1. THE BRILLIANT INNOVATION LIST
© Darryl Bubner, CEO Disciplined Innovation, 2012 - 2016
After a fierce debate, watered down by convivial drinks long into the evening, Megan* and
Potter* came back with their proposed list. Here it is - a platform for Disciplined Innovation
management that works, and grows and sustains leading companies.
Every organisation finds its own distinct innovation focus. There is no unique recipe.
Treading the paths of quality and lean one can follow known best practices. The innovation paths
require more home grown imagination, ingenuity and originality.
Innovation can be incremental (usually fairly safe) through to radical/breakthrough (decidedly
risky), with the latter followed by a series of smalls.
The wide open spaces of innovation offer many paths with both short and long term rewards. For
those beginning the innovation journey low risk innovation is the way to go.
Innovation can involve anything a business does; the most common types are product, process,
organisational (business model innovation is the current fashion) and technological.
See previous tip
Capable leaders must show the way.
Start by securing board level and leadership team buy-in. Pick up the Seven Habits of Highly Effective
Leaders (or any sound good model) and identify your personal innovations. We all have some)
Innovation requires deep understanding of your customers, markets, technologies and
strategic context
This is a relatively easy part. The tools, techniques and data are available.
A culture and system of innovation can become fully embedded in a firm's DNA.
Beware the “innovation and creativity is all you need” gurus; cultural change usually takes three
years to achieve and more to embed.
Innovation requires organisational agility and calculated risk taking.
And agility and calculated risk taking often require both cultural and structural change, that is,
organisational structures, roles and responsibilities.
Innovation increasingly requires collaborations with supply chain and other external parties.
Keep a confidentiality agreement with sharp teeth in your back pocket, sip coffee with lots of
possible collaborators, and after the handshake beware of backsliding.

2. Innovative firms tend to attract the best people, including creatives and entrepreneurs who
enhance your innovation capability.
A lot of upside here! True creative require special management, people with entrepreneurial talent
are among your best commercialisation assets.
Good governance with a sustainability focus goes hand in hand with innovation.
Accountability and integrity matter.
Effective management of fundamentals underpins systematic innovation capability.
The easiest solutions to the tensions between the mindsets and practices of quality and innovation
are structural, especially when a culture of innovation is not yet in place.
Innovation has to be fed. It requires investment in capability building and funds for fast failures
True, but you will be amazed by the contribution and creativity of your people once you start
Successful innovation delivers significant benefits for companies and customers.
The benefits can appear as productivity gains, competitiveness, reputation for innovation, a better
place to work, solutions to wicked problems, and more. They are always reflected in superior
financials. The best research, piled ever higher and deeper, proves it time and again.
Innovation delivers far more benefits when shaped by an innovation strategy
After the thinking, debate and analysis; a compelling two page strategy statement should do.
(Megan and Potter, who were looking a little ragged, were rewarded with time off for their after-
hours efforts.)
* The lists that started the Megan-Potter debate were a decidedly lop sided list called It's all about
innovation brochure [PDF 664KB] published by the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and
Research in 2012 , and subsequently taken down. So don’t bother to click the link.
* Megan and Potter are fictional characters that appear in Darryl’s blogs; or are they?