Innovation in Large Companies: Where are the Big Ideas?
Are you in a big company and continually hear the lament "We have lots of ideas, but where are the game changers?" See the graphic below from the 2010 McKinsey Innovation and Commercialization survey that states that 57% of respondents feel they need a more robust pipeline of big ideas (I will substitute "big ideas" with "game changers" - a common term I hear thrown around).
I suggest you ask the lamenter these questions:
- Are we a market leader in our industry?
- Do you judge success by revenue and EBIT growth?
- Are we, as a company, focused on operational excellence to increase our EBIT?
- Given your answer to the first three questions, can you honestly be surprised when your organization fails to product "game changers" that would likely disrupt your industry (potentially weakening your market position) and drop your revenues?
Some people love to drop the word "game changer", but fail to understand what it means. "Game Changer" by definition changes the game. If your business is winning the current game and your people are incented on their ability to win that game. Not surprisingly, they will likely not be willing to change the game.
Update: See a real world example of how Nokia management shied away from changing the game.
