AQuestFor

Innovation

Allan Ryan

by

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Allan Ryan has made all efforts to ensure that this material is free from error or emissions. However, you should conduct your own enquiries and seek professional advice before relying on any facts, statement or matter contained in this book. Allan Ryan is not responsible for any injury, loss or damage caused as a result of the material included or omitted from this material. Information included in this book is current at the time of publication.

123 Innovate® is a registered trade mark of Hargraves Institute Pty Ltd.

Artistic work created by Loui Silvestro.

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AUTHOR’S NOTE

A wise professor at the Australian Graduate School of Management started my quest.

“Allan, your quest is to explore ‘managed innovation’. Then you will have discovered secrets to long-term performance improvement and growth.”

This is my story of discovery and adventure. Through it, I will share secrets and experiences to help you better manage your innovation.

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Once upon a time the world was a simpler place. Last century, less than a generation ago,

there was no social media, iPhones, Uber or AirBnB. Five-year plans, matrix management

and linear processes (like Stage-Gate, Lean and Six Sigma) ruled.

Research and development departments delivered what they knew the market wanted.

World changes were mapped through slow and extrapolated mega-trends. Annual

customer feedback surveys brought us closer to understanding their needs. Employees

had jobs for life with annual reviews against standardised performance curves. Baby

boomers were the bosses and Generation X the workers. And disruption was to be avoided at

all costs.

This was a two-dimensional world. Flat computer screens and hard-copy documents.

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Why are you here?Why is innovation important to you?What is changing in your world?

A quote by Einstein, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.” My version is, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting the same result.” Because everything is changing around you.

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My quest. I left manufacturing and found myself at the start of an adventure. An adventure that began at the Australian

Graduate School of Management in Sydney.

Managed innovation was my quest. Be predictable, respond to challenges and

opportunities in a planned and known way.

Give leaders the confidence that their organisations will survive future shock. Ensure their people are capable of doing new things.

Fellow travellers on my adventure were leaders of innovation in their organisations. These are

people at the forefront of change.

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What are your team goals for innovation and your innovation climate?

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My quest was to produce a book with the answer for every leader in every organisation in one place.

I refused the quest. Innovation is hard, risky and unknowns lurk around every bend. The foundations, tools and approaches cannot be just one book. Everybody is different. Every organisation has different history, different

goals and different ideas of success.

People, teams and organisations also change over time; customers change and markets change. Everything changes. The search for answers is more a

journey than a thesis.

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What are your differences? What is your maturity level?

Innovation Maturity Question to Ask

Level 1Make it better through effi ciency

Are we very good at “doing things better”, lowering costs and improving performance every day?

Level 2Make it different

Are we very good at introducing new products and services that customers will value?

Level 3Engage different

Are we very good at changing the rules of competition, changing our business models and where we compete?

Level 4Work different

Are we very good at understanding the broader basis for competition?

Level 5Live different

Are we very good at creating opportunities by addressing the real needs of society?

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In 2006 the world was more complex and my band of innovation adventurers expanded. My mentors were the 12

founding members of Hargraves Institute. Our community grows along the journey.

The 10-year adventure since 2006 has involved 150 companies who have helped my quest. Some have been on

the quest for a long time; others have stopped to rest in comfortable bliss and ignorance.

Members of the community continue to support each other. Sometimes they give and sometimes they take. Backpacks are full of useful tools. Heads are full of experiences and

share many stories of wisdom.

The world is starting to understand social networks, collaboration, the sharing economy. All have smartphones,

Facebook, LinkedIn, Google and much more.

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What are your team’s current priorities and performance?

Hargraves Institute Eight Principles of Innovation

Your priority Your performance

Does the leadership of your organisation actively support innovation and innovators?

Do all employees have permission and confidence to contribute to innovation every day?

Does your organisation have an accessible and disciplined process for generating, testing, implementing and capturing the value of ideas?

Does your organisation proactively manage risk by allowing failure and error and learning from it?

Is innovation an integral part of your organisation’s strategy and operations?

Are resources available dedicated to your innovation process and action?

Is collaboration and knowledge-sharing encouraged and facilitated within your organisation?

Does your organisation proactively seek external knowledge, skills and connections to improve services and products?

Total (Maximum 80 points)

Priority Gap and Performance Gap

Score your priority out of 10 (10 = High, 0 = Low)

Score your performance as a portion of your priority (e.g. if your priority is 8, then performance is a portion of 8)

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The quest to achieve managed innovation remains, but it’s changed. The adventurers work together, learn

and share, and innovation performance improves.

Success starts to happen. It continues through the global financial crisis, currency fluctuations and

disruptions.

We discover together. We use new tools, methods and approaches. We share lessons and failures to reduce risk. Visits, meetings and celebrations occur like the

seasons. Partners have joined us from around the globe.

A common language is pursued to bring my band of travellers together. 123 Innovate® and ‘See, Think, Do’

become part of innovation, design and facilitation.

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What do you know already? What works and what doesn’t?

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Exploring many paths, my quest continued.

Design thinking from Darden, agile from MIT, disruption from London, digital from France - projects are local and global. They occur in India,

Hong Kong, China, New Zealand and the US. Clients include Chevron, Nestlé, Mars, Coca-Cola Amatil, government, and not-for-profit.

