All too often, corporate approaches to innovation focus solely and simplistically on new technology—at the expense of other important ingredients

At the expense of developing the organization, corporate approaches to business and society required for anything new to be implemented, monetized and adopted.

By Ana Andjelic for AdAge

photo:  i-stock

Alan Turing, WWII-code-breaker and precursor of artificial intelligence, is the new face of the UK’s 50-pound “note” (bill). The entire thing is noteworthy, but most captivating are Turing’s words inscribed on the note: “this is only a foretaste of what is to come and only the shadow of what’s going to be.” This is true in any moment of rapid change.

Since 1952, when the photo of Turing on the note was taken, the use of the term “innovation” skyrocketed. Companies across all industries became simultaneously obsessed with innovation and unclear what to do about it. A Google search of “innovation” comes up with more than 3 billion results. There are countless attempts to create innovation labs, install chief innovation officers and hire external innovation consultants.

But labs wither away, innovation officers leave and consultants’ recommendations are eventually dismissed.

Most of the time, the definition is lacking. According to dictionaries, innovation is “the action or process of innovating” (thanks). The executive mandates are still not clear. The role descriptions are vague. The process and the practice are isolated. Too often, the corporate approach to innovation focuses simplistically on advances in technology—at the expense of developing the organization, business and society required for anything new to be implemented, monetized and adopted.

A more comprehensive approach to innovation would ask companies to: a) define the role of a particular innovation, initiative or practice in driving the business and brand forward (strategy); b) explore how to use it to convey the brand message and deliver a great experience (creative); and c) to define the plan, processes and methodologies needed to implement it successfully (operations).

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