What is Innovation Management? How to put it into action?

For many organizations, innovation is one of the central business functions that guides their future growth.

Stay stagnant with the product offerings in the market today is an inadvisable tactic. Evolution is the only viable option to maintain a competitive business advantage.

Productive teams say innovation is about vision and execution; organizations should focus carefully on the strategic process of managing innovation, for example using idea management software to solicit feedback from internal and external stakeholders and develop ideas around priority areas.

However, while around 84% of CEOs believe innovation is essential for growth, a large majority of companies focus only on incremental changes to their offerings and admit they run a significant risk of innovation. disruptive innovation from their competitors.

To help break down the process of managing innovation, we've put together a comprehensive guide to the mechanics involved in running a powerful innovation program.

What is Innovation Management?

Innovation management is a systematic technique for developing, evaluating, and prioritizing new ideas in order to implement the best ones for the overall growth of the business or organization.

Types of innovation models

In the field of innovation, it is well established that innovation can be broadly categorized into four types: sustainable, disruptive, incremental, and radical. To effectively manage an innovation program, it is important to understand which category your initiative falls into.

Sustain innovation

Sustainable innovation is the gradual improvement of a product, service or process. This form of innovation is fundamental to keeping businesses afloat and accounts for the bulk of a company's budget allocated to innovation spending.

Breakthrough innovation

Disruptive innovation is shifting into high gear. Disruption is usually a word associated with the word innovation. Think of companies like Uber or Airbnb, which have created business models that have disrupted or created new markets and recognized consumer demands that were previously unmet.

Incremental innovation

It is a process of continuous improvement or modification of a company's existing products and services. It takes the least risk and most often requires less capital. It is essential for all businesses as it helps differentiate them from the competition while leveraging current offerings and increasing brand value.

Radical innovation

This is a game changer. This is the ultimate goal that innovation visionaries dream of; this type of innovation involves creating solutions to needs that consumers weren't even aware of. Radical innovations have the power to completely change the way the world works and have a significant impact on people's daily lives. Take, for example, the creation of Facebook, which pioneered digital communication channels as we know them.

Create a culture of innovation

Innovation is an incredibly collaborative exercise that requires the right kind of culture to succeed. For effective management of innovation programs, it is fundamental that the organizational environment defines parameters that foster a culture of innovation:

Strong leadership of the C-Suite. Innovative leaders project a clear vision of the future and help inspire innovative thinking. They inspire trust with their expertise and encourage teamwork and collaboration. A culture of innovation starts with a growth mindset at all levels of an organization. Without the support of senior management, innovation has no foundation or framework to develop. Encourage skills development. Learning and innovation go hand in hand. Sensitizing employees to new ways of doing their work encourages innovation. It helps build capacity by instilling the required knowledge and skills while encouraging them to think of new ways to improve job performance. Create environments that foster creativity. Innovation is a matter of vision...