Batten Briefing: The Hot Pursuit of Innovation

BAT TEN BR IEFI N G INSPIRING THE WORLD THROUGH ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INNOVATION

JUL 2015

The Hot Pursuit of Innovation:

LEVERAGING LEARNING, DIVERSITY AND COLLABORATION INNOVATORS' ROUNDTABLE, SPRING 2015. CHARLOTTESVILLE, VIRGINIA.

By Malgorzata "Gosia" Glinska Senior Researcher, Batten Institute glinskam@darden.virginia.edu

A

s if innovation weren’t hard enough already, companies now face the challenge to deliver nothing short of “magic.”

According to a recent report on trends in design and innovation from Accenture,

increasingly sophisticated consumers expect “magical” digital services that delight them by guessing their intent before they click a button. That’s what companies need to conjure in order to differentiate themselves from the competition.2

A new IBM study of over 1,000 global executives revealed that

business leaders in outperforming companies are

With the bar for innovation rising higher and higher, it’s no wonder that companies in

all industries are scrambling to unlock new possibilities that result in enchanting products, services, and customer experiences. But in doing so, it’s crucial to keep in mind that the capacity for innovation is built on multiple competences.

This year, executives from Capital One, Celgene, Clorox, Corning, Disney, Eastman more likely to provide a clear direction for innovation than leaders in underperforming organizations.1

and IBM explored several fundamental pieces of the innovation puzzle during the

spring 2015 gathering of the Innovators’ Roundtable—an initiative of Darden’s Batten Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

This Batten Briefing expands on the themes that emerged during the Roundtable

discussions. The first part examines the importance of creating a workplace culture

and processes that enable continuous, rapid learning, which underlies innovation. The second section explores why leaders need to recognize the ability to leverage diversity 1

Ikeda, Kazuaki, et al. "More than Magic: How the Most

Successful Organizations Innovate." IBM Corporation, 2015. 2

2015 Annual Trends report from Accenture, “Trends

Impacting Design & Innovation.” http://www.accenture. com/SiteCollectionDocuments/us-en/accenture-fjordtrends-2015.pdf.

INNOVATORS' ROUNDTABLE REPORT

as a critical skill that can drive innovation in a global business environment. The final

part of the Briefing offers insights into how business leaders can harness the power of informal employee networks to make collaboration efficient and fruitful.

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Batten Briefing: The Hot Pursuit of Innovation

Published on Jul 14, 2015

BattenInstitute

This year, executives from Capital One, Celgene, Clorox, Corning, Disney, Eastman and IBM explored several fundamental pieces of the innovation puzzle during the spring 2015 gathering of the Innovators’ Roundtable—an initiative of Darden’s Batten Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. This Batten Briefing expands on the themes that emerged during the Roundtable discussions. The first part examines the importance of creating a workplace culture and processes that enable continuous, rapid learning, which underlies innovation. The second section explores why leaders need to recognize the ability to leverage diversity as a critical skill that can drive innovation in a global business environment. The final part of the Briefing offers insights into how business leaders can harness the power of informal employee networks to make collaboration efficient and fruitful.