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Risk and Innovation

To really manage risk and innovation, you must be prepared to manage three types of success factors:
Alignment - Insights - Mobilization

 

Alignment
Alignment means that each business unit, department, team and individual sees and understands their role and how it contributes to the overall purpose/mission of the organization.  It also means that they understand their mandate for innovation, have sponsorship for those mandates and confidence that their work is linked and valuable to the future.  Finally, it provides a framework and language for innovation every day. Managing risk here means assuring and continually checking for sponsorship and commitment from the top.

Insights
When Alignment is achieved, information becomes knowledge and in-turn, becomes Insights. In the development of Insights, people must be involved from all levels of the organization, customers, partners, suppliers, regulators, industry experts, etc.  The larger the field of information/ideas, more dramatic, sustainable, and unique will be the Insights for growth. Managing risk here means assuring the pipeline if full.

Mobilization
The organization with the best idea is not always the winner; the organization with the ability to execute is the winner.  Especially in today's competitive and fast paced environment, where the slope from unique idea to commodity is very steep, execution of ideas is critical for success. Organizations must learn to capture the fullest value of an innovation before it is duplicated; continually improving that product or service to stay ahead of the competitor. Managing risk here means assuring ideas are turning into applications in the real world - on time and ahead of competition.

Are you prepared to manage risk and innovation? - take a quick look using a simple version of the Innovation Readiness Assessment (IRA):

Green Light   Yellow Light   Red Light
For each set of Enablers / Risks indicate your rating: Works in our favor (Green), Need to be aware of (Yellow), May be trouble(Red)
Once you have indicated your rating, list yourthoughts on why and how to mimize (Red) and Maximize (Green). Also what can you do to move items from(Yellow) to (Green)?
Enablers Green Yellow Red Thoughts

We see our connections to the overall strategy

       

We understand the need and our mandate for innovation

       

Our team members work and communicate well with each other

       

Our team works and communicates well with other functions

       

We understand our roles

       

We embrace change

       

We have capacity for innovation (time & resources)

       

We are courageous and take appropriate risks

       

We are empowered by leadership

       

We know our customers and what they provide to their customers

       

We have a good flow of ideas

       

We continually ask "Why?" and look for better, faster, value, necessity