How do you develop and implement innovation policies and governance mechanisms?

💡 In my opinion, defining a clear innovation vision is crucial to align efforts and achieve strategic goals. 🚀 Strategic Focus Innovation begins by identifying key opportunities that align with your organization's mission, driving value and growth. 🎯 Clear Objectives Set specific, measurable innovation objectives that guide decision-making, ensuring consistency with your organizational values. 📣 Effective Communication Clearly communicate your innovation vision to all stakeholders, fostering alignment, collaboration, and shared purpose across the organization. 📌 A well-defined innovation strategy inspires direction, commitment, and drives meaningful progress in achieving long-term success.

Developing and implementing innovation policies requires a balance between fostering creativity and ensuring alignment with strategic objectives, while governance mechanisms should be flexible yet robust enough to guide and support these innovative endeavors effectively.

Don't overdo policies in innovation ✨In a corporate environment resources and budgets are often tight around innovation. Make sure to put them to the right place. Foster and innovative mindset, demonstrate value. Don't develop slides for the sake of it. You need to win the hearts and minds of the people to create tangible results in innovation.

There's one big trap that nearly all big organisations fall into when they first set out their strategy for innovation: They want to do everything. They want an in-house venture builder, an incubator and an accelerator. They want to do corporate venturing and open innovation. They want to explore fancy new technologies while digitally transforming their 20th century IT infrastructure. Equally, they struggle to define a narrow range of business themes in which they will invest. But strategy is focus. You need to be ruthless in setting out what you won't do, so you can concentrate your limited resources on areas where you believe you have an advantage.

Your own leadership style sets the tone for the rest of the organization, and it enables or impedes the aspirations and structures you put in place. So you need to think that through upfront, not last. Does it elicit the behaviors you're seeking? Does it get people to think big enough? Is it clearly connected to market realities? This article is quite right that culture comes toward the end of this process, not at the start. Culture is quite important, but it's a lagging variable. It exists for logical reasons, as a response to incentives and norms in the organization. Change the incentive and norms first, otherwise culture change will create a lot of hullabaloo without persistence.

El área de innovación debe participar en la definición de la estrategia de la compañía, porque debe ser un área nuclear de la misma. Toda la innovación debe nacer, debe beber de la estrategia. La innovación que impulsemos y que no esté alineada con los objetivos estratégicos no servirá de nada. Los mecanismos de gobernanza de la innovación tienen que permitir establecer el marco de juego pero, a la vez, ser lo suficientemente flexible.

Initiate the innovation process by conducting a holistic mapping of problems and opportunities. Identify pressing challenges that your organization aims to address and recognize potential areas for growth and improvement. This comprehensive mapping serves as the foundation for developing a vision and strategy that aligns with both problem-solving and opportunity-seizing objectives.

Acredito que o caminho para desenvolver e implementar políticas de inovação e mecanismos de governança, seja a definição clara de objetivos e diretrizes alinhados à estratégia da empresa. Envolvimento das principais partes interessadas para garantir suporte e colaboração. Além disso, estabelecer os processos de monitoramento e avaliação contínuos para adaptar e melhorar as políticas conforme necessário, garantindo que promovam uma cultura de inovação sustentável e eficaz.

Defining your innovation vision and strategy is pivotal for effective leadership. Start by identifying the core problems you aim to address, the opportunities you wish to capitalize on, and the broader impact you aspire to achieve. Align this vision with your organization’s mission and values to ensure cohesion and support. Clear communication of your vision and strategy to both internal and external stakeholders is essential for gaining buy-in and fostering collaboration. A well-articulated innovation strategy will not only guide your decisions and investments but also energize your team and partners, creating a unified drive towards your innovation goals.

La evolución de innovación corporativa hacia un enfoque descentralizado de "Innovation as a Service" tiene el potencial de integrar profundamente la innovación con la estrategia de la empresa, permitiendo que todas las áreas de la organización se apalanquen de marcos y políticas claras. Para lograrlo, es esencial desarrollar un modelo de gobernanza robusto, donde los comités de innovación jueguen un papel central. Estos comités deben asegurarse de que la innovación no sea vista como una tarea aislada, sino como un medio para cumplir los objetivos estratégicos de la organización. La innovación debe estar al servicio de la empresa, no como un fin en sí mismo, sino como un modelo para responder a los desafíos competitivos y del mercado.

I'm a fan of stage gate funnels. Each step in the process is focused on increasing the level of development and maturity of an idea, from a simple write-up to prototype to functional product. Each gate (to the next step) requires that the objectives of the prior gate be reached. Typically a person or group is empowered to approve promotion and additive funding (financial or people resources). Not all projects get promoted. The value: the ability to place lots of bets with low upfront risk, a system to promote continuous learning, and the chance to celebrate incremental wins (not just big launches).

