The world is changing so quickly that the reality for leaders has become innovate or die. But the bankruptcy of Eastman Kodak Co. demonstrates that even monster companies that have vast research and development programs and are aware of the current trends can get it wrong. To succeed, leaders need to repent of deadly sins that derail innovation, says Scott Anthony, Singapore-based president of consultancy Innosight LLC and author of The Little Black Book of Innovation. Read an excerpt from the book here. He discusses how in a conversation with The Globe and Mail’s Wallace Immen:
Why is innovation essential for future success?
If you look back 10 years, Microsoft was an unstoppable monopoly. Google was a company that hadn’t quite figured out its business model and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was still in high school. You can predict with absolute certainty that there will be just as many dramatic changes in the next 10 years. So even the most cutting edge organization can never stop innovating. There are many theories and reams have been written about innovation, but it really boils down to five words: something different that has impact.
I find it interesting that Facebook has set out in its IPO statement that it intends to try new things and not everything is going to work. I think that’s a clear indication that Mr. Zuckerberg recognizes that it can never slow down the pace of innovation.
You say there are seven deadly sins that hinder innovation. What are they?
Pride causes leaders to insist on an inflated view of quality, which can result in overshooting what the customers really want.
Sloth is a lack of urgency that allows innovation efforts to slow to a crawl.
Gluttony develops when an abundance of people and resources creates bloated research efforts when what’s really needed are simpler, quicker approaches.
Lust tempts leaders to waste energy chasing every potential opportunity rather than focusing on the goals that are the most essential and achievable.
Envy develops when management lavishes the most attention on people in new ventures, creating an “us versus them” relationship with people in the profitable core business who feel less incentive to innovate.
Wrath punishes risk takers who don’t succeed, which stifles future enthusiasm for innovation.
Greed leads to impatience for growth that tempts leaders to put too much priority on lines and markets that actually have low potential.
What’s the worst?
It’s important to avoid them all, but the one that gets organizations into the most trouble is the sin of gluttony. This is a strange thing because we think that one of the advantages a large company has is that it has the capabilities to think big; it has the resources and the ability to throw a lot of people at problems. But in a weird twist, deep pockets and huge teams actually inhibit innovation because they lead to overly slow, overly linear efforts to innovate. Putting teams of bodies on problems leads to haggling and indecision when actually small teams typically innovate more quickly.
How do you identify priorities for innovation?
It’s easy for a leader inside any size of organization to get myopic. It’s hard to get outside; you’re caught up in meetings and discussions that can make it feel that you’re making progress when in reality the competition is gaining on you. You need to take a hard look at how you’re spending your time and create the time to get into the market, spend time with customers to get to know what they need and explore unfilled opportunities.
You say over-analysis is a waste of time; don’t you still have to assess your progress?
