This document discusses sources of innovation and how to lead innovation. It identifies three sources of innovation: autonomous, systemic, and collaborative. Autonomous innovation can come from outside a company, systemic innovation results from a planned process within a company, and collaborative innovation occurs through group partnerships. The document also discusses impediments and enablers to innovation, including culture, technology, and measurements. It describes the phases of the innovation lifecycle and characteristics of innovative leaders and environments, including emphasizing learning over analysis, successive approximation, and making innovation central to organizational goals. Qualities of innovative people and key environmental factors that enable innovation are also outlined.

2. Sources and Process of Innovation
THOUGHTS ON INNOVATION – AS A CRITICAL PILLAR OF
STRATEGIC RENEWAL
If a company had only one competency ,it must be innovation. From a strategic perspective,
the speed of innovation, the effectiveness of innovation and the ability to innovate are,
perhaps, the only truly proprietary competitive weapons that an organization has.
THE SIX KEY ISSUES SURROUNDING INNOVATION
1. What is innovation?
2. What are the sources of innovation, and what are the relationships and interactions
among innovation, creativity and knowledge?
3. What makes innovation critical to strategic renewal of any organization?
4. What cultural traits and behaviours common to the high-performance companies set
them apart from those that lack the ability to innovate?
5. What leadership practices and management techniques are necessary to best position
companies for innovation and continuously encourage and nurture creativity?
6. What human characteristics are needed for creativity and innovation?
SOURCES OF INNOVATION
There are three sources of innovation:
1. Autonomous
 External or internal
 Incremental or discontinuous
 Can occur in a number of forms and often comes from outside the company/industry
(e.g. Post-It, Glide dental floss, Microsoft, Apple Computer)
2. Systemic
 Indigenous to an organization
 Results from a planned and formally managed process with anticipated
& monitored outcomes

3.  Entail complex organizational interactions and alignments of among a number of
factors
3. Collaborative
 Occurs at a group or inter-organizational level with a clear goal to engage in
innovation
 Supported by common interest and/or the need to share resources, risk, talent,
competencies
 Can lead to both incremental and discontinuous results.
IMPEDIMENTSTO INNOVATION
Many factors influence an organization’s ability to innovate. There are three common
impediments:
 Cultural & Organizational Learning Impediments
 Technology Impediments
 Measurement Impediments
IMPEDIMENTS ENABLERS
CULTURE  Strong commitment
to past practices
 Lack of institutional
priority.
 Lack of proper
incentives.
 Inappropriate people
 Poor physical
environment
 Energized and
electric workforce
 Institutional Passion
 Creative and
conducive physical
environment.
 High learning and
discovery
environment.
 Active knowledge
sharing.
TECHNOLOGY  Lack of appropriate
technology.
 Technology is
unproven or too
difficult to use.
 Technology can be
too threatening to the
establishment.
 High utility
technology.
 High ergonomics for
technology.
 Accessibility to
technology
 Encourage
experimentation.
MEASUREMENTS  Inappropriate or non
existent
measurements.
 Emphasize learning
and adaptation.

4.  Misplaced emphasis
on measurements.
 Too much reliance of
financial
measurements.
 Use multi factor
measurements
 Emphasize long term
results.
DYNAMICS OF INNOVATION
Although no single method or model can describe innovation and the particular innovative
processes, the general concept of innovation can be captured and studied based on a life-
cycle approach. This approach helps to understand the basic behavior and the large complex
innovation structure.
Three phases best describe the classic innovation lifecycle:
I. Fluid Phase
II. Transitional Phase
III. Specific Phase
LEADING INNOVATION
1. Innovation has been institutionalized as a way of life.
2. Leaderships foster innovation and build creative environments.
3. Hire, nurture and covet innovative people.
4. Recognize and reward creativity.
5. Are not tied to preconceived outcomes, nor attached to a
predetermined answer – they let answers and outcomes evolve.
Three Essential Conditions for High-Performance Innovation Strategy:
1. More emphasis on probing and learning as opposed to analysis.
2. Successive approximation – each time striving to come closer to a
Winning combination of product and market.
3. Strategically central to the needs and goals of the organization.
LEADING INNOVATION, CONTINUED

5. LEADING INNOVATION:HUMAN PERFORMANCE
 Innovative People Typically Share The Following Personal Qualities:
 Intrinsic motivation & conviction and passion for innovating
 Personal dominance and forcefulness of opinion & detached attitude in interpersonal
relations
 Expertise in the field
 Adept at change, risk-takers & high tolerance for ambiguity and uncertainty
 High propensity for perseverance under uncertainty
LEADING INNOVATION:HUMAN PERFORMANCE
 Drive to create more than improve
 Fresh perspectives on old problems
 Cope with several new ideas simultaneously
 Not methodical and systematic
 Not imposing strict order on matters within their control
 Dislike the protection of precise instructions
 Seek to bend or break the rules
 Risk doing things differently
 Can stand out in disagreement against a group
Innovation
Models &
Process
Leadership
Creativity
Environment
Human Environment

6.  Act without proper authority
LEADING INNOVATION:ENVIRONMENTALFACTORS
Three major factors are critical in creating an environment
conducive to innovation:
1. Open,active and direct communications
2. Reward and recognition systems
3. Fair performance evaluation
Other determining factors include:
 Value placed on innovation by the organization
 Sense of pride with respect to performance and accomplishments
 Emphasis on self- determinism and self- directedness
 Importance and complexity of work
Adaptive style work
incrementallyon problems using
established rules abd framework
Innovative styles are likely to
ignore established framework,
redefine and reframe the problem
and develop their own methods for
creativity and problem solving.