Innovators innovate
Do you honestly believe that your employed 'talent' is going to deliver the top line growth that's required?
Most organisations know that they need to innovate. Top line growth is critical in a competitive market.
The problem is that actually being innovative is much harder than the theory suggests.
Consistently delivering commercially-viable innovations doesn't happen by chance, the outcome is a function of the design of the organisation, and is ultimately generated by the talent of the people involved in the process.
Talent?
Talent is a word that loosely gets thrown around in management circles, but in all honesty...finding truly-talented, passionate, empowered people working in South African companies is a very rare thing.
Most company-employed people (even those working in seemingly creativity-driven areas like design and marketing) simply function as glorified box-tickers, and are a world away from ever being considered innovative.
The people themselves are largely not to blame for this, the problem is very much related to what gets measured and valued within the organisation itself.
But be that as it may, the chances of box-tickers delivering innovation are sadly...zero.
Innovators innovate - so if innovation is important to the future of a business then developing people into innovators should be the aim.
Becoming innovative requires organisations to focus on two things; (1) create the conditions under which innovation is most likely to emerge (metrics, culture, processes, mindset, inputs), as well as (2) actively building an innovation skillset and mindset (curiosity, risk-taking, creativity, critical thinking, agility, technical competency), in people.
An innovation program requires a commitment to a structured cadence of creation, but the eventual benefit of this investment is category outperformance.
Simply asking / demanding box-tickers to deliver innovation, or having the word printed on a poster, or included as one of your company values, isn't going to magically produce innovation. Wishful thinking has little effect in realising this dream.
Becoming innovative in 2026
If South African companies are going to produce the top line growth that our economy so desperately needs then we're going to have to develop innovation pipelines that will allow us to successfully build strong businesses.
Innovation needs to be taken seriously.
We can help you put together a program that is based on years of practical experience and sound principles and walk the path with you as you build up these much-needed competencies.
Get in touch and let's have a chat about what this looks like in practice.
Take control of the year ahead. Create the future that you want.