Innovation mission: Setting the stage for success

Implementation of an innovation mandate

To implement an effective innovation mandate, companies need to consider the following steps:

1. Align with business strategy. Make sure the innovation mandate is aligned with the overall business strategy. As Lysander Weiss puts it, “Innovation must at least be aligned with the business strategy and have a clear strategic framework and objectives along with an innovation portfolio.”

2. Define focus areas. Clearly articulate areas where innovation efforts should be focused. This helps prioritize initiatives and allocate resources effectively.

3. Set clear measurements. Create concrete metrics to measure the success of innovation efforts. These should go beyond simple financial metrics to include strategic impact and learning outcomes. Leading indicators are more useful than backward-looking KPIs.

4. Allocate resources. A fixed budget, for example a percentage of turnover, should be agreed to ensure commitment, learning and risk-taking within a framework and long-term thinking.

5. Promote a culture of innovation. The innovation mandate should not only set guidelines, but also enable a culture that supports risk-taking and learning from failure.

6. Regular review and adaptation. The innovation mandate should be reviewed periodically to ensure it remains current and effective in the face of changing business conditions and in response to real-world feedback.

It’s important to go through the authorization setting process multiple times, similar to how companies set OKRs (Objectives and Key Results), as companies and leaders get better at it with each iteration. This iterative approach allows the innovation mandate to be refined and refined over time, ensuring it remains relevant and effective.

Lysander Weiss, Senior Research Fellow at HHL Leipzig (Germany) and Partner at Venture.idea, emphasizes the importance of “identifying innovation focus areas and then discussing whether you have enough startups in these areas. These are the right discussions because then management understands the portfolio.” This approach helps create a balanced and strategic innovation portfolio.

Alexandre Janssen, founder of innovation consultancy Minkowski and former EMEA Head of Innovation at Deloitte, emphasizes the importance of a dedicated innovation budget: “Discussing separate innovation initiatives with the board for funding is not the way to go. A fixed budget should be agreed upon, for example a percentage of turnover, to ensure that you can follow a long-term perspective and learn from mistakes and trials.” This approach ensures that innovation efforts have consistent resources and have a long-term perspective.