In politics, society and business it is becoming increasingly clear that innovation is the only thing that can ensure the type of prosperity that we have enjoyed in the West. In many places, however, this often leads to an increase in innovation becoming the actual objective. Very few ask the question which innovations and, more importantly, how many of these innovations are truly beneficial for real-life applications. It comes as no surprise, then, that in a recent study 30% of the participants expressed serious doubts about their portfolio of innovation. It is very important that innovations are handled properly. But innovation efficiency is not enough. Coherence is vital. On the one hand, that means coherence between company strategy and innovation – also known as innovation logic. On the other hand, it is important to maintain coherence between that innovation logic and the processes of innovation behind it.
When effective innovation is accompanied by the efficient implementation of initiatives that complement the strategic alignment of the company, then you have reached what IMP calls "Innovation Excellence". At this point the chances are good that even a small budget can produce useful ideas, and that these ideas can be transformed into real value not only for customers and but also for the strategic advancement of the company.
An invention is only innovative if it provides customers with added value. This happens when an existing need – also referred to as a customer problem that does not change regardless of the solution – is satisfied in a new way or a completely new need is created and then satisfied by either an existing solution or a new solution. When that happens, a company does not need to worry about growth and added value. They are at once the results and the testing grounds for the usefulness of innovations.
In addition to the classic fields of product, services or process innovation, we see all of the dimensions of a specific business logic – e.g. services logic, added value logic, sales and marketing logic, revenue logic – as relevant fields that must be consistent with the overall corporate strategy and its aligned innovation logic. |
The Innovation Factor 
