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Yael Manor

What Lies Ahead in 2024?

Published date: January 23, 2024 в 9:24 pm

5 Data-Driven, Customer-Centric trends we’ve identified

This is not just another conventional forecast. Over nearly three weeks of dozens of conversations with clients and prospects, we have identified some strong trends for the coming year. These trends are congruous with the actual activities on which we supported our customers during the final months of 2023, indicating that they truly are what one might expect to see in 2024. So, without further ado, here are five key trends poised to define 2024:

1. Revival of strategy:

As we bid farewell to three years focused on just keeping one’s business afloat amidst unimaginable global changes, longer-term Strategy is making a comeback. Key initiatives we kicked off for our clients in 2023 will mature into implementation by 2024 and 2025. As 2024 begins, more and more organizations are talking about the commencement of a new cycle, where strategic, large-scale initiatives will once again take center stage.

2. Productivity’s enduring presence:

The conclusion of 2023 witnessed a remarkable 50% increase in “Productivity” being listed as a primary objective even in growth projects. Leveraging existing assets is now recognized as a pivotal factor in nearly everything that an organization does. In 2024, we anticipate witnessing this trend to continue extending beyond operational efforts, manufacturing, and supply chain improvements, making “Margin Innovation” critical in all areas of the business.

3. Consumer Goods flourishing:

After years of hearing from CPG and Durable Consumer Goods companies that they are focusing on creating new services vs launching new products, we witness a return to the core. Truly innovative products are not only being ideated, but actually entering development pipelines, and consumer tests indicate that customers are embracing this direction. Coupled with the increasing applications of AI and Digital, in general, expect to see some cool new features as add-ons to new products that would be considered highly innovative even without them.

4. Integration of new technologies, and Digital Transformation:

Having dedicated the past few years to exploring emerging technologies and dabbling in Digital initiatives most “traditional” industries and companies will transition to true transformation in 2024. Technologies have matured and a deep understanding of how they benefit all areas of the business make this a breakout year. Digital technology, therefore, will be an indispensable component in all our innovation initiatives.

As we mentioned in the Consumer Goods trend, expect to see such technologies embedded even into traditionally low-tech products, so that they will appeal to the increasingly tech-savvy consumer, and provide real value for those who know to use them properly.

5. In-depth, innovative, Innovation Training programs:

2023 highlights significant shifts in our clients’ training needs and requests. Our data indicates that clients are beginning to favor intensive training programs, in which multiple intimate cohorts learn new skills and gain proficiency in them, as opposed to large groups being exposed to an innovation toolkit through seminars, lectures, and mini-courses. Trainings will no longer be uni-formatted, but will include multi-day onsite workshops, live distance learning, and self-paced learning. Emphasis will be placed on translating new knowledge back to the everyday tasks of the trainee, and organizations will build new KPIs and assessment models to understand the ROI (Return-On-Innovation) of such trainings.

Have We Nailed It?

We believe that these five trends will evolve and mature as they accompany us throughout 2024. Have you been seeing indications of these in your organization? Or in others around you?

Creating an Innovation Community of Practice, part 2

Published date: September 15, 2023 в 12:59 pm

Written by: Yael Manor

Category: Innovation,Organizational Innovation

If you are here, it probably means that I’ve convinced you that you should engage with the idea of establishing your Innovation Community of Practice. Part 2 (click for part 1) of our series highlights “top innovation coaches”, their importance in having an active, impactful innovation community of practice, and the way they become key assets in the innovation community over time.

It is not about taking a course; it is about implementing new skills

(almost) Everyone loves to attend training events and courses. Assuming you have a good trainer, you should have a good time. However, an impactful program is not (only) about taking a-training, it is more about getting things done the day after. Conducting a 2/3/5/10-day training is necessary and an important beginning, but it is not enough. It doesn’t cut it. From an organizational perspective, as well as from a personal one, individuals must implement what they learned to generate growth and impact. In other words – innovation training programs, like innovation projects, must integrate an implementation phase, otherwise – it is just an exercise we once engaged in, maybe even a good learning memory.

With everything I know about training, learning, innovation (and some other things), this criteria was very clear to me when I stepped into leading my first innovation training program 7 years ago. It was obvious that I needed to provide more than “just” new knowledge. In fact, the strength of our programs – then and now – depends on engagement, especially in the post-training phase – where we get to see what participants do (or will not do) once our team is not there 24/7 to train and mentor.

Over time, I started to notice a pattern – when you take a group of smart, talented, capable individuals, and train them to do something useful – they will all take something from the training to their professional (and personal) lives. Yet only some of them will do that in a way that brings true impact to the innovation community, to the organization (and to their career), and bring new ROI to the innovation network. Those are our top innovation coaches, the top runners.

