Steve Blank’s three pillars of world-class corporate innovation

My good friend Alexander Osterwader, creator of the Business Model Canvas (one of the foundations of the Lean Method) has written a playbook (with his co-author Thank you Vicky,) From Innovation Theater to Growth Engine To explain how to build and implement iterative innovation processes in a company.

Here’s their introduction to some of the key concepts in the playbook.

More than 75% of executives report that innovation is a top three priority at their companies. However, only 20% of executives indicate that their companies are ready to innovate at scale. This is the challenge for modern organizations: how to develop a world-class ecosystem that can drive iterative innovation at scale.

The playbook describes the three pillars of corporate innovation: Innovation portfolios, innovation programs and innovation culture. Under each pillar, the playbook outlines three questions that leaders and teams can ask to assess whether their company has the right innovation ecosystem in place.

Creative Portfolio: What is your company’s portfolio of innovative projects?

• Are your company’s innovation efforts exploring or exploiting business modes?
• Does your company have a balanced portfolio of projects covering efficiency, sustainability and transformational innovation?
• What is the health of your innovation funnel?

Browse: Search for new value propositions and business models by designing and testing new business ideas rather than execution.

Exploitation: Manage existing business models by expanding new businesses, revitalizing declining ones and maintaining successful ones.

Creative Programs: How your company’s innovation programs are structured and managed.

• Are your leaders enjoying the wrong innovation programs?
• What results are your innovation programs producing?
• Are your company’s innovation programs strategically aligned?

By asking whether companies are evaluating their innovation programs to close the innovation capability gapCreative theater Or Produce tangible results for the company.

• Creating value: Creating new products, services, value propositions and business models. These programs invest in and manage innovative projects that create value by producing new growth or cost savings.

• Cultural change: Changing the company to establish a culture of innovation. This may include new processes, metrics, incentive systems, or changing organizational structures. These changes help the company to innovate in a consistent and repeatable way.

Creative culture: What are the creative partners and motivators in your organization?

• How much time does your leadership spend on creativity?
• Where does innovation live in your organization and how powerful is it?
• What is your kill rate for creative projects?

To overcome the innovation capability gap, companies must create a culture that enables the right behaviors to produce world-class innovative results. A reliable indicator of the quality of your innovation culture is how innovation teams define it. Is it the dominant culture? Inhibitors of creativity Or Creative entrepreneurs?

• Management support; How corporate leaders spend time, strategic direction and resource allocation can have the greatest impact on innovation.

• Organizational Chart: How to provide legitimacy and authority for innovation, the right incentives and clear policies to collaborate with core business.

• Creative practice: How to develop people’s creativity and experience and find the right creativity. How to make sure we’re using the right tools, processes and metrics to test and adjust ideas to reduce risk.

Lessons learned

• The three pillars of the innovation ecosystem are:
  • Creative portfolios
  • Creative programs
  • A culture of innovation
• Download the Osterwalder Playbook here

Filed Under: Corporate/Government Innovation |