What Organizations Need To Do To Foster Innovation

Leadership Biz Cafe - Andrea Kates

These days, everyone is talking about the importance of innovation to an organization’s future, but what exactly does it take to be innovative and how do we start? That’s the basis of my conversation with business strategist and author Andrea Kates in this latest episode of “Leadership Biz Cafe”.

Andrea is the founder of the Business Genome project and has led more than 250 business innovation initiatives with a variety of organizations, including Royal Dutch Shell (Asia-Pacific), Audi, Allstate, Continental Airlines, KPMG, and OnStar. In her bestselling book “Find Your Next: Using the Business Genome Process to Find Your Company’s Next Competitive Edge”, Andrea shares her insights into the various business elements organizations need to employ if they are to create new innovation opportunities in the face of today’s competitive, global market.

Over the course of our conversation, Andrea and I discuss –

  • What organizations really need to do to be innovative in today’s global market.
  • What the creation of the Cool Ranch Doritos brand can teach us about the innovation process.
  • The four steps leaders can implement today to initiative innovation in their organizations.
  • How employee recruitment and culture play a key role in fostering innovation in today’s organizations.
  • Why leaders need to look beyond focus groups and market studies to find their next innovation.

As I mentioned at the end of the show, I’d love to hear what you think about this episode, as well as what other topics you’d be interested in hearing more about in upcoming episodes of my show. You can share your thoughts/ideas by leaving a comment below or by filling out the contact form on my website.

I’d appreciate it if you could help support future episodes of this leadership podcast by taking a moment to rate my show on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or your preferred streaming platform.

Noteworthy links:

  • Buy Andrea Kates’ book “Find Your Next: Using the Business Genome Process to Find Your Company’s Next Competitive Edge” on Amazon.com (or Amazon.ca for Canadian readers).

2 comments on “What Organizations Need To Do To Foster Innovation

  1. I took timeout to listen to your latest Podcast today. Very def given innovation is a topic I am passionate about. Some great examples – Jiffy Lube. In my industry, foodservice I have always challenged my manufacturing peers to benchmark Nordstrom’s and have gotten nowhere, but you know Tanveer I will not give up.

    I liked the culture segment, but I would like to add one additional thought: I agree not everyone is a Steve Jobs, but what if we challenge everyone in our organization from C-suite to the individual in the mail room to ask themselves what can I do better today, everyday they come to work. Think how innovative that company would be. Again, thank you for the Podcast. Andrea’s book is officially on my reading list.

    1. Glad to hear you enjoyed it, Jim; had a feeling you would. In her book, Andrea shares the story of some innovative measures P.F. Chang has used; I'm sure you'll enjoy her discussion of their moving into grocery chains as a food brand while retaining their fast-casual restaurant brand.

      She also has some interesting points on "product and service innovation" as well as "process design" which I'm sure you'll find interesting. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on her book once you've had a chance to read it.

      Thanks again for your comment, Jim.

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