Companies that consistently emphasize “delivering value” over creativity are significantly more effective at innovating, according to a survey conducted by Futurethink, a leading innovation research firm.
The recent findings of the 2007 Futurethink Innovation Tracker reinforce a trend first identified in the 2006 annual study. Innovation may no longer be viewed as strictly a creative endeavour. It has become a recognized and effective business strategy. Innovation is about harnessing new ideas, and then translating them into business opportunities and successfully executing them to lead an industry trend. The theme of execution is key as many organizations invent promising capabilities but fail to execute or stay the course.
In the research study conducted by FutureThink - Not a surprise but Apple Inc. was dubbed as the top innovator for 2007. Apple led by CEO Steve Jobs heads the Tracker’s Who’s Who of Innovators. Job’s commitment to realize innovations like the iPod, iTunes, and Mac OSX comes from his hands-on leader ship as evidenced by Apple’s strong stock performance over the last nine years as compared to its performance during Jobs’ 12-year absence. Jobs has innovation DNA in his soul.
Google was in second position in the results of this study. Successful innovators like Google require employees to spend 20 percent of their time on side projects, called “Googlettes”, which are not related to their daily work. Google News, social networking site “orkut”, and Google AdSense are side projects that have become successful Google products. Other top innovating companies included: Toyota,YouTube, Microsoft, Starbucks, Motorola, Samsung, Nike and Sony .
In 2006, Ford Motor Company launched a multi-channel media campaign touting its abilities as a leading innovator committed to innovation. However, few innovative products rolled off its production line. Conversely, Toyota’s popularity, and its leap into the number four spot on this year’s list, surged on the strength of fuel-efficient vehicles including its hybrid Prius.
Results from the Tracker also identified the top three hurdles to innovation: lack of leadership, lack of time to work on innovation, and organizational aversion to risk. Innovation is hard work - and often employees lack the proper time to dedicate to innovation. Innovation entails a certain element of risk, yet many organizations have an innate aversion to risk. Developing organizational cultures that support risk taking and encourage value orientation balanced with creativity are more apt to develop innovation solutions. With the war to grow market share, and tough competitive markets in play — innovation capacity will be a core focus for companies for years to come. This is one of the factors that clearly separate the good from truly the great!
