Introduction to innovation culture

Innovation in Action Globen September 14-15, 2010

Anna Schreil Bengt JärrehultPia Wågberg

Who are we?

Who are You?

The Case

Could this be the situation in Your

company?

• The top middle management had been struggling with going from words to action. How do you make people take action for a cultural change?

• There is a difference between top-down change (a.k.a. the Cascading change process) and bottom-up change (a.k.a. Viral change process). What types of change process fit where?

• What obstacles do you see arise when uniting an older general corporate culture together with an innovation culture? How do you handle these obstacles?

• Reward systems are very strong. How can they be altered to works towards a truly innovative culture?

The Case

To be dealt with according to Your Own situation!

50 ways to foster an innovation culture

Good hints- available afterwards

50 Ways to Foster a Sustainable Culture of Innovation.docx

50 ways to foster an innovation culture

• Have more fun…

• Diverse teams…

• Question authority…

• Celebrate failures…

• Make new mistakes…

• Set aside more time for ideation..

• Action orientation to test ideas..

• Attacking costs solves nothing…

• Tolerate ambiguity…

• Fold your innovation resources into your business units …

• Take the risks OUT of bold ideas..

• Create a portfolio of ideas on different horizons…

• Be patient for growth, impatient for profit…

• Avoid analysis paralysis…

IT IS NOT LACK OF KNOWLEDGE ON WHAT TO DO THAT IS THE MAIN PROBLEM – IT IS LACK OF ABILITY TO IDENTIFY AND HANDLE

THE REAL HURDLES, THAT CAUSES THE “KNOWING –DOING GAP”

What is Culture?

Min

dse

ts

The Innovation Culture Game







The others around the table had so weird opinions and were hard to discuss with

Choose the discussion partners with care so they agree from the start

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

Hand in your comments sheets afterwards

Go to Step 1

Go to Step 2

Go to Step 3

Go to Step 4


Game over!Main learnings?

Background to the Mindset Cards

Background and comments - available afterwards

Comments to the Mindset Cards.docx

The Takeaways from this Workshop

• You have compared Your mindsets with others

• You have started to learn to make mindsets visible and thereby changeable

• You have discussed some of the hinders in applying or changing these mindsets

• You now can apply this back home in your company on Monday morning– You get all the tools in digital form

– You get comments to all mindsets

– You get the “50 ways to foster….”

Thank You!

Templates for comments to Mindset Cards

2a. Easy to agree upon a YES statements2b. Easy to agree upon a NO statements3. Hard to agree upon statements4. Impossible to agree upon statements

Step 2a. Easy-to-agree-upon a Yes Mindset CardsMindsetNumber

As it was easy to agree upon a YES, this mindset should already be dominant in our companies – but is it? YES or NO? Choose side of your Voting Card first and then show it to all later. Discuss the result and take notes.

b) If the answer was mostly NO to the question left – why hasn’t the mindset already beenimplemented in your company?







Step 2b. Easy-to-agree-upon a No Mindset CardsMindsetNumber

If it was easy to agree upon a NO this should not exist in our companies – but does it still exist YES or NO? Choose your Voting Card first and then show it to all later. Discuss the results and take notes

If the answer was mostly YES to the question left– why does the mindset still exist in your company?







Step 3. Hard-to-agree-upon Mindset CardsMindsetNumber

a) If it was so hard to agree upon – what made you finally agree and what did you agree upon? A YES or a NO?

b) What are the learnings for the implementation process of this mindset in a company?

Step 3. Hard-to-agree-upon Mindset CardsMindsetNumber

a) If it was so hard to agree upon – what made you finally agree and what did you agree upon? A YES or a NO?

b) What are the learnings for the implementation process of this mindset in a company?

Step 4. Impossible-to-agree-upon Mindset CardsMindsetNumber

a) If it was impossible to agree upon – why did not you agree at all?

b) What are the learnings for the implementation process of this mindset in a company – if it shall be implemented at all?

Step 4. Impossible-to-agree-upon Mindset CardsMindsetNumber

a) If it was impossible to agree upon – why did not you agree at all?

b) What are the learnings for the implementation process of this mindset in a company – if it shall be implemented at all?

