What Type of Innovation does your Organisation need for 2021?

Many organisations we have spoken to recently are including innovation high on their list of strategic priorities for the New Year, and for good reason.

The pace of change has never been faster, and our clients are acutely aware of the need to constantly reinvent their products, services, and operations to stay ahead of the competition.

However, innovation takes many forms. When planning for innovation in a strategic context, it is essential to first determine what type of innovation would generate the greatest benefit for your organisation.

Doblin: Ten Types of Innovation

The Doblin Framework of Innovation can help with this process.

Doblin’s framework, first developed in 1998, presents ten different categories of innovation. The ten categories are split into three areas:

• Configuration (business model innovations) – this category includes (1) Profit Model, (2) Network, (3) Structure and (4) Process;
• Offering (product innovations) – (5) Product Performance, (6) Product System;
• Experience (marketing innovations) – which covers (7) Service, (8) Channel, (9) Brand, (10) Customer Engagement.

When most people think of innovation, they think solely of new products. But products and technology can be the easiest element for your competitors to copy. Broadening your perspective to consider ways to introduce other types of innovation can help you identify opportunities that will make your innovation investment much more worthwhile.

What Type of Innovation is best for your organisation?

Determining which type of innovation your company should focus on first will take some work.

• Where are your current gaps?
• What are your competitors doing?
• Where can you add exceptional value to your clients?
• What is the desired outcome – is it greater market share, more efficient operations, or new revenue streams?

Once you have narrowed your focus, you may also need to consider the degree of innovation your organisation is comfortable with.

Radical innovation involves significant change, and the impact can be huge – but there is higher risk.

Incremental innovation involves the optimisation and further development of existing products, services, or processes. There is less risk, but the impact is also usually less dramatic. Figure out where your organisation sits on this spectrum.

Clearly defining the type of innovation as well as the degree of innovation that your organisation plans to implement, will help transform innovation from a corporate buzz word to a practical strategy with real, measurable outcomes. It is well worth the extra time and effort.

Read more about the Doblin Framework here: https://doblin.com/ten-types

At Impact Innovation, our innovation consultants can support private and public companies through innovation training, innovation strategy and processes, to achieve greater return on investment. Contact us at info@impactinnovation.com to find out more.