Can a Standard for Innovation Make Companies Smarter? – Standard of Innovation Part 5 of 5

This post is by Dr. Domenico Lepore, an international expert on systems thinking for management.  He is the Founder of Intelligent Management Inc.

An organization requires great focus in order to keep up with the continuous innovation process. The focus needed can only be developed as a result of an improved “collective systemic intelligence”. By that we mean the ability the organization must develop to integrate cohesively the different activities that lead to a sustainable innovation. Is there a way to develop this intelligence and can a Standard help? The answer is yes.

How can that happen? By designing the organization  in the shape that nurtures systemic intelligence and the natural propensity towards innovation as a way of operating. A Standard for innovation can facilitate the design of processes and interdependencies that shape the organization appropriately.

Let’s recap on what is required.  In our previous post we identified two steps to achieving a reputable and useful standard:

1) Promote the concept that innovation is a process

2) Emphasize the role that top management must have  in providing an organizational framework to nurture innovation.

Shaping up the organization for sustainable innovation

A third step for a valuable standard is therefore to indicate the role that suitable organizational structures play in accelerating a fruitful innovation process. Invariably, obsolete functional/hierarchical models are a major hindrance to the innovation process. Why is this so?

The traditional hierarchical model of organizations harks back to an industrial model suitable for 19th century and totally inadequate for meaningful work today. A hierarchical matrix debases what we do by creating artificial barriers and ceilings and limits the ability of the organization to achieve its goal by rewarding local optima at the expense of the global goal. Science, civilization and individuals have evolved beyond the strictures of hierarchy/functions. Today we have the science, technology and know-how to shape organizations into what they intrinsically are – a system. We know that every living system is a network and we can work within them to maximize quality, flow and involvement, and to place innovation at the centre of all activity.

A reputable and useful standard should therefore act as catalyst for reconsidering existing self-limiting organizational charts.

The method for nurturing systemic intelligence for innovation

When organizations are shaped to sustain innovation and are populated by “thought poised” individuals, they require a rigorous method to support their thinking. This can be found in  the Plan, Do, Study, Act (PDSA) model we discussed in Part 2 . As innovation can only be sustained if a strong learning cycle is in place, the fourth step to create a reputable and useful standard  is therefore the adoption of a scientific approach to the generation of innovation, not dissimilar from the one adopted by scientists to develop research.

In short:  a well-meaning and well-structured standard provides a unique opportunity to help us re-think our approach to innovation in a truly strategic way.

What is the role of government and institutions in supporting innovation?

Any organization capable of demonstrating a true commitment to continuous and sustainable innovation deserves the attention of government. By increasing its ability to compete through innovation, any company will increase its revenues, create more jobs and pay more taxes. Its growth will positively affect the economic cycle and it is fair to say that it should be encouraged.

By embracing the spirit of a well-designed Standard and by accepting the challenge of reshaping its strategy based on the acceleration of innovation, companies deserve to be aided in their endeavour. The money invested in these companies would then become fruitful and trigger a virtuous cycle from which society at large will benefit.

SUMMARY: 4 steps for a useful Standard for Innovation

1) Promote the concept that innovation is a process

2) Emphasize the role that top management must have  in providing an organizational framework to nurture innovation.

3) Indicate the role that suitable organizational structures play in accelerating a fruitful innovation process.

4)  Adopt a scientific approach to the generation of innovation (PDSA cycle).

See also:

Part 1 : A Word about words

Part 2: Imagination Does Not Equal Innovation

Part 3: The Interconnection of Leadership, Quality and Innovation

Part 4: Can a Standard Stimulate Innovation or Stifle It?