nurturing innovation culture...nurturing innovation culture eric ma, acting ceo, hong kong...

NurturingInnovation Culture

Eric Ma, Acting CEO,

Hong Kong – Shenzhen Innovation and

Technology Park Limited

17 April 2018

4

- Innotech Forum on Geotechnology

The Most Innovative Companies of 2018

5

Siemens Unilever BASF Expedia Johnson&

Johnson

JPMorgan

Chase

Bayer Dow

Chemical

AT&T Allianz

Intel NTT

Docomo

Daimler AXA Adidas BMW Nissan Pfizer Time

Warner

Renault

3M SAP Dupont

InterConti

nental

Hotels Grp

Disney Huawei Procter &

Gamble

Verizon Philips Nestlé

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40

41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50

Source: 2017 BCG Global Innovation Survey. 1 Includes Nokia. 5. Includes all Samsung business groups. 33. Includes Mercedes-Benz

What do they have in common?

We participate only in markets where we can make a significant

contribution.

We believe in saying no to thousands of projects so that we can really

focus on the few that are truly important and meaningful to us.

We believe in deep collaboration and cross-pollination of our

groups, which allow us to innovate in a way that others cannot.

We don’t settle for anything less than excellence in every

group in the company, and we have the self-honesty to admit when

we’re wrong and courage to change.

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Apple: Passion, Ambition, Focus, Excellence

Source: Apple’s Core Values, Apple Inc. 2012

Do what you love

Put a dent in the universe

Creating is connecting things

Say no to 1,000 things

Create “insanely great” experiences

Master the message

Sell dreams, not products

Source: The 7 Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs, Forbes 2014

We believe that we’re on the face of the Earth

to make great products.

We believe in the simple, not the complex.

We believe that we need to own and control

the primary technologies behind the

products we make.

Google: Empowering employees, Get out-of-the box

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The story of innovation has not changed. It has always been a

small team of people who have a new idea, typically not

understood by people around them and their executives.

Eric Schmidt, Board Member (former Chairman), Alphabet Inc.

Source: Creating a Culture of Innovation, Eight ideas that work at Google, G Suite; Google’s Secrets of Innovation: Empowering its Employees, Forbes 2013

Think 10X

70% dedicated to

core business

20% related

to core

business

10% unrelated to

core business

Encourage

new ideas and

big dreams

Hire the right people

Crowd source–

many channels

Listen to user feedback

Innovation culture is crucial to achieving strong financial performance

8Source: Strategy& Global Innovation 1000, Why

Culture is Key, 2011

9% 44%

27% 20%

Innovation Strategy and Cultural Alignment Matrix

LOW

LOW ALIGNMENT

HIGH ALIGNMENT

MODERATE ALIGNMENT

MODERATE ALIGNMENT

Companies that outperform

on growth in both profits

and enterprise value

Alignment of Business Strategyto innovation Strategy HIGH

Cu

ltu

ral S

up

po

rt fo

r in

no

va

tio

n

LO

WH

IGH

Building innovation culture involves both behavior and value changes

9

EXPLICIT

IMPLICIT

CORE VALUES

BEHAVIORS

ATTITUDES

BELIEFS

Culture as the “software of the

mind… provides a guide for

humans on how to think and

behave”

Geert Hofstede

The Cultural Iceberg

Best practices to create a culture of innovation

1. Create a safe space for innovation

Manage innovation

projects as separate

businesses

� Dedicated team, dedicated

resources

� Different performance

measures

� Artistic workplace to

inspire creativity

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Best Practices for Leading via Innovation, Harvard Business Review 2012 https://hbr.org/2012/08/best-practices-for-leading-via

Mature

business

Growth

business

Emerging

business

*Adapted from The Alchemy of Growth, by Baghai, Coley and White (1999)

Innovation and Business Growth, William R Kerr, Harvard University

Measures � Profit

� ROIC

� Costs

� Productivity

� High revenue growth

� Market share growth

� New customers

acquisitions

� Profit

� Project-based milestones

� Use experiments to reduce

uncertainty

� Involve customers,

suppliers, partners

IBM’s Horizons Model to classify innovations*


2. Enable organizational agility

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The eight essentials of innovation, McKinsey & Company 2018, https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/the-eight-essentials-of-innovation


• Bypass unnecessary early approvals

• Test ideas with customers early in the process

Process

• Cross-functional Project team

• Innovation project’s success above success of individual

functions

Organisation

• Channels to propose innovative ideas to Top

Management

• Spare time for innovative activities

Talent


3. Broaden perspectives

Co-create with ecosystem partners

� Source innovative ideas from your employees,

thought leaders, customers, suppliers, technology

and business partners

� Recognize the value of different parties and

incentivize them

� Effective IT infrastructure to support collaboration

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4. Celebrate success and learn from setbacks

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Government should promote innovation culture across the organisation

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Open minded to new ideas

Collaborate with the industry to foster new ideas & technologies

Empower officers to exercise their discretion

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Clients should have the vision and courage to drive innovation

Prioritize technology factor in procurement

Take risk and tolerate failure in innovation initiatives

“Failure is an option here.

If things are not failing,

your are not innovating enough.”

Elon MuskFounder, CEO and lead designer, SpaceX

Co-founder, CEO and product architect of TEsla

Co-founder and CEO, Eeuralink

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Thank You

nurturing innovation culture...nurturing innovation culture eric ma, acting ceo, hong kong...

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