GUEST POST from Arlen Meyers
A business school colleague recently said that academics, frustratingly, are more about process than outcomes, and, that, occasionally, the process results in favorable outcomes. When processes are designed and portrayed as efforts to create innovative outcomes with out results, it’s called innovation theater. Some cynics call it strategic planning.
He was referring to organizational culture— the set of values, beliefs, and behaviors that determine “how things get done” in an organization. It is the job of leaderpreneurs to create, scale and sustain a organizational culture of innovation.
But organizational innovation only happens when intrapreneurs i.e. employees with an entrepreneurial mindset trying to act like entrepreneurs, are able to work in and engage with a culture of innovation with the goal or creating stakeholder defined value through the deployment of innovation. There needs to be structure, process, culture and leaderpreneurs driving favorable outcomes.
Most of us know toxic, anti-entrepreneurial work cultures when we work in them, or, maybe, contribute to them. But, how do we know we are getting the results we want? Like the saying goes, you get what you measure . Try measuring 1. Program/rollout engagement KPIs
2. Storytelling that celebrates champions and teams
3. Behaviors that reflect change
4. Financial, operational, sales and marketing metrics
5. Economic development and technology transfer metrics
6. Stakeholder conversion rates
8. ROII (return on innovation investment)
9. Multiples of user defined value compared to competitive offerings or the status quo
10. Burnout and turnover rates
Or, just ask yourself one simple question. Would you recommend where you work as a place to innovate to a family member, friend or colleague? This cultural innovation net promoter score should tell the tale.
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