Seymourpowell Associate Director Simon Rucker explores breakthrough innovation.

1. An inconvenient
truth about
transformational
innovation

2. “...if you want to innovate
something really transformational
you’d better be in an
organisation that’s designed to
support, not merely tolerate,
someone as challenging as
Steve Jobs, otherwise forget it.”
SIMON RUCKER
Head of Strategy at Seymourpowell
Reading Walter Issacson’s biography of Steve Jobs over I can’t help thinking that Steve Jobs, had he not sadly passed
Christmas I was struck by many things. But having finished away, could have turned his hand to many other things beyond
the book, what lingered was the realisation that if you want to the production of beguiling consumer electronics and digital
innovate something really transformational you’d better be in content. He might have applied his considerable talents to
an organisation that’s designed to support, not merely tolerate, household appliances, or FMCG, or cars – in fact any category
someone as challenging as Jobs, otherwise forget it. that exists in the intersection of technology and human needs.
I know that many of you reading that last sentence will have
automatically reached for your mental lexicon of modern
innovation thinking. “No Simon…”, you’ll be saying, “that’s not
how it works these days: it’s all about flat structures; empathy;
co-creation…” – you know the stuff.
But are you sure? It may make the process more pleasant, more whilst this modern work culture
fun, but I also think it’s a recipe for being an innovation also-ran.
And before I get a torrent of success stories to show me how
supports the gentle evolution of
wrong I am – the results of ‘nice’ innovation processes – I’m not the status quo... it stifles the
talking about incremental stuff; I’m talking about the sort of big,
bold, necessary innovations that issues around globalisation necessary disruption of
and sustainability are demanding from us now. I struggle to think
of any examples that were engendered by fairness, politeness
transformational innovation.
and generally getting along with everybody.
Confidential. © Seymour Powell Limited, 2012. All rights reserved.

3. Ironically anybody in charge of innovation in these areas always
seems to kick-off an initiative with a variation on: “We want to
be the Apple/ iPod/ iPhone of xxx”. But whenever I hear people
invoking the spirit of Apple, it always brings to mind the Irish joke,
“well, if that’s where you want to go, I wouldn’t start from here…”
...the lack of a singular, visionary
The reality is that neither Jobs’ uncompromising management
style, nor the sort of unconventional processes he used at
and frankly autocratic someone in
Apple to re-define the music, personal computer and phone charge is one of the biggest
industries would survive long in most organisations today, let
alone receive the sort of support that would allow them to thrive. reasons why transformational
But why? initiatives lose focus...
I think the reason can be found in the cultures that predominate
in big organisations. The last 30 years have been pretty good
to them. The recipe for success during that period consisted The resulting processes, perspectives and values (all articulated
in most cases of maintaining a status quo in the face of and reinforced by generous helpings of management theory)
manageable and predictable change. Not surprisingly those have become deeply embedded in our understanding of how
organisations have been structured, staffed and run with work should be. Innovation practice (and theory), being a subset
stability, efficiency and (gradual) optimisation in mind, though of that, has been similarly influenced. But whilst this modern
the latter has always been shot through with a large amount of work culture supports the gentle evolution of the status quo
risk aversion. and makes organisations nicer, more efficient places to work, it
stifles the necessary disruption of transformational innovation.
The fact is that even with the challenges of accelerating and
increasingly unpredictable change, many organisations still
have too much to lose to let the necessary flux, dissent and
...we realise that the process dangerous ideas of the transformational innovation process
loose. And for those organisations whose core businesses are
of getting to the best answer, unwell – think Sony, or indeed any of Japan’s major electronics
decision or solution is painful. groups; think the music industry; think Motorola – even they
can’t seem to take their medicine.
It requires a robust constitution I think the pervasiveness of the nicely-nicely work culture has
and thick skin; a belief in a lot to do with it. And similarly, it acts to slow and obfuscate
the transformational innovation process because it thinks
something bigger... work should be fun, inclusive and nice. It recoils at the difficult
situations, demands and emotions that it throws up.
Confidential. © Seymour Powell Limited, 2012. All rights reserved.

4. We have a saying in my team (a paraphrase of a slogan most the biggest reasons why transformational initiatives lose focus,
recently used by the Conservative party in the UK), “Yes it hurts. become lowest, rather than highest, common denominator and
Yes it works!” It means that we realise that the process of getting ultimately founder. But the fact is, today’s nicely-nicely work
to the best answer, decision or solution is painful. It requires a culture reacts to people like Mr Jobs the same way a healthy
robust constitution and thick skin; a belief in something bigger body’s immune system does with foreign bodies or pathogens.
than simply a desire to climb the greasy pole/ make a quick It neutralises or drives them out.
buck/ just be seen to do something; and dogged persistence
Steve Jobs clearly wasn’t the easiest of people to work with. But
(Edison always said that it was 1% inspiration and 99%
he was the sort of brilliant, visionary, entrepreneurial individual
perspiration).
organisations need, now more than ever.
In fact there is a lot of similarity between Messrs Jobs and
The real challenge for organisations trying to innovate
Edison (one of the most prolific innovators ever). Some of the
transformationally is not about having better insights, or IP; it’s
latter’s less well-known characteristics included insisting on
providing the type of structure, resources, governance and
having the final say, ruthlessly taking credit for and ownership
culture that actually enable the Jobses of the world to do what
of other people’s work and regularly driving his Menlo Park
they’re great at. And that is a transformation that most modern
employees to breaking point. In other words, he was also a
organisations are seemingly unable to make.
‘challenging personality’, albeit an extremely charismatic one. It
probably helped that he was the boss. Sound familiar?
I’ve been advising organisations on transformational innovation To find out more please contact
for a decade now and in my opinion, the lack of a singular, Tim Duncan - tim.duncan@seymourpowell.com
visionary and frankly autocratic someone in charge is one of
Confidential. © Seymour Powell Limited, 2012. All rights reserved.