Co-Founder at Loomery

This week, I had the pleasure of hosting a roundtable discussion with some brilliant minds on the topic of innovation within scale-up and large corporate organisations. As Jack Welch, Chairman and CEO of General Electric, famously said, "If the rate of change on the outside exceeds the rate of change on the inside, the end is near." So how do established and scaling companies keep pace?

Our conversation was lively and insightful, fueled by diverse perspectives and experiences, which I’ve attempted to summarise in this post. We posed three key questions to structure the roundtable discussion:

1. Portfolio Perfection or Emergent Opportunities?

The age-old dilemma: Should innovation be a carefully orchestrated symphony or a jazz improvisation?

Structure for Success: Shana, who has spent the last 7 years as the Chief Product Officer for Bauer Media, emphasised the importance of structure, especially for larger organisations, advocating for a responsive approach that quickly solidifies into a plan once a promising idea takes root.
Serendipity and Structure: Jamie, Head of Product at JustGiving highlighted the challenges of emergent innovation in remote environments where spontaneous interactions are less frequent, while Ruan reminded us that Google's famed "20% time" isn't feasible for everyone.
Problem-Focused Flexibility: Thomas, Head of Innovation and Digital at the Financial Reporting Council, championed a hybrid approach, stressing the need to tightly define the problem before embracing creative, emergent solutions.
Goals and Outcomes: David, Chief Growth Officer at Bionic, underscored the critical role of clear goals tied to business outcomes.
Solutions in Unexpected Places: Andrew, Head of Product at ipushpull suggested focusing on connecting existing technical solutions to unmet needs, and Shana shared how unexpected events, like the COVID pandemic, can become catalysts for innovation.
Planning for Budget and Buy-in: Ruan, Head of Product at Nomad Homes, shed light on the role of planning in securing stakeholder support and budget, while acknowledging the need for flexibility to deviate from the plan.
Context is King: David emphasised the importance of aligning innovation strategies with the organisation's context, noting the differences between the venture capital world's tolerance for risk and private equity's focus on immediate returns.

2. Internal Ingenuity or External Expertise?

Where do the best ideas come from? Inside the organisation or outside the box?

Empowerment vs. Outsourcing: Charity, VP Product at MOO, cautioned against demoralising core teams by outsourcing innovation, while Thomas highlighted the potential disconnect between external "labs" and the main organisation.
Incremental Innovation: Jamie advocated for empowering existing teams with clear targets and challenges to drive incremental innovation.
Blending for Breakthroughs: Ruan endorsed a blended approach, combining external expertise with internal knowledge, provided teams have the freedom to navigate.
Budget and Upskilling: Shana pointed out the advantages of using external resources to unlock budget and upskill internal teams.
Space and Support: Nicole, speaking from her experience as Head of Product at Monument, stressed the importance of creating an environment that fosters innovation by providing time and space for experimentation.
Executive Advocacy: Shana emphasised the crucial role of an executive champion in driving innovation initiatives.

3. Meticulous Planning or Scrappy Startup Spirit?

How do we best bring innovative ideas to life?

Strategic Guardrails: Craig, VP Engineering at Enthuse, advocated for strategy and research as essential guardrails to prevent wasted effort.
Early Momentum: Shana shared her preference for a "make-first" approach to generate excitement among senior executives, followed by a structured plan for scaling.
Stage-Gated Approach: David highlighted the importance of adapting the approach to the organisation's stage and the nature of the innovation, emphasising the need for detailed plans for scaling.
Measuring Success and Failure: Shana stressed the importance of clear metrics to track progress and determine when to discontinue projects or products.
Transparency and Communication: The group emphasised the importance of clear communication with users and stakeholders about the nature and purpose of tests and new products.

Key Takeaways:

Our discussion reinforced the idea that there's no one-size-fits-all approach to innovation. The best strategy depends on a multitude of factors, including the organisation's size, stage, culture, and goals. However, several key themes emerged:

Context is crucial: Align your innovation strategy with your organisation's specific circumstances. Some, typically smaller and younger organisations are better placed to harness spontaneous idea generation; others may need more structure to create the right conditions.
Clarity is key: Clearly define problems, goals, and metrics for maximise your chances of innovating in a valuable direction. Ensure high frequency communication and wide visibility of goals.
Empowerment matters: Wherever possible foster a culture that encourages experimentation and provides the necessary resources and support.
Communication is critical: Maintain open and transparent communication with stakeholders throughout the innovation process.
Start by starting: However you approach innovation, creating something real is almost always better than a more perfect plan. Philosopher and mathematician Alfred North Whitehead once said ”Ideas won’t keep. Something must be done about them,” and we couldn’t agree more.

By embracing a flexible, context-driven approach, organisations can harness both structure and spontaneity to drive meaningful innovation and thrive in today's rapidly changing world.

As Alan Kay said, "The best way to predict the future is to create it." If you’d like support on your innovation journey get in touch with us.

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Spark or Structure? Insights from our innovation roundtable

October 2024

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