As I prepare to close the book on my nearly 30-year adventure at Accenture, I have started to reflect on the people, the experiences and the technology that have shaped my journey.
So much could be said about 30 years at one dynamic company! What I do know is that I have learned many things along the way, much of it through the proverbial “school of hard knocks,” learning the dos and do nots of successfully innovating at scale in a large enterprise. I thought I would share my 11 truths of innovation – the guiding principles I use to lead my teams and help large companies innovate quickly and successfully.
1. Context is crucial
It does not matter how awesome, sexy, or cool the tech; if you do not put it in the audience’s context – what they need and want to experience – you lose them and miss the opportunity! Articulate to the audience why the technology matters to them (regardless of what you are showing), and you will get them to engage, which is the first step on the journey to innovation.
2. Interest is not money
Too many new innovators get excited or falsely satisfied from interest. No matter how sincere they seem, until there is money, interest is just talk. Do not be satisfied with a “first down”, keep pushing until you score!
3. Patience pays
So, you have a compelling idea and a commitment for money. Boom – instant corporate success? Wrong. As an innovator focused on the enterprise, the seeds you plant today will not be full-grown by tomorrow. Be patient, be agile, play the long game, understand that impactful change takes time.
4. Proof of value
Stop saying “proof of concept” and start saying “proof of value” – and make sure to actually provide the evidence, do not just claim it. No stakeholder can justify leaving money on the table if the results show meaningful value. Leaders will embrace change if they understand and believe the value that will come from the change. Make the juice worth the squeeze, and make sure everybody knows it.
5. Do not fail fast
There is no such thing as a “fast fail” in a corporate culture that rewards achievement, expansion and success. So, do not fail fast, learn fast. Commit just enough research, effort, innovation and capacity for a hypothesis, and test it. Keep an agile, experimental mindset. Keep trying. Everyone will remember the one that does work, not all those you intentionally set aside because you learned that they would not work.
6. Find your future
How does a large, established organisation consistently succeed at innovation? Innovators and entrepreneurs pivot. Companies strive to change but struggle to do so on more than a one-off basis. Get outside of your four walls and see what others are doing. Source the tech you need to match your new-found inspiration and aspirations. It will expand your horizons more than you thought possible.
7. Local heroes and global champions
They say all politics is local. Innovation should be local too. Enterprises will succeed at innovation with a two-tier strategy, what I like to call local heroes and global champions. Those who operate on both levels get the richness of local talent but cherry-pick the world’s best as needed. Local heroes and global champions are the winning formula. Not one or the other. Both.
8. Invention vs innovation
Invention is filled with bright ideas. True innovation, which is actually implementing the idea, is hard. Do not get so organisationally starry-eyed over invention that you miss innovation. An innovator will find the value in the idea (regardless of whose it is) and then drive it forward until turns it into an actual outcome.
9. Power of story
To get everyone on board, describe how a change will improve their world. Once people believe in your mission, suddenly they will run through the brick walls to help you make it happen. A compelling mission allows all people – the analytical, the emotional, and the in-between – to make difficult changes. Why? Because you have shared with them a bright future and shown them their path. Do not undersell the power of a good story.
10. Not Mine. Ours
No matter how big the company, no one has enough to do it all. Imagine the wealth of research and development dollars among your partners, clients, venture capitalists, universities and governments. Do not think in isolation. Build a coalition of willing people who want to travel together and invest in that shining summit, and you will get a thousand-to-one kicker on dollars. Think broader, think “other people’s money”.
11. You are only limited by imagination and ambition
Achieving repeatable innovation over time is rare and hard. Be ready for the breakthrough moment when value exceeds the risk and cost. Challenge yourself to test and learn and so that when the moment is finally right, deploy and reap the reward! Rinse, wash, repeat and you have become a serial innovator!
I am so proud of the work I have done with the talented team of innovators at Accenture. Together, we brought to market many breakthrough technologies that have helped shape business and society.
My learning journey will continue as I take my own advice to get outside the four walls of my organisation and write my own next chapter of enterprise innovation born from disruptive technology.
Above: Michael Redding talking at the GCVI Summit