Mawson: What does Talent Age do?
Yoon: Talent Age Associates is a global firm specialising in leadership consulting and chief executive (CEO), board, senior-level executive searches for Fortune 500 and multinational corporations, mid-cap and start-up companies, non-profit entities, and educational institutions.
We act as trusted advisers to deliver strategic and customised solutions for our clients. Talent Age has expertise in innovation, venture capital and entrepreneurial leadership talent, due to our breadth and reach in Silicon Valley, as well as innovation centres globally, especially in Asian capitals, such as Beijing, Shanghai, Seoul, Singapore and Hong Kong.
Mawson: How do senior executives regard the importance of innovation, and what are their favoured methods?
Yoon: The importance of innovation is recognised universally as the key to growing the top line and staying competitive in the global economy.
The chief innovation officeris a role that is gaining importance in many companies. Some are appointing chief innovation officersfor the first time, or enhancing the size and calibre of the innovation teams. The charters of the innovation groups are varied, depending on whether the group reports into the CEO, chief technology office, research and development (R&D) head, chief strategy office, or the chief marketing office, but the main mission is generally to stay abreast of technological innovations, new business models and potential market disruptions from social network companies, mobile platforms and online market applications.
The main focus is to bring innovative solutions to changing customer needs and more effective or efficientways of delivering the company’s products and services. Corporate venturing funds invest in strategically important enterprises that allow the corporation to participate in the entrepreneurial ecosystem of disruptive, new technologies and business models.
Corporate innovation groups often form strategic alliances with outside parties, whether they are synergistic corporate partners, universities or government entities, to engage in open innovation models.
Internal innovation programmes that enhance the productivity of business units, regional businesses or divisions are developed and implemented with serious capital and strategic commitments.
Many companies are evaluating the performance measures associated with their innovation programmes to ensure the proper strategic alignment with shareholder returns and market growth plans.
Mawson: How has this changed over the past five years?
Yoon: The past five years has seen a trend towards mergers and acquisitions, cost-cutting, consolidation and an obsessive focus on bottom-line growth, so many multinational corporations have cut R&D and innovation to the core. With the growing realisation that it is impossible to create growth and prosperity primarily through cost-cutting, the emphasis on innovation is now echoed in board rooms and executive ranks within a wide range of companies from Fortune 500 companies to start-ups all around the world.
Mawson: What are the most important skills or qualities you look for when recruiting for this type of innovation role?
Yoon: The most successful innovation leaders are people with a passion for creating innovation and change within corporations. Not satisfied with the status quo, they are always seeking new and better ways of doing things, or new ways of looking at problems, so-called thinking outside the box.
These types of leaders most often have what I call hybrid backgrounds, which involves an integration of a wide range of different educational, career and personal experiences. For example, a philosophy major, who became an expert in web architecture, then went on to become a financil executive.
Or someone born in the UK, who became an entrepreneur in Beijing, now leading a major division in the US for a technology company, while writing a blog on innovation.
Having what Phil McKinney of Hewlett-Packard calls a "T" profileis also key. This means a deep expertise in a field,industry or function, with a broad set of wide-ranging experiences in various business settings.
The result of these traits is open-mindedness, a flexible approach to situations and the ability to look at problems and solutions from multiple vantage points. Communications skills and people skills are also fundamentally important to innovation leaders trying to effect change in corporations, as it is always challenging to get people to entertain change to status quo, especially if they view it as working quite well historically.
Mawson: Are there important regional variations to be aware of?
Yoon: The cultural vantage point on risk and the value of risk taking can be a big variable in working on new innovation programmes for corporations. In Silicon Valley, we are steeped in the culture of risk taking, which is considered a positive and necessary ingredient of success in creating enterprising companies. In Japan, risk taking is not so valued. In China, younger people are entrepreneurial and take risks, but older people are risk averse.
Mawson: How transferable are innovation skills across sectors?
Yoon: Some industries, like insurance, have been quite risk averse and are not known for ground-breaking innovation practices. Consumer companies like Procter & Gamble have developed a tremendous reputation for innovation over the past 10 years.
Many companies are eager to learn from the best practices of other industries, and the skills and disciplines are quite transferable.