The Importance of Rediscovering the “Why” Behind Innovation
Maggie Buggie, Senior Vice President and Global Head of SAP Leonardo Services, SAP
Guido Schlief, Head of Digital Business Services and Senior Vice President of Middle & Eastern Europe, SAP
Artificial intelligence, machine learning, blockchain, Big Data, and the Internet of Things – these emerging digital technologies and many more may be capturing everyone’s attention, but they are also challenging the very DNA of traditional IT. In the past, businesses could, theoretically, still run without technology and viewed IT as an enabler of higher efficiency. However, this mindset is evolving as technology quickly becomes an inextricable element of today’s business model.
Think about it: What is left of the business when we take digital technologies and algorithms out of the business models of some of the world’s most innovative businesses? Nothing.
For many business leaders, innovation is the lens through which existing and future technology investments are assessed. This doesn’t necessarily mean that all innovations are equally impactful from the start. But it does empower businesses to rediscover the “why” behind their innovation concept to evolve it into a solution that brings the skills, digital capabilities, and outcomes necessary to succeed.
Lead innovation with purpose, not technology hot topics
Executives are facing tremendous pressure to break down and change the way business value is conceived, measured, and delivered – especially considering today’s fast-paced world of digital innovation. By embedding the latest technology throughout the business, leaders can take that critical first step towards building a sustainable competitive advantage.
But this is not where the innovation story begins. Understanding the “why” or the “purpose” of the innovation helps direct the investment of time, money, and resources into a value-adding sweet spot. Digital technologies should be used to build up a value proposition that addresses an important consumer, customer, or user need – something so essential that the solution itself becomes a natural part of everyday life at home and work.
Take, for example, the creation of a new business model. Central to every business model are customers’ experiences and needs for which a differentiated value proposition is designed. Evaluating the people, processes, technologies, and assets required to create that solution uncovers new opportunities to monetize skills and capabilities that deliver additional value and the profit model necessary to enhance the customer experience.
By embracing a human-centric view of innovation, businesses can drive change that addresses a specific operational, competitive, or market need – not a technology hot topic. Leadership teams that subscribe to this philosophy know how to put the right people, processes, networks, and digital capabilities in place to scale and deliver a well-run, value-add business model. When the right digital technologies are used the right way, scaling the business model can be incredibly fast and global.
Build the capability to compete tomorrow as an intelligent enterprise
The days of innovation processes curbed by a drawn-out, winding road of technology implementation and guesswork are long gone. And today’s marketing-leading competitors are proving why: Delivering innovations that wow customers and push the limits of their respective industries requires a deep understanding of the value of iterative experimentation and a purposeful, business-led cycle of open innovation.
The guiding principle for businesses through this journey is their unique purpose. With total visibility, clear focus, and strategic agility, these intelligent enterprises are achieving game-changing outcomes by empowering employees through process automation, responding to customer expectations proactively, and reinventing themselves continuously with new business models. More importantly, a balance between appreciation and wariness of edge technology allows them to innovate new possibilities at scale while evolving the workplace culture with new metrics and work practices – long before the first proof of concept is delivered.
Innovation is about learning, experimenting, and quickly applying what works to create possibilities through the intelligent use of edge technologies. The critical success factor is how what is learned is then scaled to deliver business impact.
Chief Technology Officer
5yCouldn't agree more! Your article is insightful and makes one think. Innovation for the sake of it, or just to cause some thing(s) to change is not innovation in the first place, if it had not defined the "Why" properly. Innovation is at times mistaken to be a short-cut; to be done as part of some race and in a hurry. I won't blame people who are always looking to reduce time to complete given task(s). To me, when measured against time, innovation should allow one to improve quality (reduce mistakes reported earlier, better if errors can be eradicated all together!) without adding unreasonable delays. And like time, there are many ways/scales to measure quality and effectiveness of the outcome of said innovation. Leadership can not expect a "One-time Silver-bullet" solution that will solve all problems at once; but pave way for more and adaptive innovative thinking in smaller aspects of business (including - Manufacturing line, Service process automation, Predictive service approach, Distribution strategy, Delivery methodology, IT Service enablement, and many more). Once the organization has found their "Why", the road and journey ahead becomes relatively more predictable. Thanks once again for your article!
chef lecturer at tresham
5yI apologise, my Dyslexia at times, lets me down. I spelt intelligent incorrectly.
chef lecturer at tresham
5yRead your article, it was both refreshing and insightful. the thought process hasn't changed it's the way it is delivered that is important, the article is succinct in that it gets to the very heart about what change is needed, gritty and intelleiegnt thank you really informative.
Principal @ Solutions For All net | Content Marketing & Retail
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