With the year 2020 approaching fast, technology brings both new opportunities and challenges. The creation of new products, processes and services is in constant acceleration, but to be able to perform accordingly, companies need to adapt fast, become more productive, and do so while generating more value for both shareholders and clients. That’s a lot for innovation managers to deal with, isn’t it? Fortunately, you don’t have to be in this alone.

The last decade was wrought with technological change, forcing a significant shift in how companies now think about their innovation performance and business growth. The next decade will see the digital era – and the demands it brings for businesses – advance even further.

The imminence of an even more drastically changing business reality is as good a time as any to ask yourself: “Where do I see my company in a year’s time? In five years? In 10 to 20 years?”

At this very moment, someone, somewhere, has thought of an idea that can impact your business, at various scales. Knowing how to manage and make the most of a company’s innovation potential is increasingly key to stay in the race and should therefore be where innovation managers set their sights.

We are all aware of how tough the job is. But as we witness the demise of established brands, such as Kraft Heinz, Sears or Debenhams, we must acknowledge that stronger, more resilient business innovation is needed. And for that, new blood and fresh ideas are a vital necessity to any company.

Innovating in 2020

Business innovation – whether it means introducing new processes, services or products to positively impact or change their business – is therefore at the forefront of the minds of most business leaders today.

Along with all the lessons garnered over the last decade, innovating in 2020 involves being open to new approaches to innovation, yet maintaining a focus on structure and continuity to ensure it is sustainable in the long run. Enterprises must break down long-established, isolated silos of innovation (as is so often the case, particularly in large companies) and broaden perspectives, instilling a widespread culture of participation and collaboration.

It is understandable, then, that 66% of CEOs and CIOs surveyed in the Deloitte Innovation Survey 2015 agree that innovation is important for growth. In any business today, regardless of industry, innovation is a must-have to:
 

• Meet customer needs, which are ever-changing and increasingly demanding;
• Attract (and retain) talent, at a time when technological advances and new realities call for specialised skills and has thus led to a tech talent gap;
• Ensure the sustainability, longevity and growth of your business, in a consistent way;
• Break into new markets and audiences, by finding ways to deliver value to customers;
• Gain competitive advantage in this Digital Economy era, in which competition is fierce and those who don’t keep up and adapt will inevitably fail.

 
The mutating character of business innovation also owes much to globalisation. In areas as diverse as IT, medicine and biofuels, innovations are coming to the West from China, India and Brazil, a shift from the dominance of the traditional innovation heavy-weights. This ever-changing reality and increasing complexity in the global competitive landscape brings unprecedented challenges for businesses, wherever they are in the world.

Therefore, the need to innovate has never been more pressing, and innovation managers must be well-equipped to be able to overcome their (and their companies’) most demanding challenges. We will be sharing the 6 essential dimensions that no innovation programme can do without in the coming year. Stay tuned!

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