In corporate innovation efforts, governance will vary depending on whether innovation is managed as a centralized innovation function with a larger budget or as a series of decentralized innovation activities across smaller-budget teams. In a centralized approach, policies should prioritize strategic alignment, efficient resource allocation, and higher risk tolerance due to sufficient funding, and emphasize cross-team collaboration. In contrast, decentralized innovation activities grant teams autonomy in decision-making and execution, but require more focus on cost-effectiveness and prioritization, given the more limited budgets. Agile approaches with frequent feedback mechanisms and time-boxing are useful in the decentralized setup.

While many think innovation governance stifles creativity, it’s actually key for sustainable growth. Without it, projects become disjointed, redundant, and poorly executed. Governance ensures ideas align with goals 🎯 and gives structure to move from creativity to action 🚀. There’s a time to let ideas run wild 🌟, but without a clear framework, you risk being idea-rich 💡 but execution-poor. Balance is crucial—governance turns inspiration into results. ✅

There might be a few steps to follow to develop and implement innovation policies and governance mechanisms. First and foremost, creating a compelling innovation framework begins when you define clear objectives - whether boosting creativity or improving project outcomes! Engaging key stakeholders from different departments is also crucial to enhancing insights and fostering cross-functional collaboration. You then need a structured framework capable of guiding idea generation, evaluation, and project selection while well-defined governance, policies, and training programs serve to empower teams across your organization. On top of this, leaders must take on the responsibility of setting clear metrics for assessment!

Foster a culture that values creativity and risk-taking. Formulate governance mechanisms to guide decision-making and resource allocation. Encourage cross-functional collaboration and diversity of thought. Regularly review and update policies to align with emerging trends. Ensure transparent communication and engage stakeholders in the innovation process. This approach creates a structured framework, promoting a dynamic and adaptive innovation ecosystem.

To drive innovation forward I believe that a structured stage gate models gives participants in innovation clear expectations about what´s needed to success and therefor gives freedom to create. I also believe that very early in the stages funnel, commercial experimentation and value prop. validation should happen. We have introduced rapid commercial experimentation right after ideation in our funnel and it works wonders. The results from the experiments are now the decision data and a Go or No Go is based on real customers behaviors actions regarding the specific idea/concept/value prop. By not having a local manager or a senior leader judging which idea is propelled forward makes innovation much safer for more to take part in.

Innovation governance and policies need to cover a lot of ground to be effective. I'll add a couple thoughts to help fill some of the missing gaps I have seen as an inventor: 1) Make sure employees understand the priority of innovation. Should they shift 20% of their time to innovation? Does innovation take priority over project work? Is everyone expected to be innovative? 2) It sounds obvious, but how many brainstorming sessions does your company hold each month/year? I have seen too many companies brag about being innovative – yet brainstorming sessions represent 1% of their meetings. 3) Innovation culture starts from the top. Leadership needs to lead by example.

Un mecanismo que hemos desarrollado con varios clientes es la creación de un Board de Innovación que tiene los siguientes objetivos: - Dar visión y orientar el las líneas maestras del trabajo del equipo - "Hacer Challenge" a las ideas/negocios propuestos - Conectar con perfiles clave de dentro y fuera de la organización En mi opinión, lo ideal es que este Board esté formado por perfiles internos y externos, contando así con una mayor cercanía al mercado.

Define a resource allocation framework for innovation endeavors. Clearly outline how resources, including budget, time, and talent, will be allocated to different innovation projects. This framework ensures that resources are strategically distributed based on the potential impact and alignment with organizational objectives, optimizing the overall efficiency of innovation activities.

Startup accelerators bridge the gap between scientific, business, or societal challenges and entrepreneurs with innovative ideas, technologies, or solutions. The key to successful startup acceleration lies in meticulously curating this connection between problems and ideas. This rigorous curation not only sparks innovation but also attracts essential funding from industry or government, enabling the development of these solutions

Acredito que o desenvolvimento de capacidades de inovação e uma cultura voltada para ela são fundamentais para o sucesso de uma equipe. A promoção da criatividade, curiosidade e diversidade não apenas estimula o pensamento inovador, mas também fortalece os valores de uma companhia. Incentivar práticas como ideação, prototipagem e testes cria um ambiente propício para a geração de soluções inovadoras. Além disso, reconhecer e celebrar tanto conquistas quanto fracassos no processo de inovação é crucial para manter a motivação e aprendizado contínuo. Essas capacidades não apenas possibilitam abraçar mudanças, mas também desafiar teorias, resultando na criação de valor sustentável.

