How Knowledge Drives InnovationDave PollardKMWorld & Intranets 2007 Session C202

dave.pollard@sympatico.cahowtosavetheworld.ca

The Value Propositions for KM

• Improve work productivity• Improve decision making• Increase capacities• Increase understanding of risk• Improve connectivity,

collaboration and knowledge transfer (strengthen relationships)

• Improve innovation

Innovation Defined

• The process of commercializing novel ideas

• Research customer needs• Imagine ideas that meet

those needs• Innovate offerings (products

and services) that realize those needs

Organizations Can Innovate:• Their products and services

(including attributes and bundling)

• Their processes (internal, customer-facing, alliances/ chains, and technologies)

• Their customers’ experiences (service, channels, wraparounds)

• Their business model (how they make money)

Case Study: MTG

• Manufacturer and distributor of medical instruments and supplies

• MTG, their competitors and their customers have been approached by Asian manufacturers offering comparable products 30% cheaper

DiscoveringUnmet Needs

CustomerAnthropology

InnovationLab

‘Thinking theCustomer Ahead’

Sessions

ContinuousEnvironmental

Scanning

InsightFiltering

Wisdom of Crowds

Canvassing

IdeaClustering

Inte

rnal Fo

cus

Mark

et

Focu

sC

ust

om

er

Focu

s

Need/AffinityMatrix

InnovationOpportunitiesMap

StrategyCanvas

Trends, Weak Signals, Developments

Ideas,Learning,StoriesPortfolio

Innovations:Offerings, Tools &

Processes

Research Imagining Innovation

InnovationLearning

Open SpaceEvents

BeSelf -Aware

Study,Sense,

Become Part,Open,

Suspend

Pay Attention,Learn

Create,Act, Realize,

Recognize,Resolve

Appreciate Question:

Ask Why/Why NotCorrelateI ntegrate

Reflect,I magine

Connect

Collaborate

Converse

Ask,Off er

Coordinate

Explain

Listen,Observe,

Explore, DiscoverI nquire,Canvass

Understand,Diagnose,Articulate

Prepare,Engage Others

Act, Realize,I mplement

Design,Experiment

Set I ntentions,Organize

I magine,Brainstorm,Question

Customers

Co-Workers

Communities

UnmetNeedsPortfolio

ImaginingPossibilities

The InnovationProcess

ContinuousInnovation &Improvisation

How Knowledge How Knowledge Drives InnovationDrives Innovation

Knowledge Programs that Support Innovation

• Continuous Environmental Scanning

• ‘Thinking the Customer Ahead’ Sessions

• Customer Anthropology• Needs Analysis• Open Space Events (‘Idea

Markets’ etc.• ‘Wisdom of Crowds’

Canvassing

The Research Process

I. Assembling pertinent information

II. Sense-making

III. Articulating Meaning

1. Identify relevant primary and secondary information sources2. Primary research: Make and record observations; conduct & record interviews3. Secondary research: Read, extract, cite4. Investigate: W5 + How; Follow the leads

1. Analysis: Deductive arguments flowing logically from the information2. Inferences: Inductive arguments flowing logically from the information3. Structured thinking: Documenting the thought process from facts up to thesis

1. State the problem/ question and your thesis2. Reiterate your structured thinking (II. /3) from thesis down to the underlying facts3. Craft the ‘Opening Story’ with Current State, ‘complication’, and the problem/ question that your thesis answers4. Craft the conclusion with a restatement of thesis and key supporting arguments, reminder of why it’s important, and next step actions

The Need-Affinity Matrix

The Strategy Canvas

Post-HoleLaborSaving

ColorChoice

The Practice of Imagination

BeFocused

andSelf-

Aware

Study,Sense,

Become Part,Open,

Suspend

Pay Attention,Learn

Distil,Synthesize,

‘Make Sense’

Recognize,Resolve

Implications

Appreciate Question:

Ask Why/Why NotCorrelateIntegrate

Reflect,Conceive

Possibilities

Connect

Collaborate

Converse

Ask,Offer

Coordinate

Explain

What They’ll Do With Your Research (if you’re lucky)

The Innovation Process

Listen,Observe,

Inquire, Canvass,

Listen, Explore, Discover

Understand,Diagnose,Articulate

Organize,Set Intentions,

Realize,Implement,

Refine

Co-Design,Co-Develop

Engage, Prepare,

BrainstormRe-ImagineQuestion

Experiment,Improvise

Customers

Co-Workers

Communities

What They’ll Do With Your Research (if you’re lucky)