innovative leadership

Dr. Elijah EzenduFIMC, FCIM, FIIAN, FBDI, FAAFM, FAAPM, FCCM, MIMIS, MITD, ACIArb, ACIPM,

PhD, DocM, MBA, CWM, CBDA, CMA, MPM, PME, CSOL, CCIP, CMC, CMgr

Innovative Leadership

Learning Objectives

On completion of this course, participants shall be able to do the following:

Identify the Importance of Innovative LeadershipIdentify various types of innovationIdentify approaches to InnovationLead organisation-wide implementation of

innovation strategyCoordinate evolution of innovation culture

“Whether you like it or not, your business profession or line of work will evolve and you have two choices. First, you can be a proactive force and get yourself and your organization involved in making innovations; or second, you can choose to ‘react’ to the innovations of others and miss opportunities to grow and apply your experience in exciting, new ways.”

Source: Center for Management & Organisation Effectiveness

“Innovation keeps businesses competitive – it is widely recognized as providing a real impetus for growth and is at the heart of corporate strategy in many of the world’s leading firms.”

Source: CBI

“ Innovation isn’t anything until it becomes part of your everyday business”

- Carina Kemp, Head of Insight and Planning, HSBC.

The “functional” source of innovation depends upon the functional relationship between innovator and innovation:

An innovation is a USER innovation when the developer expects to benefit by USING it;

An innovation is a MANUFACTURER innovation when the developer expects to benefit by SELLING it.

Source: Eric Von Hippel, Innovate or Buy

Drivers of Innovation Improvement in Customer Experience Demand of Customers Cost Reduction Organisational Culture Need to Change or Reduce Raw Materials Regulatory Requirements Competitive Positioning Minimization of Environmental Impact Gap in the Market Improving Quality Reduction of Energy Expenditure Differentiation Enhancing Flexibility

Some Innovative Companies and Innovation Drivers 1Company Innovation Highlighted by Company Innovation Drivers

1. Arup Development of the Dongtan Ecocity Concept in China

Foresight and long established company culture

2. Aviva-Norwich Union Developed telematics insurance product for individual customers and fleets

Need to respond to rapid change in insurance market, strategic decision to seek out organic growth, inevitability of telematics provided opportunity

3. Benoy Internal business reorganization In response to rapid company growth and need to free-up key staff to focus on core architecture work

4. BT Wholesale New ways of bundling services and providing software (rather than hardware) solutions

Declining opportunity in core market and strategic decision to grow, rather than have a managed retreat

5. Clarks Development and introduction of 3D foot scanning technology

To replace existing foot measurement equipment at the end of its useful life, to reduce costs and determination to create a leading retail experience

6. Fujitsu Moving from technological solutions to business-based outcome services

Company culture and strategy, foresight- looking for trends and tipping points, to reduce costs, requests for innovation from clients, to differentiate themselves from the competition

7. HSBC Sharia-compliant banking, green banking, self-service banking in branches and borderless banking

To improve customer experience, meet demands of new markets while reducing costs and environmental impacts

Some Innovative Companies and Innovation Drivers 2Company Innovation Highlighted by Company Innovation Drivers

8. KPMG Developing a new internal innovation framework incorporating skills, behaviour and process

To help them keep ahead of a rapidly changing business environment where some traditional services have become commoditized and clients are more demanding

9. Legal & General Starting underwriters academy in collaboration with Cardiff University

To gain advantage over competitors with better training, thus raising standards, brand image and reputation while reducing costs, offering better career progression opportunities to retain the best staff

10. Loch Lomond Seaplanes Bringing seaplanes as a mode of transport to west Scotland

Company culture, identified a gap and sought to create a new market

11. Magic Lantern Providing a bridge between traditional and digital media with a focus on participative engagement

Company culture, proactively identifying audience needs that seem under-served, to grow by focusing on their areas of expertise in new technology, innovation and creativity

12. Muckle Complete organisational culture change internally

Change market environment becoming more competitive, desire to differentiate themselves on service delivery and need to retain staff

13. Newcastle International Airport

Increase ‘dwell time’ in key parts of the airport To improve overall customer experience while also maximizing revenue opportunities and meeting changing regulatory demands on security etc

Some Innovative Companies and Innovation Drivers 3

Company Innovation Highlighted by Company Innovation Drivers

14. Nike Unique brand experience from social networking to a service allowing customers to design their own footware- process of mass customization

Company culture, which promotes innovation as one of four core values. To create a brand that enhances the customer experience and grows Nike’s market-leading position

15. Steria Business process improvement for Norwich City Council and black cab scheduling system for BAA

To stay ahead in competitive sector where IP is difficult to protect; responding to the changing market where managed services are now seen as a commodity and customers are more demanding

16. Texperts On-demand expert answers to customer questions by text service

Company culture, to grow the business, reduce costs and stay ahead of fast moving competition

Source: CBI, Excellence in Service Innovation

Incremental Innovation Radical Innovation

1. It’s competence-enhancing because it builds upon existing knowledge and resources

It’s competence-destroying because it needs new knowledge and resources

2. It brings about changes wherein the existing products will still be viable.

It brings about very great development that push down existing products into obsolescence

Forward Innovation vs. Backward Innovation

Forward Innovation involves development of new functions in new or existing products , market or technology; while Backward Innovation encompasses development of existing functions more rapidly and cheaper.