Developing and implementing innovation policies requires a balance between fostering creativity and ensuring alignment with strategic objectives, while governance mechanisms should be flexible yet robust enough to guide and support these innovative endeavors effectively.

True innovation thrives when it's a joint venture. While bottom-up innovation can spark ideas, a culture of innovation truly flourishes with senior leadership's support. Building capabilities is essential, but without a clear vision and leadership's backing, efforts may fall short of their full potential. It's a two-way street where innovation meets guidance for success.

A few core principles can make a difference in driving a thriving innovation culture. First and foremost, as stated many times, fostering a growth mindset is key! To do this, encouraging challenges as learning opportunities is desirable. Also, providing training in design thinking and agile methods empowers creative problem-solving skills within your team and organization, more broadly! Equally important - recognizing and rewarding successes and failures boost motivation, while open communication keeps ideas circulating and flowing! And remember, leaders who actively engage set a powerful example that resonates organization-wide!

Uno de los retos que siempre me encuentro al organizar sesiones de ideación es justo el de "promover un ambiente que fomente el pensamiento creativo", y muchas veces la clave la veo entre otras cosas en dos puntos: tener una buena exploración e identificación de problemas e hipótesis; y tener un grupo diverso para poder generar ideas. Para el segundo por ejemplo de cara a fases ya más avanzadas de producto siempre procuro contar con gente de B (business), X (experience) y T (tecnología) para proponer y evaluar ideas desde las tres patas fundamentales de la creación de producto.

Uno de los retos que siempre me encuentro al organizar sesiones de ideación es justo el de "promover un ambiente que fomente el pensamiento creativo", y muchas veces la clave la veo entre otras cosas en dos puntos: tener una buena exploración e identificación de problemas e hipótesis; y tener un grupo diverso para poder generar ideas. Para el segundo por ejemplo de cara a fases ya más avanzadas de producto siempre procuro contar con gente de B (business), X (experience) y T (tecnología) para proponer y evaluar ideas desde las tres patas de la creación de producto. Sin embargo, para la primera, es muy curioso de dónde pueden venir esos problemas e hipótesis. Puede ser con el feedback de los testers, los propios vendedores del producto...

Design an environment that fosters creativity, curiosity, and diversity. Create physical and virtual spaces that encourage collaboration, idea-sharing, and cross-functional interactions. Promote a culture that values diverse perspectives and backgrounds, recognizing that innovation thrives in environments where different ideas and experiences are embraced.

Building innovation capabilities and fostering an innovative culture involves a dual approach: 💎 Top-Down (Leadership): 💡 C-Level Support: Executives must allocate resources, champion innovation, and set the tone. 💡 Safe Environment: Create a space where experimentation and failure are accepted. 💎 Bottom-Up (Employees): 💡 Proactivity: Encourage employees to take initiative and explore new ideas. 💡 Empower Decision-Making: Foster a culture where autonomy and quick decision-making thrive. Remember, a balanced blend of top-down guidance and bottom-up empowerment drives successful innovation!

As part of your innovation governance, it's essential to setup an innovation board with key stakeholders. This should be the first place where you build and gain trust for innovation initiatives, and you should have a board meeting every month.

Innovation seldom succeeds in isolation. Identify all potential stakeholders - those impacting or impacted by innovation efforts - and map their perspectives. Prioritize building trusting relationships, partnerships and alliances with those providing strategic insights, resources or implementation channels. Engage power users in co-creation processes and communities in co-design forums. Develop feedback loops capturing stakeholder input through all phases, from ideas to iteration to adoption. Continually communicate progress and results, soliciting ongoing support. Permeating the innovation ecosystem with transparency and engagement multiplier benefits.

Para mi, particularmente en grandes corporaciones, debe de ir de la mano de un cambio estructural. Una transición de un modelo organizativo jerárquico y burocrático hacia uno circular es una transformación fundamental para mejorar la agilidad las empresas. Generar equipos multidisciplinares con la capacidad de generar ideas innovadoras y ejecutarlas ágilmente dentro del entorno corporativo sin depender continuamente de la burocracia y los silos. Estos equipos pueden experimentar, tomar decisiones rápidas y adaptarse a los cambios del mercado, lo que impulsa la innovación interna, inspiración con "propósito" y capacita a la empresa para competir con la mentalidad ágil y la eficiencia de una startup.

