Innovation Strategy - Building the Future
A Breakthrough Innovation Strategy for organisations who have complex situations of change
Building the Future is a service I created to help CTOs in larger technology-intensity (over £250m revenue) who want renewed innovation plans and a clear innovation strategy.
It's designed for those who have the ambition to create more impact for their innovation activity and build something new. Being seen as a top innovator in your field is important to you.
Building the Future will help you to make better, faster and less risky innovation decisions using rigorous demonstrated research-based methods and a breakthrough innovation strategy.
Where would you use Building the Future?
Your established UK and European-based company, probably with international reach, may have become out of tune with your markets. New technologies, digitalisation and sustainability transitions are imperative for tapping into the hidden innovation goldmine. We work with senior business and innovation leaders in central R&D, innovation and new technology groups. Practically, this means working collaboratively across business units through tailored workshops - online or in person.
When would you use Building the Future?
Building the Future is an Innovation Strategy for when you face a significant new imperative and need a wide-reaching plan for a response. You may have a radical growth agenda seeking new markets, products or solutions. Or you may be getting ready for significant disruption. Innovations may rely on technology as a response to competitive change. Part of the problem is internal, market and technological complexity. You need to build solid reasoning behind your technology investments and create buy-in with investors and stakeholders.
What approach does Building the Future follow?
We create a tangible plan for an innovation or technology strategy that sets you and the organisation up for a positive future. We work with you to define the motivation and the playing field; the topic, the objective and the reach. Then you select and prepare your team for a creative workshop and harness their initial ideas. We can access subject matter expertise when you need new and frame-breaking insights through our trusted network.
Based on your situation, we design a tailored innovation toolbox and facilitate multi-day workshops – Face to Face or Online – to identify the connection between technology, strategic needs and innovative value creation. We work with you in the run-up to the workshops to identify and engage the right participants in your strategy. The workshops are both creative and help you make decisions based on priorities that emerge leading to breakthrough opportunities.
For a rigorous innovation strategy, you need to dive deeper and identify your approach to the acquisition or development of technologies and capabilities. We provide the templates and facilitate the workshop process.
But then you have to communicate your plans to gain buy-in and secure resources and investment. We will write a management report in as much detail as you need with professional writers to tell a compelling narrative for investment.
How is Building the Future different?
How could you benefit from using the Building the Future Innovation strategy?
- Our approach includes world-leading research and best-in-class innovation management practice. We are business associates of IfM Engage at the Institute for Manufacturing at Cambridge University a world centre of excellence in innovation and technology strategy.
- Our team are experienced leaders from larger technology-intensive organisations and have a career in the development and application of technology and innovation strategy and transformation.
- It's rigorous. Careful design and use of the right innovation tool at the right time mean you get the detail to support investment decisions and help you to tell a better story.
- It's engaging. The process taps into the talent of your staff or community and can be enhanced with global subject-matter expertise. The new war for talent gives you a response to attract and retain good people.
- It's credible. The process is trusted by global organisations – commercial and public sector - in technology-intensive situations.
- It builds reputation making the organisation more attractive to investors and buyers. You widen your impact to be seen as a top innovation leader as a safe pair of hands in conditions of uncertainty.
How does Building the Future work?
Building the Future is a managed service for breakthrough innovation and technology strategy. Before the project starts, we need to get to the starting line. First, we will hold a strategy call where you outline your objectives and we provide options for achieving those. We'll also provide you with ways to influence others in the firm to secure an agreement to proceed. When you are happy, we will create a proposal along with terms and conditions detailing how the project will work. Then sign the proposal and we start.
In project scoping and detailed design, we build a tailored and engaging innovation process with you. The detail matters. We will specifically outline the approach and programme of work including the responsibilities and innovation tools to be used. We engage the right internal and external community, with your experts and potentially new experts bringing new knowledge. In the warm-up to workshops, we will set the scene with the participants with communication and provide them detailed instructions to prepare well.
In the workshops, we build your preliminary cases. We run the process designed together and facilitate the workshops with our expert facilitators. Each workshop is well structured with a clear objective and timetable. The workshops can be face-to-face, online or some blend to the convenience and situation of the firm. We typically conclude the workshops with a business case development or pitch for you to take forward. This is the foundation of your future.
Then you have to tell your story. After the workshops are complete we will transcribe all the materials produced in the workshop so all that hard work and thinking is secured. We will produce a management report, or in the case of public work, our professional report writers will produce a high-quality graphical report for publication. You can then deliver the plan that cuts through all the noise and be seen to deliver a credible solution to a tough challenge.
What will Building the Future give you?
There are several measures or outcomes you will be able to point to. We can show hard numbers such as the number of ideas, the impact of breakthrough priorities and the participant satisfaction scores. But there are the softer benefits; such as the good vibes and stories people tell over coffee that will spread through the organisation. But because we have worked on breakthrough ideas, you will be able to show the new revenue and profit flows in the months ahead. We can expect ROI from the process of 10-50x our fees. Our track record shows you can expect 9 out of 10 participants will give a 5* rating for delivery.
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Innovation Strategy: Client Success Stories
“I think you can reasonably claim that £100mpa of new products and services was identified by this process. I consider that to be a good return on investment. And we were also able to develop a rigorous process to develop business cases bound for our new digital innovation centre.”
Confidential Client CTO, International Systems Company
“The process allowed us to create a roadmap for new ingredients and identified several breakthrough products for us to invest in next year. Rob is a very capable facilitator, especially given the level of awareness in our specialist topic.”
Confidential Client VP R&D, International FMCG Company
Innovation-Success is associated with IfM Engage at the University of Cambridge, using the world-class Roadmapping methods of the Institute for Manufacturing.
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