The profile of innovation potential is a customized overview of possible innovations offered by the changing technological landscape. This is one of the most creative and challenging tasks facing managers. Profiles will vary according to the scope of the technological playing field that management’s wish to explore. Bold strategic strategic thinking will require a view of the technological playing field that is panoramic and long-term – managers may wish to radar 360 degrees. Incremental strategic thinking will require a more modest view – 30 degrees or even 3.
The customized overview must be comprehensive, coherent and concise. This is not a phenomenon that has received much attention in the academic literature. It has probably not even been named. For instance we cannot find an appropriate single term in English to express the concept of “customized overview”. In the Germanic and Nordic linguistic traditions it is a known construct. In German it is called an “überblick”, in Norwegian an “overblikk”.
To compile an overview managers need a skill-set consisting of three items:
- Mindset
- Map
- Metrics
The mindset is described by the acronym ACE: (i) Anticipatory, (ii) Comprehensive, (iii) Engaged.The format for the map has been discussed before and is based on the functionality grid. The metrics involved have also been discussed before – techno-trends based on FPMs.
The ACE mindset is absolutely crucial. Not only is the technological landscape imperfectly mapped, but it consists of technologies at different levels of readiness – mature, emerging, and latent. Managers must have the flair to explore this bewildering array, and the resilience to articulate convincingly the insights gained.
In the next post we discuss how to proceed from a profile of possible innovations to a “hotlist” of preferred projects.
Copyright: Rias J. van Wyk, 2009