Meet the top runners, your network’s true X-factor

All iCoaches need to be active, promoting innovation buzz, engagement, new ideas, and small-scale initiatives. We know that they all do it in different ways, and over time – some get more active, and some – less. This is the nature of group behavior and normal statistics, and yet another important reason to consider onboarding your innovation coaches over time, using a cohort system.

Granted that top coaches are active coaches, but to be a true top runner you need something extra – which makes you a key asset to the innovation community. In other words, top runners are active in a way that highlights constant engagement, as well as a strong desire to drive business impact. They are not necessarily the ones who run the most mini-sessions or know all the tools and methodologies, yet they are the ones who bring the most added value to the innovation effort as a whole; they are the ones whom you cannot imagine your community without. It is no wonder that over time the strength of this sub-group – as individuals and as a team – will determine the strength of your innovation community.

What is this X-factor? One of those things that may be a bit difficult to explain in one sentence. It is a unique combination of skills and attributes who differentiates them from others, making sure that they will do something very useful with their learning, and by doing so – become important members in the innovation community. In some cases, top coaches are simple to spot, in others – not as much. To find these candidates, one should try looking for the ones whom you cannot imagine your network without, and the ones whom you always reach out first with every new idea, initiative or challenge, or when you need to think with someone you trust. These are your top runners.

Each innovation community is different, and so are top runners, yet they all share similar aspects and characteristics. After training hundreds of coaches, exploring their activities, what helps them to succeed, and what prohibits their efforts, let’s meet our top runners:

Ben the Connector. Ben knows everyone in the organization, making him the network’s matchmaker – bringing together people, topics, and resources. He takes the time to connect, introduce, and to be introduced in all key teams and functions in the organization, knowing what they are up to, and connecting them to a relevant fellow iCoach to lead a mini-session around a specific topic identified. Ben also takes the time to make sure that topic owners and coaches are connected over time, helping them to follow up with results and ongoing innovation opportunities.

Problem Solver Michael. Mike’s idea of a good day is a day in which a complicated problem was solved, preferably one that others were not able to fully grasp. Mike will always find all the time in the world to explore topics and challenges using different tools and methodologies, as well as his endless curiosity to find out different tracks and tools. People often reach out to him with a topic that others gave up on or are not sure how to address; from time to time, he will even present one of those topics to the iCoaches community, to inspire them to provide him and others with more problems to solve.
Together Tammie. With some time passed since her training, Tammie became all iCoaches best wing-person for every session or activity, making her one of the network’s most active and knowledgeable coaches. Her engagement, experience, and familiarity with all iCoaches makes Tammie a key resource in many exciting initiatives, providing her with a rich pull of success stories and examples as well as an opportunity to make sure coaches meet from time to time – in small groups or as a full team.
“Let’s go for it” Ellen. Ellen has no fear in leading sessions, meetings, pith, or town-hall meetings designed to showcase the network’s progress and business contribution. Ellen has top moderation skills, continually improving as she seeks additional opportunities to engage with teams, topics, and events. It is no wonder that over time Ellen became an important resource in supporting difficult sessions, as well as promoting the network’s overall wow effect.
Melissa’s Management. Melissa masters innovation and organizational skills, to perfectly echo her key role in the organization and manager’s support. This unique combination makes Ellen the best person to engage with senior management and stakeholders when asking for new resources for projects and events, training opportunities for iCoaches and adjacent teams, and dealing with political problems in general. Melissa works closely with the community’s senior sponsor and is considered as one of the architects, responsible for the network’s success.

Top runners are presented here as Personas, these are not real people. Yet, I am confident that some of you will see yourselves in one of those team members, or maybe as a combination of two. Learning what makes an iCoach a top runner is useful for coaches who wish to advance, contribute, and understand how they can add value to their network; and for community leaders – when looking into improving their team’s performance as well as in the nomination phase of new coaches to be.

And what about other iCoaches? Most coaches’ networks, like most groups in general, exhibit a standard spread of motivations, skills, interests, and circumstances. It is very difficult, not to say – unlikely, to have a group in which every iCoach is a top runner. Having said that, some networks – and their senior managers, have been doing better than others in nominating, training, and mentoring their networks – improving their ratio and network strength.

Want to become more like Ellen, Michael or Melissa and master their skills and capabilities? Want to make sure you identify and nurture your top talents? Comment below or write to us directly.

While finalizing this article I was toying with the possibility of designing an innovation community in which every iCoach is a top runner. Not sure if this idea can indeed become a live innovation community of practice, but the more we highlight iCoaches’ nomination process, post-training mentoring and organizational buy-in, the closer we get. What do you think? Could you imagine this dream team in your organization?

