Laws of Innovation

Why do some organizations have better innovation than others?  Over the years I have collected what I call the “7 Immutable Laws of Innovation.”  No single organization could be successful in all of these laws but there are always opportunities to improve.  Let’s get started with the laws of Innovation.

1. Law of Leadership.
   1. Leadership sets the tone of the organization. This includes the:
      1. Board of Directors and CEO
      2. Direct Reports (other C-levels, Vice President’s, Directors)
   2. Leadership must be at the front walking the walk and talking the talk.
2. Law of Culture.
   1. “Culture eats strategy for lunch.”
   2. Create a culture of innovation to support a strategy of innovation.
   3. Culture has to:
      1. Involve people.
      2. Value ideas.
   4. All the resources need to be aligned.
   5. Communication needs to be clear.
3. Law of Resources.
   1. This requires a committed level of resources to include people, money, time and equipment.
   2. Must effectively allocate and protect your resources.
4. Law of Patience.
   1. Patience is critical for innovation.
   2. Management needs to have patience. Some innovation projects can take longer than twenty years to be completed.
5. Law of Process.
   1. You can apply somebody else’s process, but you need to adapt the process to your organization.
   2. Needs to cover the full innovation chain.
      1. How you capture ideas.
      2. How you generate better ideas.
      3. How you identify the best ideas.
      4. How you execute those ideas.
   3. Never let your innovation process become stagnant.

6. Law of the BHAG. (Bold, Hairy, Audacious, Goal).
   1. Unique characteristics of BHAG.
      1. Very clear and concise of what the target is.
      2. Needs to be a stretch.
   2. Let the process of innovation within your organization define the how.
7. Law of Execution.
   1. Execution is the task of going through and putting a product out there for customers.
   2. Ideas without execution are a hobby.
   3. Think about segmenting the execution into phases.
      1. You will be able to kill projects that are not going to be successful.
      2. Allows you to reduce your risks.
      3. The objective is to actually execute, not review.

Not all organizations will be in a position to be successful in all of these laws.  Think about each of these laws and rank your organization.  Be honest with yourself on the areas you need to improve upon.  You can see our Organization’s Innovation Readiness survey based on the 7 Laws to assess and benchmark.

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