Is a Fractional Chief Innovator right for you?

Innovation is all the rage. Even multinational giant GE is relocating its headquarters to be more innovative.  You’ve probably heard all the statistics about why innovation will either make or break your future.

So how do you go about doing it?

Large organizations have leaders and whole departments dedicated to exploring the future and turning it into new products, processes, business units and practices. These people immerse themselves in emerging areas and trends, commission research, and pilot ideas to see whether the larger organization can benefit. If you’re not a multinational with an enormous market capitalization, though, these things seem out of reach.

Even with those resources, some leaders have ideas for a better future without the system to bring them to life. Some have a system or resources without a vision of what to do with it, or without the ability to share that vision with others. You need a Chief Innovator to help you bring to life the innovation and potential that you are uniquely qualified to share with the world.

So how does the midsize or even a large organization without these resources go about innovation? Who leads it – and what makes them able to scout the future and bring things in-house to act on and produce results? Borrowing from the trend of established companies having fractional leadership like CFOs , CTO’s and CMO’s, you can bring in a fractional Chief Innovator (fCI)  in to help you grow, evolve and thrive cost-effectively even if you lack the headcount or budget for a full-time leader.

A fractional Chief Innovator works for you part of the time, while they work for other (non-competing) firms the rest of the time, bringing you a lot of value without you paying for all their time.  They guide you through making sense of the change going on in the world, identifying your potential in the context of that change, help you plan to reach that potential through internal and external change, and help you manage that change.

Whether you have a full-time or fractional Chief Innovator, here are four things you should consider in working with one:

Do you have potential?

Are you attracted to growth? Are you ambitious and open minded, willing to do things different, work with new people and ideas? Are you building from a foundation of some kind of past success or unique intellectual property or customer insights? How many in your business are ready to change? Unless you and at least some key members of your organization are open-minded about evolving, adapting, being different and working to be different, you might be wasting your time.

Are you willing to look outside your silo?

Innovation isn’t about solitary geniuses working alone, it’s about seeing new things outside your own silo and knowing how to integrate them in your own area of strength. Is your potential Chief Innovator familiar with lots of ecosystems? Lots of stakeholders? It’s an advantage to have a fCI, because they’re out there with other people all the time - and you’re not paying for it.
In my case, I spend time working with emerging ideas and leaders in HealthIT, FinTech, Food, Ag, STEM, Professional Services, Emerging Manufacturing, Incentives, and Digital Culture.  I interact with researchers, early and late stage investors, hackers, entrepreneurs, managers, early adopters, influencers, and regulators. If your Chief Innovator doesn’t look widely, their network is only about as big as yours.  If they don’t have a network they’ve been cultivating for some time, they’re not helping you get to a much better future – they’re helping you get better with a past that’s never coming back.

Why do you care?

Why do you want to innovate now?  Is an emerging technology or business model providing opportunity that you haven’t been able to capture? Do you need to reinvent how you do business or are structured for a transition in ownership?
Has your growth and profitability plateaued? Do your customers want to do business in ways you’re not equipped for?  Are you pretty sure there’s more potential than you’ve been able to tap?
Understanding your goal in innovation is important. Without knowing what success looks like, it will be very difficult for you to have a productive working relationship with an innovation officer.

What are you willing to do?

What are the consequences if you do nothing?  Lot’s of people want to be more innovative, but the majority aren’t willing to do the work. In an organization, alignment and engagement of everyone – grassroots to top leadership – make it easier to change.
A report might give leadership something to think about, but it won’t change attitudes, processes or focus. Find clarity on whether you just need to satisfy your curiosity or whether you also need to get management staff, vendors, your sales channel, user communities or critics engaged to succeed.

Innovation goes beyond an idea and you should expect more from a Chief Innovator, whether they’re full-time or fractional. They need to have visibility into lots of emerging areas, since most innovation comes from combining ideas from disparate areas outside the silo of the incumbents.

You should trust them, but they should be able to work with your whole team, because once you have an idea, you’ll need everyone’s participation to implement it. They should understand the limitations of your resources and the norms of your culture, but see how to stretch them. Finally, they should be someone you want to spend time with, and can trust. Innovation is hard work, and if it doesn’t have moments of excitement and something solid holding it together, it just won’t work.

Next Week: your fractional Chief Innovator: setting scope and expectations

Dan Reus helps organization large and small innovate to claim their spot in the future, and is the author of the forthcoming book Openly Disruptive: Practicing Innovation in the 21st Century. Contact him at Dan@OpenlyDisruptive.org to discuss how he can help you and your organization find your potential and evolve.