The development of innovation in an organisation requires to analyse and structure a continuously learning organisation which can adapt their structures, products and services dynamically to customer and market needs. This unit is about designing continuous learning organisations for innovation.
To lead an innovation project factors for successful entrepreneurship, the planning and monitoring of an innovation project, the creation of a stakeholder network are important contributors to success. Innovation also requires to have social skills paired with technical abilities and to be able to take leadership.
Characteristics of a successful entrepreneur are:
- High degree of energy
- Being Innovative
- Acting Independent
- Ability to anticipate needs
- Effective communicator
- Responsive to criticism
- Able to take the lead
- Learning from mistakes
- Being Self-directed
Key factors to make an innovation project a success are:
1. Having a mission statement - Clearly define the innovation idea and its business opportunity (what problem will be solved?)
2. Identifying what makes your innovation different from others – Researching the existing and explaining the difference
3. Developing a Business Plan (including Marketing plan) and a Business Network
4. Explaining What-is-in-it-for-me for the potential customers.
5. Setting up a project to implement the business idea (registration of the Enterprise) and monitoring the performance of this project
Successful Innovation Leaders usually build a charisma by:
- Challenging The Status Quo
- Creating A Compelling Vision
- Establishing Shared Values
- Enabling Others To Act
- Modelling The Way Which Others can Follow
- Encouraging The Heart in Case of Risks and Problems to Solve on the Way
The success of an innovation depends on the ability to create a network of stakeholders. This includes:
- A network of supporters who co-develop the idea
- A network of customers and users that are interested
- A network of sponsors who help to finance the innovation project
- Network users who provide feedback and form a crowd of interested people
- Etc.
Such a network can be created by different means
- Social media (LinkedIn, XING, etc.)
- Workshops
- Conferences
- Marketing and contact databases
- Collaborative platforms on the Internet
- User and interest groups
- Intermediary agencies that support innovation on a regional and EU level
- Etc.