355: Tips for designing organizations for innovation – with Ben M. Bensaou, PhD

How product managers can make innovation everyone’s job Today we are talking about how we design organizations for innovation. Joining us is Dr. Ben Bensaou. He is Professor of Technology Management and Professor of Asian Business and Comparative Management at INSEAD. He has also served in roles at Harvard, Wharton, and Haas business schools. His research centers on innovation and how organizations innovate. His recent book, Built to Innovate, shares a proven system for building innovation into an organization’s DNA.  Summary of some concepts discussed for product managers [1:49] What research led to the innovation framework you talk about in your book? The research started with my teaching and consulting about 20 years ago. I saw traditional companies transformed to be very innovative. For example, the CEO of a traditional company making fabrics for tire companies transformed his company into an innovative solution and services provider, not only to the auto industry but also to new markets in construction and aerospace. I wanted to share that experience of seeing an innovative engine built from the ground up in a traditional company. [5:24] What are your thoughts on designing innovation into organizations when many business leaders have spent years learning how to perfect execution? There’s nothing wrong with execution; it’s necessary for every organization. However, an execution engine tends to stop innovative behavior. Organizations often rely on specialists in R&D to innovate, but innovation is the responsibility of everyone. Particularly, we tend to ignore the important role of middle managers. Bayer, the pharmaceutical and life sciences company, recognized this role in the strategy they developed to make innovation the responsibility and job of everyone in the organization. They trained senior managers to train middle managers in innovation, and then the middle managers trained their teams. Bayer also provided coaches to train the teams, making it easy for middle managers to engage their teams in innovation. They also incentivized middle managers and teams to increase their innovative capability and contribution. Bayer also created an innovation information system where employees can send their ideas. To prevent the system from getting overloaded, they have local innovation coordinators who read the suggestions and send feedback. They also use a system called WeSolve where anyone in the company can post questions or problems and anyone else in the company can contribute solutions or ideas. More than 40,000 people participated, and surprisingly the people who provide solutions are usually not from the same division as the person who presented the problem. These systems give people permission to innovate and create a culture where anyone can innovate. [16:50] Where should innovation live in an organization? Should you start with an innovation group or push innovation to all employees? In the end, the CEO and board are responsible for innovation, but everyone has a contribution to make. Organizations need an infrastructure and process to coordinate ideas. As a typical example, a subcommittee of the board is responsible for innovation, and they give permission for innovation to the whole organization and convince and train middle managers. Once the middle managers understand the importance of innovation, the organization creates a separate unit of coaches who train and support people in innovation. At least one innovation coach is assigned to each unit. The organization gives the frontline employees time to spend with customers and use the tools they’ve learned from the coaches. In this infrastructure, innovation lives everywhere in the organization. Local coordinators pick up ideas from frontline innovators and have a network to move those ideas to innovation committees that culminate to the committee on the board.