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McGrath- Thought SparksWeknowthattocreatemeaningfulinnovationsthatcanmovethe needleforthecompaniesthatsponsorthem,attention,resourcesand commitmentneedstobesustained.Butintoomanyorganizations, innovationgetsstarted,getssometractionand–justatthebrinkof discoveringsomethinguseful–getscut.Welcometotheworldof innovationtheater.
Predictably, firms that spent like drunken sailors during the low-interest-rate free-for-all that we ’ ve just been through are now reconsidering their spending as the economy looks a little soft, inflation has become a thing and investors are asking for — egads — a route to profitability!
We have seen this movie before, and it is one of the most devastating patterns that afflicts internal corporate venturing, or ICV. It’s worth bringing back some original research by Stanford’s Robert Burgelman and his colleagues to understand it.
Years,ago,RobertBurgelmanandco-authorLiisaVilikangascametoa perplexingconclusion.Despiteallthetalkaboutinnovation,alltheenergy andmoneythrownatitandallthenoiseaboutaccelerators,studiosand labs,companiesfinditextraordinarilydifficulttosticktoaninnovation program. Indeed,astheyobserveinthisarticle,“manymajorcorporationsexperience astrangecyclicalityintheirICV(InternalCorporateVenturing)activity.
PeriodsofintenseICVactivityarefollowedbyperiodswhensuchprograms areshutdown,onlytobefollowedbynewICVinitiativesafewyearslater. Likeseasons,internalcorporateventuringprogramsbeginandendina seeminglyendlesscycle.
Theyidentifytwoinfluencesonhowaninnovation processcancometogrief.Thefirstpredictorishow healthytheexistingcorebusinessisintermsofgrowth prospects.Thesecondishowmuchacompanyhasin termsofuncommittedresources–whetherthat’scash orpeople.Whatyougetwhenyoujuxtaposethetwoisa lovely2×2:
InthenextThoughtSpark,I’lldescribewhat wethinkaboutallthisatValize,mysister companywhosemissionistocreate predictableandreliableinnovationand growthcapabilities.Inthemeantime, pleasestoppouringmoneyintoinnovation theater!
Orifyouarereallyitchingtostartan innovationortransformationprogram,mail usatgrowthValizetosetupatime.We cangetyouoffontherightfoot.Afterall, therearenostandingovationsfor innovationtheater.
https://thoughtsparks.substack.com/