Even after proofs of concepts (POCs) that solve identified business problems, scaling the innovative solutions can feel like trying to build a sandcastle during high tide.
Two key areas that can help scale your innovation efforts:
- Alignment — Some innovation initiatives prove that tech works but forget to align with ‘something’ that executive leadership can relate to, e.g., it could be linked to a corporate objective. Let’s say your organization this year has a corporate objective of improving customer experience by 10%. You can link your conversational AI initiative to this objective to get the exec support.
- Connect Siloed innovations — Innovation initiatives are usually developed in silos, sometimes closer to the local area. Given the uncertainty about the success, teams don’t want to share it wider. You could join the dots with these local innovation efforts and provide help & support. The idea is not to kill the local innovation efforts but rather have a wider community to join forces.
You will always have limited resources to help all the innovation efforts that can be there at a given point in time. “Innovation as a Service” can help local teams shine without draining IT’s energy reserves.
#Adapted on Gartner research
Thinking Space 