committed
to creating that movement, to being
the leader.In todays world you
cannot excel by only copying what
others are doing. This is not just a
danger, it is a death wish.
If anything, properly done and
interpreted, benchmarking should
provide clear reasons and incentives
to innovate. Remember, your goal is to
move away from the pack and
benchmarking can demonstrate how
and if this is being achieved.
However, classic benchmarking
should and can be improved. At GEN3
Partners we bring some new features
to benchmarking. We see that it is
necessary for everybody to do. The
world is flat and developments are
going fast. Cross-pollination from
other industries is a fact of life. What
GEN3 Partners adds to the picture is
that we not only compare products
and technology from the same
industry, but we bring things to a
functional level so that we can borrow
techniques, approaches and existing
functions from other industries. For
example, lets say we are looking to
find the best batteries. First, we would
first think about what batteries
actually do. A battery provides a
source of electrons. We then in turn
ask, what else does this do? From that
we can identify that super capacitors,
fuel cells, micro turbines, fly wheels
are all sources of electrons and of
energy. We could then identify if there
are functions in a fly wheel that could
improve how a battery works. Many
people may say we cannot compare
fly wheels and a battery. But not only
can we, but in fact we should. If the
developments in the fly wheels excel,
my batteries could be obsolete.
The underlying question regarding
benchmarking is that it is too boring a
subject for cool innovators. My
point is quite different. Innovation
should be a discipline, and the first
step is to understand where you stand
and that is what benchmarking helps
to deliver.
-
In your consulting experience, have
you noticed any resistance to change
when you have suggested some
organizational changes to promote
innovation culture?
Yes, I have. Resistance to change is
always around it is human nature.
There is nothing you can do to hide
from it. The real question is what to do
with this resistance. From my
experience there are some simple
rules that can help in that situation.
First, give people a clear answer to
their natural questions. People will
always ask questions regarding the
why, how and what in terms of
change. If you donot give people clear
answers to these questions they will
always resist. And the best way to
answer is to give people results. You
cannot just talk about the benefits of
innovation; you have to show the
results.
Second, scare people. Fear is a big
driving force of change. Scare them by
showing them what is going to
happen if they continue resisting and
killing innovation. Show them what
Chinese can do at cheaper prices.
Show them statistics, for example,
that only 20%-30% of companies on
Fortune 500 list were there 15 years
ago. Show them how different
functions in the company disappear
because they try to live in the past.
Thirdly, get a senior executive who
buys into the idea and have him or her
to show ultimate support for
innovation. This is very critical.
Sometimes people are afraid to do
something or resist change because
they view it as just a musical chair.
They donot believe that senior
management can meet it to do it. It is
important that the company show its
commitment and have a leader at the
company to spearhead the effort.
Finally, be persistent. Its natural to
show resistance to organizational
changes; so, be clear why the
company is choosing to promote an
innovation culture. Show people
across the organization what it will do
for them, the pitfalls they face if they
donot follow, get senior support
involved and be persistent.
-
Should innovation exercise be
outsourced to consultancies like GEN3
Partners, IDEO, etc., or should it be
developed as one of the key functional
areas of management?
First of all, a company needs to come
to an agreement that innovation is the
last resort that would allow it to stay
competitive and achieve sustainable
growth. Once companies come to this
understanding, then the next step is to
begin an innovation effort.
Many companies come to realize that
they cannot rely anymore on getting it
done cheaper, or in holding onto all
the best people and resources or in
counting on customers being loyal to
the brand. Once they realize that all
this is true, they can see that
innovation is the answer. From this
standpoint you absolutely have to develop innovation as a part of
company life. And you need to have
professional innovators that work for
you.
The split between outsourcing to
professional innovators like GEN3
Partners or IDEO, or to do it inside,
really depends on the internal
culture and the specifics of the
company. My advice is always the
following: eventually you want to be
in a situation when you give your
toughest innovation challenges to
the best professional innovators but
keep building your internal
competence.
