24/7 Innovation: A Blueprint for Surviving and Thriving in an Age of Change

Citation

Collins, A. (2003), "24/7 Innovation: A Blueprint for Surviving and Thriving in an Age of Change", Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 20 No. 6, pp. 588-590. https://doi.org/10.1108/07363760310499156

The author, a long‐time business consultant, strives to impart a key point throughout the book: that “perpetual innovation” is the only way to prosper in today’s unpredictable business climate. He defines constant innovation as the:

… ability of an organization … to come up with new ideas to satisfy the changing whims of ever‐fickle customers without any special stimulation and without interruption (pp. vii‐viii).

While this may seem difficult at best, Shapiro provides numerous matrices and formulas for changing the organizational culture and business strategy to become innovation‐based.

The main obstacle companies today face is that they are stuck in an obsolete way of thinking and not utilizing employees’ skills to the fullest extent. People in that outmoded mindset tend to see the business environment as divided into boxes‐focused on:

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  separate activities

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  departments;

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  people;

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  processes;

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  organizations; and

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  industries.

However, the key to innovation is seeing ways to connect the boxes. The author calls this “lateral thinking” – finding the inter‐relationships between the boxes. This way of thinking takes the whole business into account, a sort of holistic business practice. Shapiro suggests that this may seem new age‐y and trendy, but there are some good pointers for managers who feel their business needs a boost or new direction.

In chapter one, “Innovation for a competitive advantage”, Shapiro defines the blueprint for change as a “capability”, which is a “combination of people, processes, and technology that together deliver business performance as defined by the strategy” (p. ix). The elements that constitute a capability are all inter‐related – no part can be altered without affecting another part. The author gives the example of the use of technology to speed up the manufacturing process. However, if that is not linked with the sales process, the result is excess inventory sitting idle in warehouses. Managers will learn in this first chapter that managing interdependencies is a key skill in building a culture of innovation.

The author acknowledges that while changing to perpetual innovation is a big step, companies can also take smaller steps to start out. A prime example for managers in our technology‐driven business environment is the change in business travel. An incremental step towards innovation would be switching from a retail outlet to online booking of travel. However, a company committed to radical innovation might look ahead to the future, anticipate the threat that video conferencing would pose to traditional business travel, and implement a new business strategy that proposes investing heavily in video conferencing equipment.

Part two details the blueprint for innovation, reinforcing the idea that it is not a spontaneous activity but rather requires process and measurement. The author, along with colleagues, developed the “7Rs”, a framework to start the innovation ball rolling:

1. 1.

   (1) Rethink: ask why things are done they way they are.

2. 2.

   (2) Reconfigure: ask what processes can be eliminated.

3. 3.

   (3) Resequence: ask when do things need to be done.

4. 4.

   (4) Relocate: ask where the manufacturing can take place to benefit both the supplier and the customer.

5. 5.

   (5) Reduce: ask how much, how often.

6. 6.

   (6) Reassign: determine who the best person to do the job is.

7. 7.

   (7) Retool: discover how technology can transform this process.

Readers will find this chapter especially useful as a starting point for analyzing their company’s innovation status and potential.

Chapter three focuses on “creating the culture of innovation”, and stresses that innovation must be led from the top down. As many of us in the corporate world have experienced, if senior management does not support the change, it is destined to be a failure. Using the four‐step process of envision, enable, explosion (brainstorm) and EmpowerTool (where ideas get the capability they need to succeed in practice), managers can learn how to steer the organizational culture towards innovation.

Shapiro reminds us of the human factor in changing business culture – you can re‐engineer processes but not people. Therefore, it is imperative that managers start with the right staff: people who can see the big picture by “macrothinking”, who have an entrepreneurial mindset and can apply the knowledge they have gained to business situations.

In chapter four, Shapiro suggests “hiring the customer”, since we have shifted from a consumer‐focused world to a buyer‐driven one. Examples from other successful customer “hires” include letting the customer serve himself (at the gas station), allowing information sharing (like financial services), and forming partnerships with preferred suppliers (as in manufacturing). These changes allow managers to adapt the business strategy to build customer relations.

Continuing the customer satisfaction mentality, Shapiro stresses the importance of adding value to the customer to differentiate your company. Value adds include convenience, the feel‐good factor, and decommodization – customizing your product a la Dell computers or Levi’s custom fit jeans.

Chapter five deals with “technology innovation”‐retooling. Shapiro warns that technology should only be implemented if it adds value to the customer, not just for the sake of keeping up with competitors. An example of a positive use of technology for innovation is the IRS offering automated tax returns online. The result: more convenience for the customer, fewer errors, and faster return checks.

Although innovation is a creative process, measurements and processes are still important. Chapter six reminds managers that measurements are necessary to build innovation and motivate their employees. Shapiro introduces the “‘Performance prism’ that combines the need for clarity of purpose with a need for comprehensive performance measurement” (p. 157). The top of the prism is stakeholder satisfaction, the sides are strategies, processes, and capabilities, and stakeholder contribution is the bottom of the prism. This model prompts managers to look at these fundamental questions:

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  Who are our key stakeholders?

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  What do they want/need?

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  What strategies will fulfill their wants/needs?

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  What processes can we use to deliver those strategies?

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  What capabilities are required?

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  What are the stakeholder contributions required for those capabilities?

The prism is designed to be inclusive of all important facets and help managers measure the “right” things.

Another tool Shapiro offers is the “innovation targeting matrix” (ITM) in chapter seven. This helps organizations discover their core capabilities and therefore their competitive advantage. A manager can derive a strategy from this ITM analysis and connect the lines across capabilities. Shapiro goes on to detail how to test ideas before implementing them in practice, the six stages of “innovation maturity,” and he uses many real‐world business examples to illustrate his concepts. Included at the end of the book are four appendices, offering case studies, charts to measure innovation maturity, a section on applying the 7Rs, and a quiz to diagnose your company’s innovativeness.

In all, the book is a useful resource for senior level decision‐makers who want to change their corporate culture and give their business new life or direction. Shapiro introduces new ways to look at old business problems across diverse industries, and supports his research with evidence from real‐life examples from organizations worldwide. The book is a holistic management tool for discovering your organization’s potential to succeed in this dynamic business environment.