Engaging with our innovation ecosystem and stakeholders means more than collaboration; it's about co-creating value, sharing knowledge, and building meaningful relationships that transcend traditional boundaries. By involving stakeholders early on, prioritizing inclusivity, and fostering a sense of shared purpose, we can amplify the impact of our innovation efforts.

Alongside internal governance and policies, leveraging the innovation ecosystem can amplify your innovation culture. Engaging with events like Web Summit, SXSW, or Collision, nurturing relationships with innovation hubs and startups, and collaborating with other companies for open innovation initiatives fosters a rich environment for idea exchange and collaboration. Innovation thrives when there's a diverse range of players engaging in dialogue and exploration.

Engaging your innovation ecosystem and stakeholders is crucial for expanding your impact. Identify and map your stakeholders, including internal teams and external partners, to understand their influence and needs. Build strong relationships through strategic partnerships and collaborative projects. Co-create and co-design solutions by involving stakeholders in the development process to ensure their insights shape the outcomes. Regularly communicate and share results to keep them informed and engaged. This approach will enhance your innovation capacity, broaden your reach, and amplify the overall impact of your efforts.

Criar e interagir com o ecossistema de inovação é essencial para que todas as partes entendam como agregar e como se aproveitar dos potenciais da interação. Universidades com seu motor de novas ideias, empresas com seus desafios de inovação e governo com desafios de melhorias para a sociedade, além dos hubs que catalisam todo o potencial inovativo local com incubação, aceleração, inovação aberta, internacionalização de negócios e muito mais.

In my experience this is the most important step, hand in hand with building capabilities. Firstly, identify the connectors and influencers within your ecosystem - they are the proactive experts who will take calculated risks and whose opinions matter. Secondly, involve them in the design and deployment of our innovation policies and governance at an appropriate level, giving them tools and resources to empower activity within local teams, rather than drive it from HQ. Thirdly, keep all lines of communication open and busy, to make sure you remain on the radar. Innovation can easily slip behind business priorities, so stay relevant. Shorthand: find your champions, train and empower them, and keep them close.

An often forgotten step is to connect internal innovation ecosystems (i.e. your talents) to external sources of inspiration and collaboration, ranging from research institutions to startups. Remember that these relationships must be fostered on a continuous basis, with people, time and financial support dedicated to tangible collaborations. I've seen many instances of the bad and the ugly, yet very few good ones (I hope to be pleasantly surprised in the future). Some pitfalls to avoid are deep rifts between R&D and open innovation, lack of funding resulting in lots of hot air and brand destruction, and hot'n'cold engagement styles.

Monitoring and evaluating innovation performance isn't just a checkpoint; it's a cultural compass. In my experience, it's about fostering an innovation ecosystem where feedback is not just collected but actively shapes the evolution of policies and governance. Embrace a culture that views evaluation as an opportunity for adaptive learning, continually refining strategies based on real-time insights. This iterative approach ensures that innovation governance isn't static but a dynamic force, resonating with the evolving needs of your organization. #InnovationGovernance #AdaptiveLearning

Common and consistent innovation metrics are critical to ensure timely undestanding of progress vs objectives, particularly in matriced organizations where there are multiple sub-pipelines that need to be 'sliced and diced'. Metric choice depends on the role that innovation is playing, as well as available data, organizational maturity and project portfolio management capability, but less is definitely more. That said, be sure to include a rounded view to avoid driving the wrong behaviors. Strong data governance and reporting rhythm are also key factors in galvanizing the organization behind performance metrics and actions required

Steady innovation progress requires purposeful monitoring, evaluating and adapting. Clearly define qualitative and quantitative objectives, outputs and outcomes providing line of sight to goals. Establish mechanisms giving access to real-time data like project management dashboards and ideation platform analytics. Collect qualitative feedback through surveys, interviews and focus groups. Feed insights into regular strategy reviews assessing progress, facilitating resource allocation, capturing learnings. Celebrate successes while courageously investigating setbacks via blameless post-mortems that unpack process impediments. Continual measurement guides improvement, demonstrates ROI and value realization, secures investments.

Monitoring and evaluating innovation performance is not just about metrics; it's about learning from both successes and setbacks to continuously improve. By leveraging data-driven insights, embracing a culture of feedback and iteration, and being agile in our approach, we can adapt to changing environments and stay ahead in the innovation game.

Monitoring, evaluating, and adapting your innovation performance ensures continuous improvement. Define clear innovation objectives and use metrics to track progress and outcomes. Utilize tools and methods for collecting and analyzing data, such as performance dashboards and feedback systems. Regularly review insights to inform future strategies and investments, adapting to evolving needs and market conditions. This iterative approach allows you to demonstrate the value of your innovations, learn from experiences, and remain agile in a dynamic environment.