Open Innovation

Open Innovation is an intentional course of action for identifying and exploiting internal and external novel initiatives in order to develop new products and services.

It involves multi-stage collaboration with other entities outside a firm, in order to value capture and optimize the standard and value of the final product.

Sources of External Novel Initiatives in Open Innovation

Competitors Distributors Suppliers Freelance Commentators Contract Research Organisations Independent Research Organisations Practicing Experts Customers

Closed Innovation

Closed Innovation is a practice in which a firm focuses on internal sources of novel initiatives as its sole innovation provider, in order to maximize intellectual property exploitation and market control.

The Difference Between Open and Closed Innovation

Microsoft’s OS

Google

MySpace

YouTubeIBM Linux Code

Pirated Music Complementors

Linux Kernel

Wikipedia

Source: Henry Chesbrough & Melissa Appleyard

Com

pany

Eco

syst

emVal

ue

Cap

ture

In-House Community-Driven

Value Creation

Determinants of Innovation Approach

CompetitionInternal CapabilitiesScarcity of Expertise MarketingStrategyMissionExtent of Opportunities for Collaboration

10 Attributes of Successful Service Innovation1. Start with unmet user needs, not new ideas2. Research methods are based on deep customer empathy (e.g.,ethnography)3. Focus is on the customer journey – not merely your own touch

points4. Emphasis on identifying and winning the moments of truth5. Rapid, low-fidelity service prototyping6. Open innovation – including the customer in the earliest stages7. Open innovation – bringing together a unique value network8. Creating evidence of the brand attributes within the touch points9. Use of storytelling to convey the experience intent10. Overcoming metrics that run counter to creating compelling

experiencesSource: Customer Perspectives on Service Innovation

“Unsuccessful leaders often display stereotypical fallacies in their thinking.”

-Sternberg

Stereotypical Fallacies Against Innovative Leadership

• Egocentric fallacy• Invulnerability fallacy• Omnipotent fallacy• Unrealistic optimism fallacy• Omniscience fallacy

“ The best organisations understand design and do not see innovation as something happening in a laboratory on its own”

- Joe Heapy, Co-founder and Director, Engine.

Characteristic Features of Innovative Leadership

Guidance Ground breaking Control Novel Direction Modern Inventive Headship Pioneering

Thinking Skills in Innovationi. Multi-screen Thinking vs. Spot Thinkingii. Abstract Thinking vs. Specific Thinkingiii. Breakthrough Thinking vs. Trade-off Thinkingiv. Intensification Thinking vs. Sheltered Thinkingv. Non-linear Thinking vs. Linear Thinkingvi. Diversity Thinking vs. Uniformity Thinkingvii. Structured Thinking vs. Random Thinkingviii. Ideality Thinking vs. Consumption Thinkingix. Ultimate Goal Thinking vs. Shallow Thinkingx. Evolutionary Thinking vs. Random Thinkingxi. Long-Term Thinking vs. Short-Term Thinkingxii. Wild Thinking vs. Grounded Thinkingxiii. Analytical Thinking vs. Jump-to-Solution Thinkingxiv. Problem Flow Thinking vs. Single Solution Thinking

Source: Valeri Souchkov, Power Thinking Skills For Innovative Leadership

7 Dimensions of Strategic Innovation1. A Managed Innovation Process: Combining non-

traditional and traditional approaches to business strategy.

2. Strategic Alignment: Building support.3. Industry Foresight: Understanding articulated emerging

trends.4. Consumer/ Customer Insight: Understanding articulated

and unarticulated needs.5. Core Technologies and Competencies: Leveraging and

extending corporate assets.6. Organisational Readiness: The ability to take action.7. Disciplined Implementation: Managing the path from

inspiration to business impact.Source: Innovation Point

Systemic Approach to Innovation

MarketingInnovation

OrganisationalInnovation

ProductInnovation

StrategyInnovation

TechnologyInnovation

ProcessInnovation

BusinessInnovation

Source: Vadim Kotelnikov

Business Innovation

Shifting the dimensions of Business Model

Examples 1.General Electric: Evolving one of the most

competitive firms 2.Coscharis: Resolving multiple value streams

into total value proposition

Organisational Innovation

Shifting from Industrial to Knowledge-Driven Organisation (Learning, Teaching and Coaching)

Examples1. Microsoft Corporation: Raising average

intelligence quotient of employees2. First Bank: Eliminating internal bureaucracy and

building internal capacity for upward change

Strategy Innovation

Shifting from Strategic Rigidity to Flexibility in Approaching Opportunities

Examples1.Charles Schwab: Development of corporate

guiding principles for leveraging opportunities2.Zenith Bank: Realignment of strategic intent to

expansion opportunities

Technology Innovation

Developing Radical Innovation Capability and Strategic Alignment of Technology Portfolio.

