How To Farm Lightning™: sustaining

February 7, 2008 innovation in a shrinking world

Abstract
In this article Brendan Dunphy argues that we need a new approach to innovation as we
move from the “age of plenty” to a “new age of scarcity” driven by global demand for
energy and raw materials, the sustainability agenda and environmental pressures. We
will require new business models, radical innovations and new relationships to meet the
challenge of “business unusual” rather than “business as usual”. These will only come
about if we can learn to innovate on a much broader scale beyond our products and the
walls of our company and truly embrace customers and partners in the innovation
process.

The role of Innovation

Innovation will need to become a central core capability for most organisations during
the transition from plenty to scarcity, it will be essential to survival, let alone prosperity.
Today most businesses are not designed or enabled for innovation but rather operational
efficiency; innovation is at best an after-thought once the real work is done.
Without re-tooling from within innovation and change will be at best sporadic, always
painful and require extensive external intervention.
Innovation theory and practice has come a long way in recent years, often driven by the
accelerating capabilities of new technologies and the products and business models they
enable.
Its time to get serious, understand what is happening and why and build innovation and
change capabilities into the way we do business. In short, it is time to stop hunting and
start farming!

Stop Hunting, start Farming

As part of the Frost & Sullivan “How to Farm Lightning™” innovation programme, we
have identified the shifts in perspective necessary to re-focus and democratise innovation
as the central sustainable asset for success.

The 5 shifts that are most relevant to partners and partner relationships are:

1. From Products & Services to Process, Organisation and Partners – creating

a sustainable capability to innovate and not just within the organisation but end-
to-end across its value chain, from Customers and channels to Suppliers and
Partners. This expansion of innovation beyond the realm of New Product
Development (NPD) will require radical expansion of the partner interface as both
senior management and operations staff will need to engage on a much more
frequent and pro-active basis, seeking opportunities as well as solving problems.
This will require education, tools and protocols beyond what exists today.
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 How To Farm Lightning™: sustaining
February 7, 2008 innovation in a shrinking world

2. From the “Innovation exception” to the “Innovation norm” - we need to

reverse the attitude that innovation is an occasional and painful experience and
make it the norm. We need to ask the question, “why are we not innovating”,
rather than “why are we innovating”. We need to create a business model that
rewards our partners for their participation and actively encourages and motivates
participation. Innovation will need to move from the “sporadic” to the “seasonal”
with an innovation cycle clearly defined, understood and integrated by all involved.
This will take new forms of collaboration, more open and accessible tools and an
open and trusting culture with much higher level of transparency than we are used
to today.

3. From High priests and sects to democracy and teams. The era of the “lone
innovation star” is over. Romantics may cry but today‟s world needs not just stars
but whole constellations where collaboration and sharing is the norm, not the
exception, and not just within our galaxy, but embracing all in our networks. We
will still need some exceptional talent but we have to provide an environment that
is more supportive of them. Many more people will need to be equipped to
contribute to the innovation journey, to use collaboration tools, communicate and
work in virtual teams with those else where in the world and from different
cultures.

4. From competing suppliers to competing eco-systems. Many Tier 1 industry

leaders can only move forward if their supply chain is able and willing to follow-
suit. Industry-wide sustainability initiatives in areas such as CO2 reduction will not
work without re-inventing existing relationships focused on broader and longer-
term goals and relationships. Customer-Supplier expectations can be hugely
different and without re-thinking and compartmentalising the relationship progress
will be handicapped. The depth and complexity of innovation and collaboration
required in the future will render existing „command and control‟ supply
relationships redundant. Tier 1 players will need to create “innovation platforms”
of selected partners in exclusive relationships and competing with their 3 or 4
competitors on a global basis.

5. From closely held to widely shared – the need for transparency will continue to
grow in the world of scarcity and across the entire value chain. The impact of our
actions for others is often obscured today; the “externalities” (such as the costs of
pollution or re-cycling) go unmeasured in economic terms. Once these costs are
known it becomes difficult not to address them and it is not enough to simply
transfer them from one part of the chain to another. Solving these problems will
take unprecedented levels of cooperation and failing to do will open up
opportunities for disruptive innovation from the outside.

All these shifts will require a change in how we perceive not just innovation, but
relationships, information and trust. They will require a fundamental re-appraisal of the
way we work together within and across corporate boundaries and the creation of an
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 How To Farm Lightning™: sustaining
February 7, 2008 innovation in a shrinking world

environment primarily designed to make this happen, not as an afterthought. They will
test partnering approaches we use today and demand more from them. Are you and your
organisation prepared?

Fig1 : Making change happen within a company requires a clear roadmap driven by
strategy, with clear goals, leadership commitment and excellent facilitation.

About the authors

Brendan Dunphy
Brendan is an independent consultant and business adviser working with Frost & Sullivan
for over 10 years. He has worked as a Director of an ICT technology lab, advised a
wireless VC fund, started several businesses and helped numerous international
corporations and teams to change to achieve their business strategies via innovation and
thought leadership.

Paul May
Paul is a business consultant and author who works widely with innovative businesses.
He has developed innovations in insurance, procurement, intellectual property
management and mobile applications.

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