Thoughts and Notes on ‘Leadership and Innovation’ from the McKinsey Quarterly, Jan. 2008
(My thoughts are in parentheses.)
Innovation seen as “one of the top drivers of growth” for companies.
(If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it. How do you measure innovation?)
Leaders “are generally disappointed in their ability to stimulate innovation.”
“There are no best-practice solutions to seed and cultivate innovation.”
Suggested steps to increased motivation:
“Innovation is intrinsically associated with change and takes attention and resources away from efforts to achieve short-term performance goals.” (Problems with quarterly reports.)
Top inhibitors:
Practical steps to advance innovation:
“Individual creativity and intelligence matter less… than connections and networks”
Networks allow:
Middle managers have difficulties with new ideas.
Innovative networks require:
“’All talk and no action is not a recipe for success!’” says one participant of an online discussion.
Cultural inhibitors of innovation:
Cultural changes to encourage innovation should include:
Barsh, Joanna, Marla M. Capozzi, and Jonathan Davidson. "Leadership and Innovation." McKinsey & Company. McKinsey & Company, Jan. 2008. Web. 15 Oct. 2014.
Innovation seen as “one of the top drivers of growth” for companies.
(If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it. How do you measure innovation?)
Leaders “are generally disappointed in their ability to stimulate innovation.”
“There are no best-practice solutions to seed and cultivate innovation.”
Suggested steps to increased motivation:
- “Formally integrate innovation into strategic-management agenda of senior managers” fully
- “Make better use of existing… talent for innovation”
- “Foster an innovation culture based on trust”
- These suggestions offer a practical starting point.
“Innovation is intrinsically associated with change and takes attention and resources away from efforts to achieve short-term performance goals.” (Problems with quarterly reports.)
Top inhibitors:
- Paying lip service to innovation
- Failure to model innovation behaviors
- Rewarding only short-term performance
- Maintaining a fear of failure
- Hold leaders accountable (must find a way to measure)
Practical steps to advance innovation:
- Define “kind of innovation that drives growth and helps meet strategic objectives”
- Add innovation to “formal agendas at regular leadership meetings”
- “Set performance metrics and targets for innovation” Two possible metrics:
- Financial
- Behavioral
“Individual creativity and intelligence matter less… than connections and networks”
Networks allow:
- People to have their ideas catch on
- Generate a cycle of innovation as new ideas lead to new ideas
- Cross-fertilization
Middle managers have difficulties with new ideas.
Innovative networks require:
- Idea generators
- Researchers
- Experts
- Producers
“’All talk and no action is not a recipe for success!’” says one participant of an online discussion.
Cultural inhibitors of innovation:
- Bureaucracy
- Hierarchy
- Fear
Cultural changes to encourage innovation should include:
- The top tier must embrace innovation
- Managers can be turned into “innovation leaders”
- “Create opportunities for managed experimentation and quick success”
Barsh, Joanna, Marla M. Capozzi, and Jonathan Davidson. "Leadership and Innovation." McKinsey & Company. McKinsey & Company, Jan. 2008. Web. 15 Oct. 2014.