Examples1. Zensys: Wireless technology for controlling home

lighting, entertainment and security systems2. MTN: Collaboration with Innovation Hub’s Coachlab

for advancement of Innovative Technology

Process Innovation

Shifting from Functional to Cross-Functional Process Methodology and Integration of Novel Process Systems Such as Lean and EBPM.

Examples1.Fidelity Investments: Process improvement

for boosting financial solution2.RusselSmith: Process optimization for safety

and quality enhancement

Product Innovation

Developing new products for providing customer satisfaction and veritable solution

Examples1. Multispectral Solutions: Development of Ultra

Wideband product technology for RFID, wireless communications, radar and geo-positioning

2. Starcomms: Introduction of iZap super fast broad band internet connection into the Nigerian Market

Marketing Innovation

Exploring Value, Customer-Centricity and Competitive Advantage for Novel Positioning

Examples1. Dell Computers: Development of customer

partnership for tracking and exploiting value engineering

2. Friesland Foods (WAMCO): Built competitive advantage based on value-driven branding

Empowering Cross-Functional Teams for Leading Innovation

Define what work is required Identify the key interdependenciesParse the innovation subtask to small, interlocking

teams with defined leadersAgree on goals, schedule, and accountabilityProvide resources but stay out of each team’s task

unless it is not meeting its major commitmentsCraft the firm’s overall shape, keep all the subtasks

together, and link non-adjacent subtasks as necessary

Source: Christopher Meyer, Relentless Growth

Customer-Inspired Innovation

• Customer-Inspired Innovation is the imaginative discovery of new business concepts (products, services, business models, strategies, etc.) by matching deep insight into customer needs with an organization’s capabilities in unprecedented ways

• New insight into customers’ needs are discovered, new growth opportunities are identified, new organizational competencies are mobilized, new solutions are created

• “Articulated Customer Needs” – Needs that are recognized and communicated (stated) by customers

• “Unarticulated Customer Needs” – Needs unrecognized by customers that – when recognized and satisfied – lead to products and services that delight them

• While exploring customer behavior the challenge is to “read between the lines” and “make non-obvious connections”

Source: InnovationPoint

A successful Innovative Leader must provide guidance for implementation of innovation culture in every stratum of organisational hierarchy.

Obstacles to Innovation1. Lack of a shared vision, purpose and/or

strategy 2. Innovation not articulated as a company-wide

commitment 3. Lack of ownership by Senior Leaders 4. Constantly shifting priorities5. Short-term thinking 6. Internal process focus rather than external

customer focus 7. Focus on successes of the past rather than the

challenges of the future 8. Unwillingness to change in the absence of a

burning platform 9. Politics — efforts to sustain the status quo to

support entrenched interests 10. Rewarding crisis management rather than

crisis prevention 11. Hierarchy — over-management and review of

new ideas 12. Under-funding of new ideas in the name of

sustaining current efforts 13. Reluctance to kill initiatives that are not

succeeding, but have been funded and staffed

14. Fear that criticizing current practices and commitments is a high-risk activity

15. Workforce workloads (i.e. too much to do, not enough time)

16. Risk aversion (i.e. punishment for "failure") 17. Micromanagement 18. Inelegant systems and processes19. Addiction to left-brained, analytical thinking ("data is

God") 20. Absence of user-friendly idea management

processes 21. Unwillingness to acknowledge and learn from past

"failures"22. Inadequate understanding of customers 23. Innovation not part of the performance review

process24. Lack of skillful brainstorm facilitation 25. Lack of "spec time" to develop new ideas and

opportunities 26. Inadequate "innovation coaching"27. No creative thinking training 28. No reward and recognition programs29. "Innovation" relegated to R&D

Source: Mitchell Ditkoff

11 Practice Tips for Innovation

1. Provide strategic alignment2. Define the innovation process publicly3. Build cross-functional expertise4. Establish a creative chaos environment5. Challenge assumptions6. Cross Pollinate7. Reward idea generation8. Experiment to pursue opportunities9. Allow freedom to fail10. Measure the progress11. Make business fun

Source: Vadim Kotelnikov

The CaseOf

Innovation in Unilever

Background

Until 1990• Highly decentralized• Federation of Companies• 5 Central Laboratories• Common Code of Business Principles• Innovation and Marketing all at Company level

(circa 200)

Start of Modern Innovation Journey

1990-1995• Conference to establish need for Innovation

Process• Dedicated Innovation Resources• Development of Concept of Innovation

Centers• Random software developments• 14,000 odd databases were created• Some innovations at Innovation Centers

Unilever’s Mission

Unilever's mission is to add vitality to life.We meet everyday needs for nutrition,hygiene, and personal care with brands thathelp people feel good, look good and getmore out of life.

