News/ Innovation: Shabeena Ahmed cuts through the hype and asks whether ‘innovation’ is the new buzz mantra for the pharmaceutical Companies?
by Shabeena Ahmed, WCW Columnist
Innovation is, the buzz-word that’s going around the corridors of corporate companies for a long time. Yet, does your company really foster a culture of innovation? Or, is it just one of those pseudo fads that die a silent death? Does your company adopt innovative practices – in its processes, its technologies, its marketing initiatives, its business models and its support systems?
Ask the right questions?
Do you check on how your growth matrix fairs against the innovation matrix when you make organizational plans?
Or do your ideas die an untimely death without getting their dues? Does your leadership propel employees to seek innovation in thought and action? Does it try not to kill the roost by shooting down every single idea for fear of not getting immediate returns?
With the downturn witnessed in companies along with severe budget cuts, innovation needs to take on a new momentum. As companies strive to stead fast and have a hold in a recession economy, innovation will have to take on a new meaning.
Historically companies like Apple, Virgin Atlantic Group and Toyota have gained solid ground and have prospered by adopting innovative practices, but how are the pharmaceutical companies fairing here?
J&J’s innovative initiatives are indeed pervasive. Yet, few pharmaceutical companies really draw up the charts and provide a clear path to innovation, ensuring a culture that manifests new ideas and growth.
The Confusion
If the organization fails to provide the permissions, the resources and the support to be innovative, the concept of innovation will remain a distant dream. It would not just set high frustration levels for the employees trying to break through the mundane, but will also lead to wastage of time and resources.
The Solutions
Leadership needs to take note to ensure that the culture of the organization reflects innovation every step of the way. If ideas are going to remain behind closed doors with brass knobs then the innovation mantra is certain to bring in stagnancy, build up employee frustrations eventually leading to a growth graph, which does not show exponential growth. An opportunity not worth missing for sure! Ensure that your organization provides clear strategies to let new ideas in prosper. Resource allocation and a team that closely monitors innovative practices help streamlining and striking that balance between revenues and growth through innovation.
It’s interesting to follow the new term “Open innovation”, a term I recently learnt about which is fast gaining acceptance. Its central idea is being in a world of widely distributed knowledge, where companies cannot afford to rely entirely on their own research, but should instead buy or license processes or inventions (e.g. patents) from other companies. In addition, internal inventions not being used in a firm’s business should be taken outside the company (e.g., through licensing, joint ventures, spin-offs). This is the wikipedia’s definition of “Open innovation”.
The more I read, the more I realize that Open innovation is being harnessed well by the pharmaceutical sector, with several collaborative efforts already under-way between various entities coming together for mutual benefits, but what about innovation within the organization?
Is the organization flexible enough to bring in a conducive atmosphere where new ideas can take form? As a friend from a leading pharmaceutical company rightly pointed out, it truly means being able to strike a balance between exploiting (immediate returns) and exploring (new ideas) new horizons. Organizations need to keep their eyes and ears open to the balancing act.