Innovation communities of practice – Part 1

Published date: May 31, 2023 в 12:34 pm

Written by: Yael Manor

Category: Innovation Facilitation,Organizational Innovation

Innovation Coaches in action

This one is for all our worldwide Innovation Coaches community of practice, their supporting managers, and everyone interested in launching an organizational innovation program.

Nowadays, the term “coach” is widely used for almost any role that has to do with helping others attain or practice new skills, overcome a barrier, or generally improve. Given that innovation has a crucial function in business, strategy, and organizational change processes, it is no surprise that SIT has worked for many years to develop and advance Innovation Networks in which Innovation Coaches take an active role.

Over the last years I’ve spent most of my working hours designing, managing, and leading innovation networks and training programs. With the sustainable innovation approach becoming more and more common, I am often asked under what circumstances an organization should develop inhouse innovation related capabilities. Two recent – very different in scope and style – training cohorts, led me to think about all the innovation coaches I’ve trained, their inspiring success stories, and diverse challenges.

So, in case you never had a chance to collaborate with an iCoach – I hope to convince you that you should; and if you are an active iCoach – this is the moment where you get to kick back, recall how amazing and important the work you do is, and then – share with your friends and colleagues. I am confident that many people in your organization will be happy to learn more about your innovation training, knowledge and activities, and how you can help promote innovation and business impact.

Making room for your innovation community

Innovation coaches help others to innovate in what they do, primarily by driving small-scale innovation activities aimed to generate new ideas, solutions, collaborations, and inspiration which in turn drive business impact. Most organizations we (SIT) advise have adopted our role definition and refer to someone as an innovation coach (iCoach) upon completing our onboarding training and practice. These initial programs make them valued members in the organizational community, as well as part of SIT’s global innovation community of practice.

The idea of defining a new – innovation based – role to individuals is key to designing and rolling out a fruitful organizational innovation strategy. Setting such a mechanism is key to the organization’s ability to nurture and scale innovation efforts alongside its core activities. Strong innovation communities can also enhance additional organizational efforts such as promoting new concepts, ideas, tools, and insights – which many organizations find challenging to implement when merged into their day-to-day tasks.

A community of active innovation coaches is at the core of a meaningful, impactful innovation framework. It is where the top-down and bottom-up strategies come together in the form of ongoing activities providing additional value. Community size will vary based on organization’s size and structure and innovation objectives – from 10 to +1000.

What does an innovation coach do?

Innovation coaches are trained to initiate, plan, and moderate internal innovation activities to generate new ideas and solutions in the context of a specific business topic. When designing the coaches training program, we define and adjust the role to reflect the organization and its innovation strategy and capabilities so that in time (and practice) they will be able to meet Return on Innovation (ROI) goals.

SIT’s Innovation Coaches are trained in conducting Mini-Sessions using a structured and systematic method. These sessions in which one or two coaches collaborate with a small group of colleagues to generate new ideas, solutions, and insights to benefit a specific business topic across the innovation process and framework. Active and impactful innovation coaches will usually run around 10 Mini-Sessions a year (and participate and lead additional innovation activities – alone and with their fellow coaches).

Who should become an innovation coach?

This is one of the questions I am most frequently asked. Anyone in the organization can innovate and contribute through innovation. Yet iCoaches hold a unique function and therefore their nomination is important on the individual, team, and the organization levels.

Here are three useful tips to consider when nominating iCoaches:

Having an active interest and motivation in innovation is a strong indicator to one’s success and activity level over time. The importance of being passionate or interested is true for most endeavors, and it is more so for tasks that require taking initiative, challenging existing practices and mindset, and engaging others.
Active and impactful iCoaches are usually the ones who are “going places” within the organization. They bring in their organizational experience and knowhow to achieve goals yet are not so senior that won’t have the time to take on additional responsibilities.
Having a group of motivated and experienced nominated individuals in your iCoach team is great, but not enough. An effective iCoach team is aligned to the organization’s business functions and echoes its structure and strategy. This way, as a group can form an active, interactive community of practice.

Building your dream team of iCoaches is kind of a combination between science and art. If you are currently engaged in this process, here is my (maybe surprising) advice: look for those people that everyone would like to have in their team, those who are busy yet somehow always take on another interesting and challenging task (or two).

An active innovation coach requires training, mentoring and management support.

In our next post we will share insights about the life of an iCoach. Meanwhile, we invite all our active iCoaches to share their thoughts via email, DM, or comment below.

We know you are here 😊.