Using Disruption to Your Advantage

From the Havard Business Review...

Innovation is not an option today. The HBS executive programs on jumpstarting innovation that I chair for executives in large firms and owners of small to midsize businesses are all oversubscribed. This interest in innovation is confirmed by an IBM study in 2006 that asked over 750 CEOs of the world's largest and most respected firms, "What's the extent of change that you need to make in the next 2 years?"

The answer surprised them. They knew that innovation was important, but 65 percent of the CEOs said they were planning significant change over the next 2 years, and another 22 percent said they planned to implement moderate change. More importantly, when the CEOs were asked "What's your past level of success in managing significant change?" only 15 percent said they had been "very successful." Another 15 percent said they had had "little or no success."

Clearly, jumpstarting innovation is a critical business imperative. Executives realize that radical change is needed, and they do not feel equipped to make those changes.

Disruptive change as a source of innovation

Why do we see this increasing interest? One of the things we know is that the interest in innovation is being spurred by radical change and disruption that is going on in the business environment. Indeed, almost 50 percent of the CEOs surveyed in the IBM study said the source of innovation was from changes in the business environment. Less than 20 percent reported that innovation came from internal R&D.