How the Rules of Innovation Are Changing
Davos, Switzerland - Thelaunch this week of the
target=”_blank”>“GE Global Innovation Barometer”
at the World Economic Forum in Davos is shedding new light on the
way in which innovation can be a growth driver around the
world.
target=”_blank”>In a post on The Daily Beast
today, Beth Comstock, chief marketing officer and senior
vice president, GE, takes a closer look at the new attitudes
revealed in the report, which surveyed 1,000 business executives in
12 countries.
“Innovation in the 21st century requires a new blueprint,” she
writes, “one that topples the top-down approach and engenders
collaboration among companies, countries, and communities.”
“To help propel the world back to prosperity - and address the
challenges being discussed now at Davos - innovation must yield
purpose and profit…. Companies are moving beyond the old, closed
model of innovation in which they competed to churn out ‘the next
big thing.’ Three-quarters of executives said the way companies
innovate in the 21st century will be totally different than the way
they’ve innovated in the past.”
“Most important, the rules and expectations of innovation are
changing globally in three main ways,” she writes. First,
partnerships are moving to the forefront. Second, “individuals and
smaller enterprises can be just as important to the innovative
process as the big guys… So we’re learning to embrace creativity
wherever we find it.” And third “to effect change, finding
solutions that work at a local level is key.”
She also underscores that companies need to re-think innovation
in the context of “doing well by doing good,” as more than
three-quarters of the respondents said they believe the greatest
innovations of the 21st century will be those that address human
needs, such as improved health and environmental quality, better
energy security and increased access to education.
To help shed light on the opportunities - and the roadblocks -
GE released a first-of-its-kind report today based on an
independent survey of 1,000 business executives in 12 countries.
The “GE Global Innovation Barometer” found that 95 percent of
respondents believe innovation is the main lever for a more
competitive national economy.
But just how to accomplish that will take a uniquely 21st
century path, as respondents are prioritizing technology that
addresses local needs; looking for innovation from smaller
organizations; and pursuing strategic partnerships to make tangible
innovation happen. All of these areas are converging as problems
are now bigger - which involves a wider system of players.
The study illustrates that the rules
around innovation are changing. Companies must “embrace a new
innovation paradigm that promotes collaboration between all players
- big, small, public, and private - fosters creativity, and
emphasizes solutions that meet local needs.”
Comstock
target=”_blank”>added that the results reveal that “the new
face of innovation” has shifted from “innovations that
simply make money to innovations that also create good in people’s
lives.”
In the survey, more than three-quarters of executives (77%) said
they believe the greatest innovations of the 21st century will be
those that help address human needs, such as improving health
quality or enhancing energy security, more than those that simply
create the most profit. They believed innovation would be a
catalyst for improving multiple areas of citizens’ lives in the
next 10 years, including health quality (87%), environmental
quality (85%), energy security (82%), and access to education
(81%).
target=”_blank”>
Click to enlarge the top line look at the data in this
infographic.
The survey also found that there is a focus on new players when
it comes to innovating, with 75 percent of respondents saying that
the way companies innovate in the 21st century will be “totally
different” than the way they innovated in the past. The same
percentage said that more than ever, individuals and small- to
mid-size enterprises (SMEs) will be as innovative as large
companies.
At the same time, 76 percent of executives said that innovation
must be tailored to local market needs.
target=”_blank”>
Click to enlarge: At GE, l
target=”_blank”>ocal technology can be seen in “reverse
innovation” strategies currently playing out in key
markets such as China and India, both of which have major GE
R&D centers.
In terms of collaborations, 86 percent said that 21st century
innovation is about partnerships between several entities as
opposed to the success of a single organization.
target=”_blank”>
Click to enlarge: The focus on partnerships at GE can be seen in
the
target=”_blank”>$200 million open innovation ecomagination
Challenge, which just started its second phase. It’s
open to anyone with an innovative idea - with some of the best ones
receiving venture capital investments or R&D help to bring
their solutions to market on a global scale.
See the
target=”_blank”>full survey results
Source: www.gereports.com
