Hyper Innovation- The Much Needed Culture
Abstract
In the history of humankind, from the time of the discovery of fire or the invention of wheel, innovations have always erupted in the forms of a wave. Proper documentations and significant inventiveness has been experienced from the time of industrial revolution. Deeply researching those phases of inventions we have checked that the next level of innovation find grounds on the base of previous ones. Therefore, the next wave of disruption is always faster and with more magnitude.
This research extensively examines the current & imminent phase of innovation- termed as hyper innovation. Based on the two years of research on varied enterprises across vivid industrial verticals the implications and implementation steps have also been delineated.
In the context of both social sciences and businesses, the highly-hyped term Hyper Innovation interprets- “A successful introduction and interconnection of novel ideas”.
And, as per the definition, it can be clearly concluded that we are living in the era of hyper-innovation.
And those, who have not worked on the concept to gain the highest advantage, are either urgently required to do so or are destined to lag behind the competition!
With all the organizations pushing their limits to enhance the productivity with innovations, we are going to witness the number of avant-garde disruptions only in this decade that have not been seen in the past century!
Different factors, necessities, and drivers of the innovations are cited by the reviewers and the organization as well. I have researched 35+ enterprises of varied dimensions and domains since mid-2020, and checked the innovations they have made to enhance their efficiency. I checked a large Project Management as a Service firm with 200+ employees and presence in 4 nations, and also an innovative startup creative agency with 4 members.
When I zeroed-in the prime drivers of the impressive innovations, then found only two important factors:
1. Increasing Intellectual Capital
2. Global Information Infrastructure
A well connected Global Information Infrastructure also includes the availability of ‘freemium’ digital tools- which upon integration impart tremendous potential. I have seen several small creative agencies leveraging that potential, and even putting their workflows on automation with them.
Just imagine the vision of an entrepreneur that he learned the business processes, researched various tools, and planned an efficient automation of the workflow- all free of cost! This is also an example of Hyper Innovation.
From the pages of the history one can easily conclude that since industrial revolution innovations have always erupted in forms of ‘waves’. Each of that wave initiates with a disruptive technology, creates tremendous wealth and social benefits, and end with a global recession.
But each wave develops on the groundwork of the previous wave, and therefore every new wave is larger & faster.
Have a look at the graph-
So, we are now entering into the sixth wave of the innovation, and this one really possesses the potential of outsmarting the past innovations and develops a new magnitude of the innovation wave!
A main difference in this sixth wave and the previous ones is size of highly educated and connected global populace, and this will result in a quantum leap from the normal rate of acceleration towards the hyper-innovation.
This time there are more innovators and their inventiveness will rapidly spread across the globe from the betterment and new innovative implementations.
This is also in accordance with the ‘Knowledge Doubling Curve’ developed by Buckminster Fuller. He had noticed and mentioned that before 1900 AD, it generally took 100 to 200 years for the human knowledge to double. But by the end of 1945 the rate of knowledge creation accelerated significantly, and in around 25 years the human knowledge had doubled!
This environment of rapid change has also rendered significant impacts on the corporate world. The businesses looking to acquire and enhance their market share have been benefitted the best with this fast-changing environment.
Implications
In this current era of Hyper Innovations there are several significant implications on the corporates and lets have a look on them first-
1. More emphasis on Intellectual Capital
This is also a big reason why my first discussion was on Intellectual Capital only!
In this era, Intellectual Capital is much more important than other capitals like physical or monetary assets. And this is because it is the base of value creation.
With the intellectual capital, even the college graduates are developing disruptions in the industry and establishing themselves among the top-tech giants.
Earlier knowledge used to be a power, but now it is also the source of tremendous wealth creation. Products can now be very cheaply & swiftly developed, the only need is the possession of intellectual capital.
2. This era knows No Boundaries
The conventional barriers that used to separate different markets are now being defunct as the time passes by. The world is getting more and more connected, and the geographical, cultural, financial, categorical, and the other boundaries are being blurred. Now any competitor can emerge anytime from any part of the world. Markets are getting bigger and the opportunities for the enterprises are now more than ever.
3. Continuous Development is Mandatory
As discussed in two aforementioned pointers, there are no boundaries and products are being developed fast, so no new innovation now lasts for a longer time. The lifespan of the products are now shorter.
For example BlockBuster Video used to be the king of entertainment contents for around 3 decades. But then in2002, Netflix disrupted the domain by better DVD-by-mail service. But in 2011 Netflix had to disrupt itself with the direct streaming services, just after 9 years!
4. For the disruptions, businesses die younger!
As new products, technology, and platforms keep on evolving fast, they obviously antiquate their predecessor. And no one likes obsolete technology!
For the reasons now companies die younger, and have an average lifespan of around 17 years in 2022- says MIT Technology Review.
The average lifespan of companies on S&P 500 Index on the timeline can be understood with this graph.
5. No one will be left untouched
This is the most overwhelming & impressive aspect of the wave of innovation. It will cover everything and will take all by storms.
Disruptions will come for all and only those who will embrace this new culture and will make innovations their foremost priority with thrive.
The roots of Sixth Wave of Innovation
The global lockdown, necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic, immediately made all to improve their digital infrastructure, so as to facilitate remote working first. In this journey they all went through a series of serious transformations, and found innovations for the overall improvements.
Though this was the story of all the organizations but to put things on paper the first major study was conducted by Citrix, at the end of 2020. The study was named The Era of Hyper Innovation, and was aimed to measure the technological response of the corporate world to the sudden challenges and opportunities put forth by the pandemic.
And the first finding was the belief of a tech-enabled flexible future of the work, unanimously stated by all business leaders.
They all enunciated this new phase of collaborative work, powered by an increased adoption of digital tools, as the era of Hyper Innovation.
