Common Language
Priority Management
Common Language
Strategic Focus Areas
The word “innovation” means different things
to different people. New sources of revenue,
new markets, new processes or just more creativity — these are all types of innovation
that might connect to an enterprise strategy.
The first step in defining organizational priorities
is to clarify the distinct innovation types that are important to the organization.
Too often, an organization’s innovation pursuits are not aligned with its enterprise strategy. To address this, it’s helpful to define strategic focus areas (SFAs) that provide the right balance of focus and flexibility. Well-constructed SFAs align with the organization’s strategy, focus on consumer needs and are large enough to contribute meaningfully to future growth.
Strategic Focus Areas
Organizations should establish upfront the types of innovation that are desirable (i.e., strategic), discussable and out of bounds. The establishment of these parameters helps to ensure that innovators stay focused on the right priorities rather than investing time and effort into opportunities that are likely to get shut down
or deprioritized once senior leadership
becomes aware of them.
Clear Boundaries
Clear Boundaries
An organization’s innovation priorities should be grounded in a long-term point of view about where the organization can create value. However, as customers change, technologies evolve and new competitors emerge, an organization’s innovation priorities must also evolve to reflect the market opportunity. Organizations must develop the mechanisms to ensure innovation priorities are tightly integrated with long-term strategy development and the early-warning radar
systems to rapidly identify and respond to emerging threats or opportunities.
Priority Management
