Wednesday, July 13, 2016

Innovation Insights from the Top B.Com College in Greater Noida

The top B.Com College in Greater Noida, Ishan Institute of Management & Technology has just explored something about innovation that is not too exciting. Innovation is more than a mindset to experiment. Given that global economic conditions have become interdependent and intricately woven by the sparks of economic growth unleashed by economies of different nations and corporations, innovation as a sustainable business practice has become a different ball game altogether. To this extent, it makes enormous good sense to assert that there is ample empirical evidence on the fact that big corporations are great at optimizing and leveraging existing strategic business units and resources and the small companies find innovation to penetrate the market. Once a small company enters the growth phase somewhere innovation is lost. The challenge then is to understand that growth brings inertia of a different kind. Organic growth in particular can be a big barrier to companies to adopt an innovation agenda because their structures, systems and staff get accustomed to functioning like parts of a well oiled machine. As the machine gathers momentum it assumes control of the driver rather than the driver assuming control of it. As one of the top commerce colleges in Greater Noida, Ishan Institute of Management & Technology is curious to understand the reason behind getting into this kind of state where process dynamics assume a sense of automation and the cycle becomes a virtual impasse for corporations to decode.

Breaking the Chain and Then Putting It Together

But this is half the challenge. While there are many managers and business executives capable of breaking into this cycle and catching the bull by its horn, there are other relevant questions they must answer. It is possible to stop or reduce the momentum of a machine. It is another challenge to institutionalize the change in business processes and functions and create a customer centric business model based on an innovation. To get the resources, staff, vendors and most importantly customers to rally behind something that is new and untested in terms of user experience is one of the greatest barriers. How should corporations adopt an innovation agenda? Is there a simple algorithm or protocol to be followed for innovation to be practiced as a sustainable business tool? At the top B.Com college in Greater Noida, Ishan Institute of Management &Technology we refer to the following 8 fold path for innovation. These 8 steps are as follows:
·        Aspire
·        Choose
·        Discover
·        Evolve
·        Accelerate
·        Scale
·        Extend
·        Mobilize

We found this simple algorithm for innovation in a McKinsey research publication and the academicians at the top B.Com college in Greater Noida feel this is the correct way to go about things.

Understanding the Dynamics of the Algorithm for Innovation

The innovation algorithm that we have referred to is premised on 8 different steps. These steps have been broken down for many reasons. First innovation calls for change management. The rate of innovation and its institutionalization has to be kept flexible so that it can be increased to suit a response to a crisis situation or reduce it in case if the situation demands a less risky approach. Second, evolution rather than revolution is required. It is important to collect firsthand accounts of user experiences of staff, clients and distributors. Watching for the receptivity of the market during the entire process leaves the scope to go back the algorithm for corrective action and control. Third, it is critical to get the innovation matrix right by matching technologies for market segments and then attaining the right scalability.

The above algorithm starts with aspiring to embrace innovation as a factor that is critical to growth. The second step is to choose the right portfolio of talent, products, markets and technology. Third, there has to be a discovery of the right business, market and technology insights that combine to form winning value propositions. Fourth, there is a need to evolve from an old business and revenue model to a new one that offers scalable and defensible profits to the enterprise. Fifth, action has to be taken to ensure a small time to market. This constitutes the step to accelerate. Being able to launch an innovation as a commercially feasible product or service in the market before competitors do so, provides the competitive edge. Sixth, the challenge of scalability needs to be addressed. Companies those are successful at innovation focus on scalability or the lack of it before pursuing an innovation project rigorously. The ability to repeat the functions, procedures and processes to produce an innovation for the masses holds the key to commercial fruition of innovation projects. Seventh, companies need navigators to get into external partnerships with vendors, suppliers, talent, franchises and distributors to enable them to reach out to a wide audience in the market. Eighth, companies that continue to innovate at scale get the basics of incentive management right within the organization and beyond. They put in place an ecosystem that stimulates talent towards innovation within the confines of their routine functions and reward them. Motivation in this context does serve the purpose for sustaining the innovation stream as it is short lived. For innovation to sustain as a routine business function it must outlive the initial spark of enthusiasm caused by motivation.


While the above algorithm serves as a blue print for innovation in companies, at Ishan Institute of Management & Technology, one of the top B.Com colleges in Greater Noida we aim to follow up on this story with empirical evidences and case studies of companies.