Difficulties came from people being too busy to engage; too busy restructuring and cost cutting. New leadership means different focus

or, best of all, Google has the answer.

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What are your barriers?

Short-term focus

Lack of innovation skills

Lack of resources

Traditional top-down management

Silos and a lack of collaboration

Lack of incentives to innovate

Lack of ideas

Lack of process for developing ideas

Resistance to change

Middle management resistance

Lack of customer focus

Lack of a shared understanding of the need for innovation

Risk aversion

Lack of external collaboration

Poor staff engagement

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The tribe continues to grow with full-time and volunteer innovators. A spectrum of all roles represented from the widest

diversity of organisations. Someone from everywhere.

The common goal is to discover the secret of managed innovation.

The answer was becoming clearer with a balanced approach of top-down and bottom-up. These work together to cover the kaleidoscope of visions, goals and objectives. Some called it ideas first and people

first, while others used disruptive and incremental.

Innovation success comes through people, processes, ideas and collaboration. These form the four pillars of innovation activity.

Tribe members select the areas that are most important. Agree on individual goals and metrics to improve individual innovation

performance.

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Prioritise your commitment and engagement through people, processes, ideas and collaboration.

Which are most important to you?

Financial PerformanceCurrent results for growth, productivity, margins and costs.

Deliverable GrowthYour predictions for growth in products, services and markets

Customers and ConsumersCustomer and consumer relationships with your organisation, its products and services.

New CustomersIdentifying and understanding new markets and segments.

Innovation ProcessThe effi ciency and effectiveness of implementation of ideas.

Idea GenerationThe quality and quantity of ideas.

PeopleMotivation and capability of your people, teams and organisation.

CollaborationCollaboration and collection of external ideas to enter your system.

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The four pillars (people, processes, ideas and collaboration) bring infinite possibilities. (How many

different ways can you arrange four Lego bricks? Many and many more.)

A secret is the Hargraves Institute’s Eight Principles of Innovation. Everyone everywhere can use these

principles to assess their priorities and performance, then plan a new direction.

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Look at page 11. These are the Hargraves Institute Eight Principles of Innovation.

Brainstorm possible actions through sharing.

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Bang! The world is changing faster than ever. Complexity is growing. New distractions

emerge such as LinkedIn, social networks, Yammer, Salesforce and smartphones.

The world is moving from two-dimensional to 3D complexity.

The use of the four pillars and eight principles revealed a flaw. More specific insights and

instructions are needed. Members want direct action across organisations. This gives a

common language and platform for sharing new practices.

The tribe worked hard to divide each pillar into four building blocks. Prioritise the

building blocks and take action.

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Use the 16 building blocks to develop a plan.

People Motivation and capability of your people, teams and organisation

Process The effi ciency and effectiveness of implementation of ideas

Idea ToolsThe quality and quantity of ideas

Collaboration Collection of external ideas to enter your system

Individual Involvement

Resource Application and Performance Monitoring

Insight: Customers, Markets and Technology

Big Questions

People, Team and Training

Innovation System and Workfl ow

Tools and Methods of Innovation

Knowledge Platforms and Expertise

Leadership and Commitment

Link to Strategy and Planning

Innovation Councils

Networks

Benchmarking and Communication

Innovation Roles and Responsibilities

Idea Incubation New Thinking

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Managed innovation? The four pillars, eight principles and 16 building blocks give teams the tools. Tools to create and develop a

unique innovation climate for success.

These are not the only answers. The tribe of innovators that joined me on my quest are key to my success. Your tribe of innovators is critical to your success. Success comes from both an innovation climate and

innovative people.

Finally, my quest has inspired my success. To be successful and deliver managed innovation involves three parts… climate, people and strategy.

Your organisation’s strategy journey must inspire your success. Your quest, and your energy keeps everyone centred on the strategic goals.

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Do you understand your organisation’s strategy related to innovation?

List who will help you.

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“This book was very useful. It helped me realise our company was not yet at a level for large-scale innovation concepts and that we need to spend more time on building an innovative culture and improve our processing efficiency, etc.”

Quality and Innovation Technical Manager, Top Cut Foods Pty Ltd

Author, Allan Ryan

Allan’s career is all innovation. As an innovator and entrepreneur, and now as a catalyst and mentor to intrapreneurs.

As a mechanical engineer who understands manufacturing and businesses from small to large, Allan moved to the Australian Graduate School of Management. He has collaborated with Melbourne, Macquarie and UTS Business Schools, and has researched and consulted across all sectors, locally and overseas.

Today he is Director of his own consulting business, Managed Innovation International, founder of Hargraves Institute, Executive Director of Catalyst Exchange and Adjunct Professor at UTS Business School. He is also President of Arthritis & Osteoporosis NSW.

With clients and members he has created over $2 billion in new value and countless new jobs. He has a network of global partners for new ideas and global clients to test his relevance.

Allan’s passion is to understand managed innovation. To deliver predictable growth and performance, where leaders can plan, resource and track innovation to deliver their strategy and goals. Where innovation becomes part of ‘business as usual’ for everyone and everyone has the capability to be innovative.

For more information or to contact Allan, please email allan@managedinnovation.com