Navigating innovation
Why strategic boundaries are essential
The word innovation is used—sometimes overused—in nearly every strategic plan. Every organization seems fully aware that innovation is essential. To avoid falling behind the competition. To continuously deliver customer value.
The “why” is clear. But the “how” remains the real challenge. Leadership sets a strategic goal and emphasizes the importance of innovation. New plans are proudly rolled out. Top-down strategic programs are launched. The mission gets translated into departmental roadmaps. And then? That’s when interpretation kicks in. And that’s often where things go wrong.
It starts with a clear overview
Employees enthusiastically come forward with ideas—a new app, a product tweak, a quality improvement. They’re driven by the best intentions and want to contribute. But they receive little to no feedback about whether or how their ideas help execute the strategy. For idea owners, it’s often unclear why their proposal does or doesn’t receive investment. The result? A disconnect between top-down direction and bottom-up innovation.
Next is applying focus
To truly align top-down direction with bottom-up initiatives, the strategic vision needs to be translated much more clearly. It’s easy to agree on a long-term vision: that you want to be the most customer-friendly, sustainable, and innovative player ten years from now. But it’s far more difficult to define what that means for your people—today, tomorrow, and the day after.
The last step is building agility.
So how do you actually drive innovation? By clearly defining the strategic boundaries within which you want innovation to happen. Dare to choose. Don’t be afraid that this will stifle creativity. Trust that it will actually provide direction. And that direction is essential if you want strategy and execution to truly connect. Only when people understand the destination can they tell if they’re on the right path.
Curious how we can help you build a strategic filter that gives your entire organization instant clarity on how to innovate? Learn more about our approach or feel free to get in touch!
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Written by our founders, Linda Kester (scientifically true) and Sonja Schasfoort (proven in practice).