|
 The
innovation process requires organisations to commit considerable time
and resources to the achievement of long-term objectives. Innovation
will inevitably carry risks, two of the biggest being the backing of
ideas which lack commercial viability and not having sufficient resources
to see the project through to completion.
These risks can be mitigated by assigning roles within the organisation
to manage different aspects of the innovation process. Roberts and Fusfield(1)
came up with five roles required for innovation in technology based
organisations and these are covered below, together with some suggestions
as to how these roles may be handled in small organisations.
1. Idea generators
This category includes both inventors who come up with original ideas,
and innovators, who develop the idea into something more tangible. Remember
innovation can come from marketing departments as well as research labs.
| Characteristics |
Inventors
tend to be mavericks, often not fitting easily into a corporate
environment. They will be imaginative and practical, ruled by intrinsic
rather than extrinsic motivation. |
| Contributions |
High quality,
original ideas |
| Rewards |
Status and
peer recognition, the opportunity to write papers and give presentations
at conferences. |
2.
Gatekeepers
The gatekeeper’s role is to determine which ideas are both commercially
viable and also fit in with the company’s long term objectives.
They will play a key role in determining where the organisations resources
are to be invested.
| Characteristics |
Gatekeepers
will identify strongly with the organisation’s goals. Good
gatekeepers will understand their crucial role in picking winners,
bad ones will tend to become blockers.They will be excellent communicators. |
| Contributions |
Strong technical
and market knowledge. |
| Rewards |
Acknowledgement
of role, increased independence. |
3.
Entrepreneurs/champions
Innovation projects will need backing from senior management to provide
human, capital and financial resources, in order to turn innovative
ideas into marketable products or services. Entrepreneurs will need
a combination of bravery to swim against the tide, vision and realism.
| Characteristics |
Entrepreneurs
will be achievement oriented, opportunistic and used to handling
high levels of risk. |
| Contributions |
Making new
things happen, drive, financial resources |
| Rewards |
Making new
funds available, high financial returns |
4.
Sponsors/coaches
To ensure that the process works as effectively as possible, the sponsor/coach
will be responsible for helping the team to overcome problems.
| Characteristics |
Independent,
high levels of experience which implies a respect for his/her views.She/he
will need excellent communication skills, both to challenge the
innovators deeply held visions and also to represent the ideas to
senior management. |
| Contributions: |
Seeing that
the project is carried through |
| Rewards:
|
Seeing that
the project is properly resourced. |
5.
Project leaders
These will be the people who actually make the thing happen. More down
to earth than other members of the innovation team, the project leader
will focus on delivery.
| Characteristics |
Good
man-management skills and the capabilities required to see the project
through. Good team players |
| Contributions |
Meet deadlines |
| Rewards |
Peer recognition,
increased status,roles
in future projects. |
Innovation roles in SMEs
Whilst large corporates will have specific individuals assigned to each
of the above roles, a 10 person SME is unlikely to be able to find enough
individuals with the right capabilities to fill all these roles. The
following are a few suggestions for facilitating innovation roles in
small organisations
- Often
the project leaders will be part of the management team – the
inventor, entrepreneur and project leader may well be the same person.
Here, the role of an independently-minded gatekeeper is even more
crucial. He/she may require the position of chairman or non-executive
director to balance that of the founder/inventor/CEO.
-
Use of processes - however informal. For example, the gatekeeper role
could be undertaken by a periodical team meetings which follow pre-agreed
guidelines to determine which projects the company will take forward.
-
Mentors may play the role of coach, providing experience otherwise
unavailable to start-ups. These
are usually available through the regional development agencies' Enterprise
Hub Networks.
- Use of innovation
techniques. For example, the 'Disney Strategy', whereby individuals
take on the roles of dreamer, critic and realist to approach issues
from a variety of angles.
- Partnering.
The team may come to the conclusion that there are going to be elements
of the process beyond the orgsanisations capabilties and thus partnering
could be a useful alternative. This could mean assigning part of the
R&D process to a university, contracting aspects of develoment
to specialist companies, or even licensing the technology to an established
player.
For further information,
including over a hundred techniques for creativity and innovation, please
contact Chris Budleigh at Chris@psi-ense.co.uk
(1) Roberts, E.B.,
& Fusfield, A.R. (1981). Staffing the innovative technology-based
organization. Sloan Management Review, 22: 19-34 |
