Let’s be honest, Innovation and innovation strategy are business buzzwords in common use among forward-thinking companies. Well, the notion may sound like showboating and showing-off, but it isn’t like that. It isn’t a bad thing either.
Thankfully, we have the technology to thank for. Technology today would have been almost unimaginable a couple of decades ago. It is thanks to this technology that businesses have started thinking about how they innovate to stay ahead of the competition.
Perhaps this might be the reason that 295 Fortune 500 firms now have a Chief Innovation Officer. This was a nearly unheard-of position back in the 80s and 90s. Other than that, numerous other firms have some other forms of senior titles related to chief innovation officers.
Leadership teams in various firms across the world are now actively implementing strategies for innovation as a way to achieve such innovation. But what is an innovation strategy? And how can an innovation strategy be effectively implemented across an organization completely?
In the latter part of the article, professionals from an app development company Canada based in Montreal will help provide a solid definition of what is known as an innovation strategy. They will also help explain how to make and implement an innovation strategy working for an organization’s unique needs giving development firms the full chance of success.
Innovation Strategy – What is it?
Innovation strategies are unique to each organization. This makes the term quite difficult to define and explain.
Yet there are quite a few definitions regarding the meaning of innovation strategy which are present online. However, most of those definitions are just aligned to the basics. So here is a concise and simple definition from the Board of Innovation:
“An innovation strategy is a commitment to a common innovation mission and a structured set of activities which aim to support the future growth of the organization.”
There are three key elements to bear in mind here. What a Killer Innovation Strategy needs are as under:
- A defined mission: This means specified goals anyone wants to achieve instead of a vague desire to digitize which also lacks focus.
- A clearly laid out set of clear and structured steps to reach that goal. Along with having clearly identified goals, firms should know how they should be achieved.
- A strong focus on growth: While an innovation strategy can provide an organization immediate benefits, it is not truly innovative unless and until it deals with long-term growth.
Given the rate at which technology is progressing, it is possible that an organization and its team will need to adapt its innovation strategy as time goes on. If the team does not make any modifications at all as the firm moves forward, it may be missing some key lessons and chances along the way to make things right.
Whenever a firm needs to restructure, revamp or adapt its plan, it should always keep in mind the three areas mentioned above. This helps keep everyone involved aligned with the objectives (hire app developer).
The different kinds of innovation strategies present
This may help to imagine the innovation strategy in a broader context and a wider framework. At Harvard University, business professor Gary Pisano carried a study in 2015 and identified four different types of innovation. They are based on two dimensions: that is, change in business model and change in technology.
They are as under:
Routine Innovation
Innovation builds on the core competencies of an organization within its existing business model. Microsoft has often performed this innovation as a tradition but has decided to start branching out of this way.
Disruptive Innovation
This is an innovation centered around a new business model, but not necessarily focused around new technology. For instance, Android was disruptive when it came as an open-source operating system. However, in the technological aspect, it had nothing new.
Radical Innovation
This kind of innovation is purely technical. For instance, it can refer easily to advances in stem cell research or in CRISPR technology.
Architectural Innovation
Architectural innovation combines both technological and business model innovations. One of the best examples of this kind is the launch of the cutting-edge iPhone back then in 2007.
