On the agenda for 2024 – a better way to keep track of your innovation portfolio

RITA MCGRATH

On the agenda for 2024 – a better way to keep track of your innovation portfolio?

Thought Sparks

RITA MCGRATH I THOUGHT SPARKS

I was delighted to be part of a virtual event sponsored by the good people over at Innov8rs, in which a field of 10 experts shared their perspectives on the prospects for innovation in 2024, launching the organization’s now muchanticipated annual handbook.

RITA MCGRATH | THOUGHT SPARKS

Conversations about what we can expect for corporate innovation in 2024 Ten of us, involved with corporate innovation in various capacities, were invited to appear in the virtual event – the format was that each of us got about 8 minutes to offer our perspective on what would be on the agenda for innovation in 2024.

My polling question: Only 5% of the respondents feel their organizations have got this right.

We were all each asked to provide a polling question for the participants – who numbered, I’m told, over 1,000 people with innovation as some part of their responsibility.

RITA MCGRATH | THOUGHT SPARKS

Why a lack of alignment matters

A primary leadership mandate today is to balance the demands of serving the existing core business well and keeping it healthy, with making the necessary investments in new opportunities so that when today’s core becomes commoditized or obsolete, the organization has a future. All too often the core business exerts such a powerful gravitational pull that this second role not only takes a back seat – it can become little more than an exercise in what I and others have called “innovation theater.” Sure, we’re going through the motions and have hired someone who is ex-Apple or ex-Google and we talk with great pride about our beautiful state-of-the-art innovation space, but the reality is very different (for a good laugh, have a look at one of my favorite infographics on the process). This disconnect between systems is one of the surest places that a lack of true commitment to innovation shows up.

Perhaps a simple tool could go a long way Lack of commitment to innovation and even fear of it surely bears some of the blame. Indeed, no less a figure than Machiavelli pointed out that, “It must be remembered that there is nothing more difficult to plan, more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to manage than a new system. For the initiator has the enmity of all who would profit by the preservation of the old institution and merely lukewarm defenders in those who gain by the new ones.”

RITA MCGRATH | THOUGHT SPARKS

Don’t miss the upcoming Fireside Chat featuring Kelly Richmond Pope

On December 8, I’ll be chatting live with Kelly Richmond Pope, a forensic accounting professor an author of a fascinating, if sobering, look at the trillion-dollar fraud industry. She looks at different kinds of perpetrators, how we can protect ourselves (when it is possible) and the role of whistleblowers in making sure just outcomes ensue. To register, click here (11:00 EST on December 8).

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Thank you

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