In The Evolving Journey

2005 onwards• Additional features– Group Executive announced– R&D aligned within the businesses– Focus is on Consumers, Brands & Customers

Key Features of Unilever Innovation Process Management

ObjectivesBig, bold consumer relevant innovations -rolled out fast; and we always remindourselves that:- The process is only there to help enableinnovation: the IT software is just to supportthe process.

Key Features of Unilever Innovation 1• Innovation is Consumer focused– Unilever reach in 150 countries– Respect for individual tastes, preferences and way of

living

• All the 16,000 people who are involved in Innovation are connected via a common software in all the countries around the world

– Global Community on line with common purpose

• Senior people manage, allocate and guide resources– Senior management commitment

Key Features of Unilever Innovation 2

• Regular meeting mechanism to review and movethe Innovation agenda ahead• Formal process to seize opportunities and to makebusiness daring– To manage risks and to assess opportunities• The Innovation output is measured by three Key

Performance Indicators; viz Underlying Volume Growth, Innovation Rate and Expenditure on R&D

– What you measure is what people focus on


• There is formal process of capturing learning to build a continuous learning organisation

• There is a Steering Group and network ofInnovation to keep the capability buildingprogrammes, processes and systems leadingedge


Capability building programmes• Leadership Courses• Marketing Academy Courses• Project Management and Creativity

Modules/Facilitations

Key Learning 1Picklist codings highlighted the enormouscomplexity of managing 1800 odd brands, henceBrand Focus Initiative:– To focus on 40 Power Brands• Like many other companies, Consumer Disconnect

became apparent when the modern journey began, hence this initiative on Consumer Re-connect

• Brand fragmentation had created a weak and inefficient supply chain system, hence the World Class Supply Chain Initiative

Key Learning 2To make Innovation top of the mind agenda has

resulted in Enterprise Culture Initiative in which leadership is being focused on growth

• Common process and systems have brought simplicity and focus towards growth

• Advent of E-Economy coupled with other developments in Market Environment like growing Service Sectors gave impetus to innovate new-Channels hence the initiative on Pioneering New Channels

Dr. Elijah Ezendu is Award-Winning Business Expert & Certified Management Consultant with expertise in HR, OD, Competitive Intelligence, Strategy, Restructuring, Business Development, Sales & Marketing, Interim Management, CSR, Leadership, Project & Programme Management, Cost Management, Outsourcing, Franchising, Intellectual Capital, eBusiness, Social Media, Software Architecture, Cloud Computing, eLearning & International Business. He holds proprietary rights of various systems. He is currently CEO, Rubiini (UAE); Hon. President, Worldwide Independent Inventors Association; Special Advisor, RTEAN; Director, MMNA Investments Limited. He had functioned as Chair, International Board of GCC Business Council (UAE); Senior Partner, Shevach Consulting; Chairman (Certification & Training), Coordinator (Board of Fellows), Lead Assessor & Governing Council Member, Institute of Management Consultants, Nigeria; Lead Resource, Centre for Competitive Intelligence Development; Turnaround Project Director, Consolidated Business Holdings Limited; Lead Consultant/ Partner, JK Michaels; Technical Director, Gestalt; Chief Operating Officer, Rohan Group; Executive Director (Various Roles), Fortuna, Gambia & Malta; Director, The Greens; Chief Advisor/Partner, D & E; Vice Chairman, Refined Shipping; Director of Programmes & Governing Council Member, Institute of Business Development, Nigeria; Member of TDD Committee, International Association of Software Architects, USA; Member of Strategic Planning and Implementation Committee, Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria; Adjunct Faculty, Regent Business School, South Africa; Adjunct Faculty, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Nigeria; Editor-in-Chief & Chairman of Editorial Board, Cost Management Journal; National Executive Council Member, Institute of Internal Auditors of Nigeria; Member, Board of Directors (Several Organizations). He holds Doctoral Degree in Management, Master of Business Administration and Fellowship of Several Professional Institutes in North America, UK & Nigeria. He is an author & widely featured speaker in workshops, conferences & retreats. He was involved in developing Specialist Master’s Degree Course Content for Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (Nigeria) and Jones International University (USA). He holds Interim Management Assignments on Boards of Companies as Non-Executive Director.

Thank You