Operations Befriends Innovation

Operations Befriends Innovation

Blog: Author: Joy Kosta, HCS | Source: HCI | Published: February 24, 2011


Is “routine innovation” an oxymoron? Certainly leaders want their talent to be creative, even innovative.There is a competency continuum from continuous improvement to disruptive innovation. And the closer one gets to the innovation end of that continuum, expect increased tension between operations and innovation. Tuck professors VJ Govindarajan and Chris Trimble, authors of “The Other Side of Innovation,” explain that operational excellence is about efficiency, predictability, scalability and is based on data, whereas innovation is about non-routine, break-through hypotheses, assumptions, and uncertainty. By their nature, operations and innovation don’t play easily together. But these Tuck professors also say that operations and innovation can build a partnership based on mutual respect.

Implementing innovation kicks change management up a few notches. A comic strip character, Pogo (conceived by Walt Kelly), said, “We have met the enemy and he is us." Recognize the brick walls that impact motivation and engagement of your innovative thinkers and the systems that don’t support change, even when leaders are behind it. Don’t underestimate the pressure from shareholders who rate companies on quarterly financials that typically come from working more efficiently; in companies that don’t squelch innovation, innovation is underway long before it shows up in the financials. If it’s not smart business to discourage innovation, is it even ethical to do so?

Thomas Edison said, “Genius is 1% inspiration and 99 % perspiration.” There is a lot of focus today on execution, without attention to how to convert great ideas into great impact. Embed continuous improvement throughout the organization, but separate, protect, and pilot innovation, and then align and integrate it with enlightened change management. Visionary CEO’s and entrepreneurs who institutionalize innovation often rely on a supervising executive to support the innovation and the team leader of pilot innovation teams.

Working within organizations is complex. Two inspiring examples come to mind- the true story of the partnering of a business man and a scientist on a pharmaceutical trial, told in the movie, "Extraordinary Measures"- each could not have acheived success without the other. Another powerful example of how one man got people to commit dollars to a new twist on an existing approach is exemplified by Ron Pompeil- the man famous for inventing the Vego-matic and other indispensible kitchen gadgets. Malcolm Gladwell, in his essay, “The Pitchman” says one reason Pompeil is so successful is that he has an unrelenting ability to pitch his ideas, up to four times in a ten minute infomercial, as he demonstrates the benefits of his invention; Gladwell points out that multiple demos are important to give people time to wrap their heads around benefits outside their routine experience. For you innovators who don’t have the pitch gift, partner up with an unrelenting sales person in your company who believes in the value of your idea to make a lot of money; and get a supervising executive to protect your pilot. It could make you and your company millions.

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Photo courtesy of Nyoin

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Joy Kosta, HCS says:
Thanks, Bobbi for your comment. I too am trying to stay cognizant of preferred learning sytles and offering variety of messaging when speaking with groups. hey, please don't hesitate to send in a guest blog of your own... :-)

2 days ago
Bobby Bakshi says:

Joy- thank you for this great reminder. I particularly love the mention of Ron Pompeil's method of saying it multiple times. Plus a good pitchman must remember that learning styles drive attention and connection. The more we stay conscious to catering to them all (audio, visual and knesthetic) the better.

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