INNOVATION OPTIMIZER

Any successful business will agree that innovation is a significant key to success. However, often it is easier said than done. While companies strive to be creative as part of their growth strategy, the word ‘innovation’, According to Pierre Cléroux, Vice-President of the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) is rarely used.

“Yet entrepreneurs rarely use the word ‘innovation,’ even if they are excellent innovators.”

Instead, entrepreneurs prefer focus on improving product development, improve functionality, better processes, improved marketing techniques, etc. In reality, it is not the terms that matter, but the process of developing a culture of innovation is what truly matters; moreover, it is essential, regardless of its size or sector of activity. There are necessary skills that must be mastered to develop a culture of innovation.

 

Some questions may arise, such as:

  • How can these essential skills be identified in the company?
  • How can they be measured?
  • And, if such skills are lacking, how can they be reinforced?

CREATING A CULTURE OF INNOVATION

Since 1996, CSI Diagnostics identified three essential capabilities that are common to all innovative companies:

1 – the capability to develop new products and services based on customer needs

2 – the capability to identify market opportunities

3 – the capability to leverage knowledge to the fullest

However, to identify and strengthen these essentials expertise’s, the company must take on the equally important challenge of “continuous learning”. This learning culture will constantly build up the three essential expertise that characterizes innovation. In other word, the company must create an innovation-driven culture.

WHAT IS MRI FOR INNOVATION?

Just as in the field of health, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) allows us to visualize the internal organs and tissues of the human body with great precision. CSI’s MRI for Innovation© module identifies the root causes that could limit a company’s capacity for innovation. The preferred method is a semi-automated survey administered online to all stakeholders.

The visual indicators on the dashboard present the information processed by the MRI for Innovation© module – accessible from a computer, a tablet or a mobile phone. Managers can then take advantage of the real, measured and quantified potential of innovation within their company and develop a long-term strategy.

Beyond the company, innovation encompasses the entire ecosystem

More and more innovations are ecosystemic, says the Business Harvard Review. Different players, not belonging to the same industry and not working together, combine their actions to provide a coherent solution to an end customer.

That is why CSI never studies a company in isolation but always considers the company in its ecosystem. This ecosystem consists of four target groups: customers, suppliers, employees and managers (see graph below). Therefore, the MRI for Innovation© module can produce a comprehensive mapping of the most varied perceptions of the level of innovation in your company and its growth potential.

INNOVATION CENTRICITY