Keys to Innovation Leadership

I've just finished moderating a two day conference on innovation. While the participating were generally traditional companies, sustainability and social responsibility were themes throughout and I took away four lessons that I can think would benefit social enterprises:

1. Innovate across your entire value chain. Too many organizations get focused on product/service innovation or process innovation. The key is really to think holistically from the people you bring into your organizations as workers right through to your suppliers, collaborators, funders, and final users or consumers. Using this approach you will uncover new opportunities and resources.
2. For global organizations you must think of emerging and non-traditional markets as more than places to make things or in which to deliver goods/services. Those markets are also great sources for talent, ideas, and new business models that you can use globally. There is a lot to be learned if you engage with the right outlook.
3. Ask the right question. What "job" is your end user "hiring" your product or service to do? Often this isn't the one that the designer had in mind originally. A simple example: someone going to a coffee shop may be looking for a cup of coffee, a place to hang out, to purchase Free Trade beans, or check out home brew espresso machines. Think about how differently Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts have answered this. Starbucks invites you to hang out, has comfortable chairs, and cool music; Dunkin' Donuts has signs saying "20 minute limit," basic furniture, and no music. You get coffee fast at Dunkin' while at Starbucks your beverage is crafted by a barista. Either can be the right answer in the right context but neither is the right answer in the wrong context. This concept was first put forth by Professor Theodore Leavitt of Harvard Business School back in the '70s but it is completely relevant today.
4. Innovation requires leadership. Throughout the conference the difficult questions, the "messy stuff," all came back to organizational and behavioral issues. Solving those means making tough choices, communicating a clear vision, instilling commitment and building trust. If you can't get these things right, your great ideas will never become reality.