Management Topics Ready, Set, Innovate! by Josef Martens, PhD, CSP “I


f I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” Even though there


is no evidence for it, this quote is often attributed to Henry Ford. Regardless of who said it, it makes a great point about innovation: innovation is usually not a linear progression of where we are right now. During my keynote programs, I frequently use a chart that shows the number of horses and the number or cars in the US from 1870 to 1960. The chart will probably not surprise you. What goes less noticed in the chart is the time it took from the peak of the number of horses until the cars overtook the horses. That time was only 8 years - and this was 100 years ago.


Today disruptive innovation is not


that slow any more. Today, the same disruptive innovation can happen in months or even weeks. Is your company ready for it?


You have a choice to select among three approaches for innovation: opportunistic, conformist and non- conformist.


Opportunistic innovation means


to use the ideas that come up within our business and in the market. Many companies fall in this group. This is risky because you won’t drive the market. You can survive if your business - and your culture - is highly agile. Remember, you have to be ready to turn on a dime and change from breeding horses to servicing cars.


Conformist innovation can be


massive and disruptive, yet it largely stays within the parameters of how the market operates. It build on something that is already there. Uber (with a driver!) is an example for it: like in a taxi,


26 ❘ June 2019 ® If you’re on the fence about looking


for innovation, you may think that all you need to do is pay attention to what your competitors are doing. Hopefully, you can be a quick follower. Let me


Number of cars and horses in the US. Data source for horses: Historical Statistics of the United States, Census Bureau; for cars: Dept. of Transportation - Highway Administration


you’re still picked up by a car and driver, who takes you to your desired location. Uber did not come up with the idea of transporting people.


Non-conformist innovation is the


most disruptive form. It means breaking the paradigms of the market. It creates something completely new. Amazon is an example: you no longer need to go to a store for a lot of your shopping. The concept of doing your shopping (initially just the shopping for books, and then later the shopping for pretty much anything) can be done from your computer at home.


burst that bubble. Chances are you don’t know your competitor of the future.


The times when Macy’s and Sears knew they were each other’s competitors are over. Amazon came out of nowhere. The same potential for a ‘surprise competitor’ is in 3D printing vs. manufacturing companies, 5G networks vs. cable/optic network operators or Tesla’s1


car sharing plans vs. other mobility providers.


The only way to be ready for it, is to embark on your chosen route of innovation. The good news is that you don’t have to select just one of the three routes. You can choose multiple. The caveat is that you need to be well prepared: if you rely only on opportunistic, you need to instill the behaviors of risk-taking, improvisation


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