Innovation management is also referred to as innovation management system. Essentially, this strategy is about developing and implementing new ideas that serve to make the company fit for the future and maintain competitiveness. Regardless of the size of a company or brand, a lack of innovation can result in business disadvantages that can extend to insolvency.
In business, however, innovative ideas alone are not enough. The promotion of innovative processes is one of the essential innovation management goals. It is also concerned with driving development processes forward, more efficient and reduce costs. Without good innovation management, a company is hardly competitive and will have a hard time holding its own in the markets.
As an innovation manager, you take on the responsible task of being a kind of interface or control centre between the management and the employees. The ability to fight for innovative ideas should therefore be just as much a part of your core competencies as persuasiveness, communication skills and assertiveness.
The definition of innovation management states that innovation management is a core business activity. The task is to check innovative ideas for their practical feasibility and to implement internal innovations in coordination with the company management.
An innovation process is often described as the introduction of something new. However, not every new application or every new operating process is an innovation in the business sense.
One of the most important tasks in innovation management is the systematic promotion of innovations, also known as continuous innovation definition. This task includes various subtasks such as:
In corporate innovation management, one deals with measures that serve to promote innovative processes that have a benefit for the company, such as:
An innovation consists of the four key elements:
In innovation management, a distinction is made between different types. These include in detail:
The task of future management is to identify trends. This type of innovation management is also about developing innovation strategies and planning innovation activities.
In idea management, the focus is on the search for innovative ideas as well as the development and evaluation of innovation processes with the aim of transforming an idea into a successful innovation. In addition, the concept development, business planning and solution development as well as the implementation and marketing of new ideas are also part of idea management.
Innovation controlling is a form of innovation management that is dedicated to controlling innovation activities, compiling statistics and determining key innovation figures. Dealing with patents and property rights also falls into this area.
As a planned management of change processes in the course of innovation projects, the change management is also part of innovation management. To implement innovation strategies, rules and methods are developed and various resources are used. Strategic innovation management deals with the organization of these tasks.
One of the essential aspects of innovation management is the successful implementation of innovative ideas. In this context, the focus of efficient innovation management is primarily on economic and business management perspectives.
In contrast to creativity, whose task is to develop ideas and innovations, innovation management focuses on the practical exploitation of these ideas as well as on their realization in everyday business operations. The management of innovations is an important component of corporate strategy and relates to various areas, such as:
The key here is that any innovation should bring an explicit benefit to the company or organization. Therefore, innovative processes are usually aimed at improving the efficiency and effectiveness of certain procedures.
Innovation management consists of two major pillars. These are the actual innovating, the active search for ideas, and the design of framework conditions with the aim of successfully implementing the innovations.
There are various innovation management methods. In addition, other methods have developed in recent years. These include:
The various innovation management methods are applied in the different phases of the innovation process.
During this phase, various creativity techniques are used in innovation management to promote the development of new ideas and strategies.
Once a new strategy has been developed, it is tested for its usability and practicability in the company. Teams with different expertise are involved in the idea development and review, contributing their different perspectives and opinions.
In the practical implementation of innovative ideas within the framework of classic innovation processes, digital support and new methods such as SCRUM, a process model of project and product management, are now being used.
Without innovations, no company would continue to develop and thus no longer be competitive within a very short time. Modern trends such as digitalization require the constant updating of processes that must be regularly adapted to new standards. Thus, the development of different types of innovations is necessary to ensure the future viability of a company or organization. Traditional business models will probably soon be obsolete in the age of digitality if they are not further developed with innovative changes. The core tasks of innovation management also include the implementation of disruptive innovations.
A disruptive innovation is a process that is developed on the basis of a novel technology or business model. Disruptive innovations are often found in niche projects that initially receive little attention but later become a dominant market factor and are already
can displace established procedures.
Modern innovation management is subject to constant change. Rigid innovation processes are a thing of the past and are increasingly being replaced by modern methods such as open innovation or co-creation.
The development of an efficient innovation culture is an important point with regard to increasing the innovation capability in the company. Until today, the understanding of innovation management is predominantly characterized by process-oriented approaches. In order to Company goals However, in the near future, state-of-the-art digital innovation processes will also be at the forefront.
What can you do as a coach or innovation manager for successful innovation management in your company? Here you will find 8 important tips that will help you to successfully put innovative ideas into practice:
Formulate clear goals, set time limits and targets that you want to achieve with your innovation strategy. This will help your employees to orientate themselves.
In order for innovations to be realised, good cooperation between the different departments and within the teams is very important. As an innovation manager, you are expected to think entrepreneurially and to plan the approach strategically. Strategic action also means doing something together that serves the company and can make the operational processes more efficient.
Before you decide on a particular innovation management method, you should identify the possible weak points of operational or process-related structures by means of an objective inventory. In this way, you support your company and your employees in the implementation of innovative processes in every phase.
Innovation management consists of many subtasks that can grow into an immense task area. It is therefore important to focus on key areas and not get lost in insignificant details. Focus topics could include, for example, industry trends, sustainability, increasing efficiency or idea generation.
In innovation management, you are also dependent on the technical expertise of external experts. It therefore makes sense to regularly exchange ideas with innovation managers from other companies as well as with experts who are familiar with innovations.
Nobody is error-free. Especially in innovation management, where it is about trying out and implementing new things or processes, mistakes or failures can happen. As an innovation manager, you should have a certain willingness to take risks. Mistakes are important indicators of weaknesses and obstacles and are therefore an important prerequisite for learning processes.
Develop innovative ideasis something very inspiring. In order to be able to implement new ideas in your company, you should constantly expand your knowledge and take every opportunity to further your education and learn new things in the process.
Strong communication is very important in innovation management. Use your communication skills to convince management of your creative ideas. Also internal Communication activities ranging from mailings to employee presentations will help you gain approval for your innovative proposals.
As an innovation manager, you have a key function in the company. On the one hand, you are responsible for interdisciplinary project management, while on the other hand you take on a responsible role in leading employees. The tasks of an innovation manager include the planning, organization and implementation of projects. You are fully responsible for the management of time, human and financial resources. You should therefore know the methods of lateral employee management just as well as the basics of project management.
A good innovation manager is expected to have a number of skills and soft skills. These include, among others:
You are also expected to identify trends at an early stage. In innovation management, you therefore also deal with market observation and technology scouting. Your daily work consists not only of dealing with new things, but also of combining proven methods with innovative technological and methodological possibilities.
Organized, structured work is indispensable in innovation management. Incomplete to-do lists, half-heartedly developed ideas or postponed deadlines, on the other hand, can lead to schedules not being met and an innovative idea ultimately coming to nothing. As an innovation manager salary you can expect about 90,900 euros per year for your responsible job depending on the size of the company, your qualifications and professional experience. The starting salary in this field is said to be around 59,754 euros and the upper salary limit is around 121,536 euros per year - as can be seen from this Source ...that's what I'm talking about.
Innovation management is a multifaceted field with interesting prospects. Our team will help you develop your leadership and management skills. Workbookwhich you can download free of charge. Among other things, you'll learn how to achieve your career goals faster and develop the potential of your employees. You can immediately apply our business coaching tips in your everyday work.
