At Vancouver Strategic and Integrated Research (VSIR), strategic innovation planning begins by establishing what’s important the institutions with whom we partner. Hence, we’re continually adapting our strategic innovation planning techniques so we can serve as better strategic partners for each client. At VSIR, we proudly partner with both private and public sector clients, providing strategic innovation solutions for an ever-shrinking world. Before contacting VSIR, there are five things you should know:
1) You Must Know Your Environment
The most important thing for any institution is to know their environment well. Understanding your environment involves knowing your industry and your institution. Knowing your industry means knowing the difference between trends, fads, and strong undercurrents and knowing your institution means knowing your core competencies, differentiators, and what’s essential to your institution’s culture. You need to understand the lines of business you serve and be familiar with everything in-between.
2) You Must Understand Your Institution’s Constraints
Most institutions are well-aware of their strengths. However, it’s also important to consider your constraints (or weaknesses). What are your institution’s particular constraints? Are your constraints physical, fiscal, political, or a combination of the three? Keep in mind that every institution has its constraints. Identifying yours will help VSIR define the parameters we are operating within.
Identifying your constraints will help us focus on target areas that will create exponential payback concerning effort invested.
3) Finding Your Innovation Potential
Your institution’s aspirational goals should be N on your strategic innovation planning compass. Everything you do and every aspect of your strategic innovation planning should be designed to achieve your aspirational goals. Finding your innovation potential first requires an honest evaluation of your institution’s current state. The gap between where you are and where you want to be is where your innovation potential lies.
Your strategic innovation planning is much more than research and development. Strategic innovation planning is a matter of problem-solving. It’s about working within or against a constraint. The process is about knowing where you want to be and how you plan to get there.
4) First Things First
Before the strategic innovation planning phase, you need to optimize your enterprise architecture. Start by automating everything that can be automated. Any repetitive tasks or any tasks that don’t require human decision makers should be automated first. Doing so will allow your team to invest in higher valued tasks. Teams must work effectively and efficiently, and automation will increase productivity significantly.
5) Lead Internally and Externally
One of the best ways to lead is to manage change effectively. Fortunately, in today’s world, you don’t have to wait very long for change to come. The best way to manage change is by building relationships and trust with your team. Further, make sure your team understands the “what” and the “why” of your institution. Create a vision your team buys into, and they will work day and night to help fulfill that vision.
Leadership is often about people, politics, and influence. Understand your political style and the tendencies of your peers. Remember, you need to work with other people and collaborate with them regularly. Your three main guiding values should be alignment, adaptability, and collaboration.
Of course, these are just a few of the strategic innovation planning steps. Contact Vancouver Strategic and Innovation Research today to discuss your strategic innovation planning needs.