Watching the UK Government’s response to the Coronavirus outbreak reminds me of a point I always stress when first introducing people to Innovation: INNOVATION IS A PROCESS and it only counts when you complete the journey. So many people think of innovation as the initial idea, that creative moment when you invent/think of something new…but that is the easy part (no really it is!). The tough part comes afterwards converting the idea into reality. It is the seemingly endless meetings and iterations to hone the product/service into something the end user needs (and thus wants) at a price they are willing (and able) to pay. When I see a Government minister announcing that so many ventilators or pieces of PPE are ‘in the pipeline’ I just know that what they mean is “I had the idea and I told my minions to make it happen”. There is no concept of supply chains or supply chain management, no appreciation of managing customer expectations, no understanding of distribution logistics. All of these for a part of the innovation process. After all, even if you develop a blockbuster prototype you will still need to manufacture, distribute and sell it. These must not be afterthoughts but part of the innovation process thinking form the earliest stages. I often encourage clients to think about what will ‘victory’ look like (if they say a mega yacht in the Bahamas I tend not to go back – either they will be disappointed and frustrated or I will!). Victory means visualising bottom up numbers; what is best case/worst case demand? what is how many units could you realistically manufacture? How will you ship/distribute them? without a clear vision of the destination you are not on a journey, just a random ramble in the forest, unable to see the wood for the trees… and you are probably a government minister.
2020-04-21
Reading this back with our post Covid knowledge of the Government reponse with PPE, Nightingale hospitals etc it seems all the more apt and, in places, uncannily accurate…especially the mega yacht comment!