The document summarizes key learnings from interviews with executives from innovative companies like Google, Philips, and Diageo about how to foster innovation. Some of the main points are: most successful innovations come from exploring small ideas rather than focusing on big ideas; innovative companies encourage innovation from all employees, not just those in certain roles; transformational innovators focus first on creating a great product rather than making a strong business case; innovation takes 3-5 years to gain traction in markets and requires significant time, resources, and determination; and innovative companies make trying new things the default rather than waiting or striving for perfection.

1. Have you ever wondered how the best companies
in the world constantly innovate?
We did.
So we decided to ask executives, innovation
directors and product managers at companies
including Google, Philips, British Gas, Dell, Mars
and Diageo.
Here’s what we learned!
? Innovation:
IT’S NOT ABOUT THE BIG IDEA
PUT THE BEST PLAYERS IN THE GAME
The most successful innovations don’t come
from “the Big Idea” but from a small idea
that starts the exploration process. Many
innovations begin by trying to solve an
individual problem and then expanding the
solution in adjacent areas.
Innovative companies don’t hold back
“important” employees to take care of the
most profitable or “real” work. They challenge
everyone to have innovation accountability
and highlight its importance across all levels
of the organisation – from CEO to production
line staff.
DON’T FOCUS ON THE BUSINESS CASE
Transformational innovators don’t worry about
making a business case for their innovations at
the beginning. Their primary focus is on creating a
great product or service that is significantly better
than the existing solutions. This must be the first
goal because making the business case for taking
a mediocre solution to a huge market ends up to
being nothing more than a corporate hallucination.
INNOVATION TAKES TIME & HARD WORK
Most new innovations can take 3-5 years to gain
real traction in the market. It’s not as easy as
having the “Big Launch” and everything auto-
magically falling into place. Innovation takes time,
resources, planning, sales, marketing, distribution,
ambition, teamwork and determination.
what works
what doesn’t
MAKE ACTION YOUR DEFAULT SETTING
You can’t wait to innovate. If you do there are
other innovators out there ready to jump over you.
The top companies make innovation action their
default setting. They take informed risks and
encourage everyone to get good then get better,
not strive for perfection to the point of paralysis.
Innovative companies take each failure in stride
as a lesson learned and use every lesson to move
forward faster.
Smallfry Industrial Design
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