N.B. Print this file in 1) “Scale to fit paper” 2) “Colour” and 3) “Duplex - Open to left”

1

2

3

1

2 3

1.Only searching outside

the organization gives us access to the best ideas

2.The stage gate process is

adequate for most innovations

4. Failures are considered bad whatever size they

have

7.Innovation is everybody’s

task

3.Competition within a company always gives

better result than collaboration

10.Innovation is a word

understood in the same way within the company

5.To have one (1) common process for all projects is

advantageous for efficiency

8.It is better to ask for forgiveness than for

permission

11.Innovation is on the Top 3 list of Top Management

priorities

6.Mature companies should mainly focus on efficiency(Efficiency = do things right)

(Effectiveness = do right things)

9.Flexibility is more

important than Standard Operating Procedures

12.Customer Insight should lead all our innovation

efforts

Mindset Card 3 Mindset Card 2

Mindset Card 6

Mindset Card 9

Mindset Card 1

Mindset Card 12

Mindset Card 5

Mindset Card 8

Mindset Card 11

Mindset Card 4

Mindset Card 7

Mindset Card 10

13.There is lack of good ideas in the company

14.We lack sufficient ability

to commercialize new and unproven products or

services

16.Innovation is a lean, linear

and predictable process

19.The bonus system used only favor short term

gains

15.Allowing for failures is a

prerequisite for true innovation

22.We need a narrow focus

to have the necessary cutting edge performance

17.Innovation cannot be

controlled

20.Potentially radical

innovations are impossible to launch within current sales

organizations

23.Best Practice, Listening to

Customer’s voice and Core Competence are our main pillars for innovation

18.The biggest hurdle to real

innovation lies within middle management

21.Culture is heavily

influenced by the leaders within a company

24.Culture within a company

cannot be changed without drastic action


Mindset Card 18

Mindset Card 21

Mindset Card 13

Mindset Card 24

Mindset Card 17

Mindset Card 20

Mindset Card 23

Mindset Card 16

Mindset Card 19

Mindset Card 22

25.Risk control is vital at an

early stage

26.Businesses that can not be proven financially OK at an early stage, should not be further evaluated

28.Development is more

important than change itself

31.A proper innovation

strategy is key to make sure innovation is adding

long term value to the business

27.Technical superiority is more important than market need in new

offerings

34.All units within a

company must be devoted towards

breakthrough innovation

29.Bottom-up driven culture

initiatives are more important than top-down

driven initiatives

32.In order to be fast to the market with new things you have to work within

small units

35.All units within a company must

understand innovation

30.Company values are crucial for creating a

company culture

33.Having incubators is the

only way to get breakthrough innovation

in mature companies

36.


Mindset Card 30

Mindset Card 33

Mindset Card 25

Mindset Card 36

Mindset Card 29

Mindset Card 32

Mindset Card 35

Mindset Card 28

Mindset Card 31

Mindset Card 34

NO, I disagree

NO, I disagree

NO, I disagree

NO, I disagree

NO, I disagree

NO, I disagree

NO, I disagree

NO, I disagree

NO, I disagree

NO, I disagree

NO, I disagree

NO, I disagree

NO, I disagree

NO, I disagree

NO, I disagree

YES, I agree

YES, I agree

YES, I agree

YES, I agree

YES, I agree

YES, I agree

YES, I agree

YES, I agree

YES, I agree

YES, I agree

YES, I agree

YES, I agree

YES, I agree

YES, I agree

YES, I agree

Step 1 - 45 minsWhat mindsets belong to a good innovation culture?1. Everybody in the group picks up a Voting Card 2. One in the group reads a Mindset Card for the rest in the group3. Everybody make up their minds for themselves to agree (YES) or to

disagree (NO) with the statement on the card4. When everybody is ready – you show the side of the Voting Card, you

already have decided upon, for the others5. Explain your views and try to agree on a common YES or NO6. Move your card to the correct place below depending on how easy it was

to agree – if you agreed at all7. If you have not done all the cards after 45 mins – stop where you are

anyway

NOVoting Cards

Mindset Cards

Easy-To-Agree-Upona NO

Mindset Cards

Hard-to-agree-upona YES or a NOMindset Cards

Easy Hard/Impossible

Step 2 – 40 minsDiscuss the Easy-to-agree-upon cards1. Take the Mindset Cards that were Easy-to-agree-upon and write down on

the template which Mindsets that were a YES and which were a NO 2. Answer the following questions

a) If it was easy to agree upon a YES, this mindset should already be dominant in our companies – but is it? YES or NO? Choose side of your Voting Card first and then show it to all later. Discuss the result and take notes

b) If it was easy to agree upon a NO this should not exist in our companies – but does it still exist YES or NO? Choose your Voting Card first and then show it to all later. Discuss the results and take notes

Step 3 – 20 minsDiscuss the Hard-to-agree-upon cards1. Take the Mindset Cards that were Hard-to-agree-upon and write down

who they were on the template2. Answer the following questions

a) What made you finally agree and what did you agree upon? b) What are the learnings for the implementation process of this

mindset in a company? Discuss the results and take notes

Step 4 – 10 minsDiscuss the Impossible-to-agree-upon cards1. Take the Mindset Cards that were Impossible-to-agree-upon and write

down who they were on the template2. Answer the following questions

a) Why did you not agree at all? b) What are the learnings for the implementation process of this

mindset in a company? Discuss the results and take notes

Easy-To-Agree-Upona YES

Mindset Cards

Impossible -to-agree-upon

a YES or a NOMindset Cards

by