Innovation strategy

Do you have an innovation methodology and process that is collaborative in nature and turns the traditional closed model for innovation on its head and states that companies cannot rely entirely on their own R&D resources?

Instead companies should look to source ideas (i.e. license or buy patents) and technologies from other companies. In addition, internal ideas that are not being used by a company should be marketed and taken out externally through such routes as licensing, joint-ventures, spin-offs etc. Consequently, open innovation can unlock the latent economic value in a company’s ideas and technologies.

Do you have an innovation structure that includes market intelligence to capture existing products in markets which can be copied and improved on?

For example, if a brand new MP3 player enters the market, it can be opened up and examined to see how it was made and where the pieces come from. Visible Innovation, therefore, is inherently something that can be copied and represents a form of innovation that can be protected only to a limited extent (patents aside).

Do you have an innovation methodology and process that includes technology inputs from internal and suppliers concerning an advanced product?

An organization that has industrial expert knowledge may not be able to detect Visible Innovation directly, but they can make an educated guess on what they cannot see. For example, they will be able to pinpoint a new type of chip as the main innovation inside it. They might not be able to tell who manufactured this component; however, they could probably work out who it is, because there are only four manufacturers in the world who produce such components.

Do you have an innovation methodology and process that has the ability to create new markets, products, processes etc?

This is the kind of innovation that gives a company the true competitive advantage. A competing company even with expert knowledge cannot determine how the offering has been put together and often does not even know which element is important. This allows companies to bring offerings to market that are unique. They may appear visibly copy-able, but in fact cannot be replicated to the extent that a company could make any sizeable form of return from its duplication.

1.5. Disruptive Innovation

Do you have an innovation methodology and process that allows for disruptive change, internal or external to the organization that may create a new market or drive the company into an entirely new direction?

Disruptive innovation is typically a unique combination of the other innovation types – or even the identification and exploitation of an entirely new innovation type to disrupt and change the market. i.e. Nokia from Gumboots to Cell phones.

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