Effective innovation leaders continuously monitor and adapt. Define clear metrics, collect relevant data, and use these insights to refine your approach. During a project review, we identified areas for improvement through feedback loops, which enabled us to pivot and optimize our strategy, ultimately leading to better outcomes.

There are 2 types of measures, most people focus on 1 of them. Quantitative. Of course this is important, depending on your sector/industry, you want your innovations and ideas to make you more competitive. You want people to buy/invest in your products & services. However, it is vital you do not overlook the qualitative impact of your innovations. These can be a lot of the "soft & fuzzy" stuff that a lot of leaders dismiss, however is a critical element of creating an innovative culture within your business. Learn to celebrate failure, create knowledge & look at the bigger picture. Measure the order of magnitude innovation has had on the business, what has it stimulated? What wouldn't have happened had it not existed?

Monitoring innovation performance, in my opinion, should be done via clear KPIs, frequent assessments, and feedback gathering. modifying tactics in light of new information to promote iterative development. Encourage leadership support and communication to enable quick reactions to market shifts, guaranteeing ongoing innovation and a competitive edge.

Here the key is to give importance to every single action however small it may be, this will ensure the fire keeps going in all stakeholders.

Leading by example in innovation means embodying the values we preach, empowering others to think boldly, and advocating for a culture where creativity flourishes. By sharing stories of both triumphs and failures, mentoring aspiring innovators, and championing a culture of continuous learning and improvement, we can leave a legacy of innovation that transcends our organization.

Leading by example was something I took to heart while I was in the position. I was deeply involved in the day-to-day operations, often sitting in on strategy sessions and offering advice based on my own experiences. I shared stories of past failures and successes openly, demonstrating the resilience needed in the unpredictable world of startups. My hands-on leadership helped foster a strong sense of community and drive within the accelerator, encouraging both staff and entrepreneurs to push the boundaries of what was possible in healthcare innovation.

Uma coisa que acho útil é estudar grandes exemplos reconhecidos de liderança. Sugiro estudos sobre Bill Campbell . Ele foi categórico ao afirmar que sabia ter as pessoas certas na sala e que o "lunático" tenha uma oportunidade de contribuir. Campbell era conhecido pelo seu genuíno interesse pelas pessoas. Gostava de saber do fim de semana, da família, antes de entrar em detalhes profissionais. Era muito carinhoso com todos e há relatos de que teria abraçado até mesmo Bill Gates, conhecido por ser evitar este tipo de aproximação.

Exploring #HolisticBranding and #GenJ opens up new perspectives on innovation and branding. If you're looking for insights that blend practicality with strategic depth, check out my articles on these themes. They're crafted to inspire and inform, rooted in real-world application and experience.

Liderar con el ejemplo es una practica muy poderosa en innovación. La curiosidad, mente abierta, creatividad no deben estar solo en una declaración, deben soportarse desde un liderazgo que se compromete en las acciones diarias a lograrlo. Inspirar a otros es un rol fundamental de un líder que gestiona adecuadamente la incertidumbre que llega con la innovación. Algunas de las practicas que he usado son: 1. Espacios abiertos para hablar del error 2. Siempre escuchar las ideas de todos 3. Inspirar a través de lideres TOP de innovación 4. Hablar un lenguaje sencillo y practico 5. Retar desde el resultado

El liderazgo inspirador es fundamental para el mindset de innovación. Motivar a los equipos y no solo ser si no parecer es el inicio de cualquier modelo de gobierno que verdaderamente apalanca la innovación. La innovación debe estar en la agenda de los lideres en el dia a dia y así promover la innovación en cada uno de los rincones.

Finally, lead by example and inspire your team. Demonstrate the behaviors and attitudes you expect from others, and be an advocate for innovation both within and outside your organization. Sharing success stories and the journey behind them can be incredibly motivating. I’ve seen firsthand how this approach can galvanize a team, turning challenges into opportunities for growth.

Profundizar el foco en el "como" y no en el "que". Innovar no puede ser el fin, sino el medio para procurar el proceso de transformación deseado.

Liderança inspiradora é essencial para impulsionar a inovação. Como especialista, sempre me esforcei para adotar as novas tecnologias e práticas que promovemos. Isso envolve assumir riscos calculados, ser resiliente frente aos desafios e compartilhar aprendizados e sucessos, incentivando outros a embarcarem na jornada da inovação. Importante também observar contruições de lideres internacionais. De Musk podemos aprender sobre ousadia e coragem e de Bezos a importância de ser orientado ao cliente.