Don’t go chasing the rainbow of “innovation”

It seems like in today’s world, you blink, you lose. With the advancement of technology, average business life span has significantly reduced. Disruptive players are leap-frogging incumbents in all industries. Changes are imminent and happening at an accelerated speed. As traditional industries continue to be disrupted at lightning speed, the topic of innovation and reinvention is in the forefront of every CEO's mind. Whether the focus is new products, new customers, new operating models, businesses today are faced with a new reality: reinvent or perish.

Having worked with a myriad of leaders and organizations over the last decade, we believe that the reputation that incumbents get for resisting change is a fallacy. It is understood, by now, that change is the only way to stay relevant. However, how we go about driving change and innovation is still a nascent practice. Far too often, we see great intentions end up being a mirage of “optical innovations” with results that fall short of the illusory promise. Value is acquired and then squandered or destroyed. Top-level talent hired and then lost (metaphorically and literally) in a rudderless ship. Organizations being thrust into a state of shock and panic by leaders struggling to know how to lead in an uncertain, dynamic, and ever-changing environment.

Be aware of what you are chasing. Just like chasing “happiness” does not make you happier, chasing innovation does not make a company more innovative. Innovations are the results of the causes and conditions thoughtfully put in place and lovingly nurtured.

Leaders need to be willing to disrupt themselves in service of leading their team through the frontier of change. Leaders who meet changes with a beginner's mind, view them as learning opportunities (rather than threats) can – and often will – succeed.
True transformation take patience, faith, and commitment. It needs prime conditions to take root—time, space, and care. It also takes a defined strategy that aligned leadership with the organization mindset and processes. Most of all, it takes the willingness to "unlearn" the deeply held beliefs of what drove success to date.
What (and how) you measure matters. To successfully steer an organization through a transformation, it requires leaders to look at their business through a fundamentally different lens, moving from balance sheets and income statements (although they are important) to ‘impact’ statements, from KPIs to KCIs (Key Change indicators), from lagging indicators (sales and financials) to leading indicators.

The optional illusion of the rainbow is luring. Focusing on the fundamentals is what will get you to the pot of gold!

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At MKMB, we guide leaders through a holistic process to shift the operating system of their business and organization – in order to create optimal conditions for reinvention and transformation. We partner both with organizations in midst of going through transformation and with those standing on the precipice cautiously determining how to begin the journey.

Going through a transformation? Inspired to begin?

Let's start a conversation - hsiangyi@mkmbgroup.com