The global lockdown imposed a paradigm shift at an unanticipated speed. Within 6 months the workflow was transformed and the digital tools greatly improved the collaboration.
It was not only the workflow that was revolutionized, the sales & profits were also enhanced, and the business leaders attributed the 45% of their fiscal growth to those digital adoptions.
Research also concluded that every 1% increased spending on innovations leads to a 1.95% increase in the overall revenue! For the reason 4 out of 5 biz leaders are committed to bring their organization into a hyper innovation phase. Study also concluded that 49% have already increased their investments in this regards for their next phase of work.
Currently a vast majority has cited themselves as moderately or newly innovative while 32% call themselves hyper-innovative.
The next phase of the economy in the post-pandemic world is now in place. 84% of the organizations are experimenting with new radical ways of thinking & working in the future. 70% said they will be investing more money in digital tools.
But this is also a fact that more they wait far will be they lagging behind the competition.
Implementation Steps
The organizations working in the direction of hyper-innovations are mostly the ones celebrated for the hyper-growth! Creativity and innovations are the things required from a team to prosper, and they are the only thing that can never be outsourced!
Most of the companies are not able to fully unleash the tremendous potential of creative imagination, and the reason lies in the lack of a systematic approach to develop a special culture. By instilling the sense of innovation among all team members any company can outclass, outsmart, and outshine the competition- sang-froid!
While researching the businesses in this regards, I found some important aspects that were missing, and were hindering them in being an innovative organization. Judging & jotting down the fault lines, I came up with the subsequent seven stellar steps that will help all in bridging the gap.
1. Instilling a sense of passion
Passion is the indispensible ingredient of an innovative culture. Everything we see is the result of a vision and the passion to accomplish it. The passion of bringing a change and contribute to something ameliorating is what demanded from all in this era of the hyper innovation. A team full of passion can achieve anything, and its absence will only create punch-the-clock captives!
2. Appreciating Ideas
Social norms across the cultures were established by what is celebrated and what is condemned. In some cultures working hard and saving money is celebrated while in others working smart and earning more is idolized. This make the denizens adopt related practices.
In the corporates though innovation and out of the box thinking were in vogue, still risk taking and creative approach are condemned. There were punishments for being wrong in some places! This totally hampers the innovative thinking and insidiously nudges all to pass time with the orthodox approach.
Celebrating the ideas, and public praises along with other motivational perks are the base of establishing the culture of innovation.
3. Facilitating Freedom
The direct correlation between the creative output and autonomy of the employee has been empirically established long ago. Now it’s a well-known fact, and must be leveraged to gain a competitive & creative advantage. Autonomy doesn’t means letting them totally free to their whims & fancies! But it is letting them complete the work with an improved output in their way.
Running with every tiny details by the boss make one numb to the creative abilities! Let them all call their own shots.
4. Encouraging Bold Moves
At many places I found that the organization has provided flexibility and autonomy but if the idea is found somehow controversial then that is rebuffed on the ground of repercussions.
Two things arise here.
First, the conventional and seemingly prudential approach to perfectly the pros & cons, and have consultation with a market researcher and legal expert as well. Then only proceed ahead with that topic.
Secondly, we can again take the example of Netflix! Their innovative business model allow perfect freedom and to take creative risks as well. For the overarching amelioration of the organization they promise to safeguard their employees in such scenarios.
Though some businesses allow the freedom to take some bold move, still I would call to take calculated risks. Value maintenance is a must for the long-term success, and the controversies (just for the sake of marketing) must be avoided.
5. Giving Up the Failure-Fear
In some of the organizations the fear of failure was so strong that people, even while having a vision & dream, were very afraid to put forth their views. Some previous incident of failure and the related humiliation might be the cause of it.
Simply following the norms, performing the duties, and punching the clock leads to nothing but mediocrity.
All major inventions were preceded by heart-wrenching demotivation, but the dedication to beat the odds were the base of success.
Those looking for the culture of hyper-innovation must enhance the rate of experimentations. Some efforts will fail but some will pay-off. But the experiment will let you know something unknown and exceptional which might be used later on at some other stage. Always document those efforts professionally and make a habit to analyse them all.
6. Diversifying
In my opinion running a successful business is all about diversification and optimization. These two things dilute the negativity but in unison render better revenue. This concept is in alignment with the age-old saying of not hatching all eggs in one nest.
Diversity, in all the forms, help create better innovation as the people from different cultures, backgrounds, knowledge and experience work together for a better output.
7. Changing Patterns
Divide & conquer might seem a negative sentiment in the imperialistic ventures, but for the corporates it would be a fantastic approach. Dividing the complex clusters into smaller components and efficiently managing them all is needed. Businesses must have a vision of being solution-oriented and if demands to the change the work patterns then must not be reluctant with it.
Organizations are required to be nimble and adaptable to the changes. In my experience I have seen that smaller firms or the startups are ready for the changes while the larger ones tend to stay adamant with their previous views, in the name of safeguarding their vision.
Theory of Evolution by Charles Darwin mentions, “It’s not the strongest or the fittest who survives, but the one with the readiness to adapt to the changes!”
While I call this as the discussion paper of my research & experience, you can also consider this as an informational playbook or a guide to implement a culture of hyper innovation!
In case of any confusion at any stage or phase or division of your enterprise, irrespective of the domain or dimension, feel free to contact me anytime via any channel. Get instant assessment or clear-cut answer to your problems. Get assistance in researches, consultations, Online Reputation Management, and strategy development as well.
About the author
Jaideep Parashar is an internationally acclaimed best-selling author, researcher, business consultant, 2X-CEO, and mentor & business developer of myriads of international organizations.
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