords, there are plenty of speakers in this space. While many offer insightful keynotes, few can bring the depth of understanding, hands-on experience, and diverse viewpoints that Alex can. Alex doesn’t just talk about AI and innovation. He’s led it at Dell, Pfizer, and Cisco. He’s sat across from C-Suite execs to build global innovation plans. And he’s resonated with audiences at Google, AWS, Disney, Coca Cola, and dozens of other companies with keynotes tailored to their unique AI opportunities. A frequent contributor to Forbes, Inc., Entrepreneur, and Fast Company, Alex has been identified as a Top AI Voice on LinkedIn. He is also the author of a Wall Street Journal Bestseller, Fearless Innovation. Alex’s style is personable, approachable, and human. It’s never caught up in techspeak, or jargon so he resonates with any audience. Learn more about what sets Alex apart. Get in touch.
How does Alex customize keynotes and workshops?
No two organizations’ AI or innovation opportunities, or challenges, are the same. So canned keynotes or one-size-fits-all workshops just won’t do. Instead, Alex uses AI and data to tailor his engagements with available pre-event surveys. Analyzing responses, Alex customizes his content to address key needs and pain points, ensuring his message is meaningful. Speaking with leadership and other event stakeholders, Alex further customizes the content to ensure resonance and relevance, engaging audiences. Add it all up and you have keynotes and workshops that feel like they’ve been created for you—because they were. Learn more about Alex’s methodology. Get in touch.
What events and audiences are right for Alex?
With so much experience leading large-scale innovation initiatives, Alex is able to reach and resonate with any audience, no matter their knowledge level, industry, culture, or department. Captivating audiences from a live stage, or a virtual event, Alex is a fixture at C-Suite summits, innovation conferences, policy talks, offsites, and employee all hands meetings, plus governmental and academia events. An audience looking for fresh perspectives, real solutions, and custom content will find Alex’s keynotes engaging and actionable with ideas they can start applying right away. Curious about Alex’s recommendations for your event? Get in touch.
What companies and organizations have worked with Alex?
Alex’s roster of past clients, keynote engagements, and employers reads like a Wikipedia entry of the world’s most innovative, respected organizations. Disney, Coca Cola, ISO, AWS, Google, LEGO, CAT, IBM, Cisco, Dell, and dozens of other organizations have benefited from Alex’s keynotes, workshops, and strategic advisory services. As the former Managing Director of Innovation Strategy at Cisco, leader of global Innovation Centers and Smart City programs in 7 countries, and creator of innovation tracks for 3 Olympics, Alex’s real-world experience magnifies his impact upon any organization he partners with. Additionally, Alex has worked hands-on with governments, industry groups,startups and scaleups, plus large academic institutions, like the University of Delaware and The University of California, impacting 300,000+ students and thousands of faculty.
What topics does Alex Goryachev cover in keynotes and workshops?
While every keynote or workshop is customized to an event or audience, Alex is often requested by clients to bring a fresh perspective and real-world expertise on topics, including: AI’s impact on work and education Innovation in the age of AI Building buy-in and reducing hesitancy towards AI Policy and ethics related to AI C-Suite and leadership insights on AI Employee engagement in innovation The impact of AI on society Use cases, solutions, and strategies for AI and innovation Innovation culture and proven frameworks Reskilling and workforce preparedness Education and academia policy Government AI policy and legislation For additional topic ideas and recommendations for your event, get in touch.
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