BFM Innovation @ Work Forum, Sponsored by GE 2014
According to the GE Global Innovation Barometer 2014, 88% of Malaysian executives agreed that innovation is increasingly becoming a global game, coming to the consensus that merging and combining talents, ideas, insights and resources across the world is the only way to be successfully innovative. The importance of the need to be innovative, and ensure that corporate ecosystems provide conducive environments for this to happen has never been more apparent.
GE recently presented the BFM Innovation @ Work Forum. Held at the Connexion @ Nexus, Bangsar South, the event saw over 450 participants, 4 speakers and 4 panelists. The forum served as a platform which brought together some of the greatest minds in corporate Malaysia to exchange ideas and best practices on innovation across the different industries.
Luciano Pezzotta, Managing Partner, ECSI Consulting. Photo Credit: BFM Innovation
How Innovative Are We?
In order to grow, companies need to innovate. Results from the 2014 GE Innovation Barometer – Malaysia shows that executives in Malaysia perceive innovation as a positive force with 89% agreeing that people in their country live better today than 10 years ago because of the impact of innovation. The government too has shown their commitment and support in encouraging the innovation within the country by setting up the Malaysia Innovation Agency with the primary purpose of pushing Malaysia towards an innovative economy and the country’s aspirations of achieving a high-income nation status. A study conducted by ECSI consulting shows that 85% of companies in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore consider innovation a strategic priority but execution falls short. Malaysians believe that innovation is the way to move forward but still lack the process and the right talent to do it.
See Luciano Pezzotta presentation here and video here.
Mark Hawkins, Principal Inventiologist, Inventium. Photo Credit: BFM Innovation
It’s a Collective Effort
Companies at the forefront of innovation like Apple, believes that everyone in the company is responsible for innovation; be it the operations team, the product development team or the customer service team. While companies strive to achieve, a process for innovation needs to be put in place. Mark Hawkins, Principal Inventiologist, Inventium Consultancy, highlighted that a world class innovation process must be installed away from the company’s hierarchical structure and needs to be flexible enough to integrate both ‘top-down’ and ‘bottom-up’ innovation. He also added that companies know that innovation doesn’t just happen by itself; ensuring that they create, adopt and install a best practice process that best suits their business model. In Malaysia, 72% believe that the most successful innovations are planned as compared to 28% who prefers “spontaneous innovation” (GE Global Innovation Barometer 2014 – Malaysia Edition). One thing is certain however; the awareness of the need for innovation in the workplace, to ensure profit, productivity and efficiency is very present.
See Mark Hawkin’s presentation here and video here.
Anand Pillai, Senior Executive Vice President & Chief Learning Officer. Photo Credit: BFM Innovation
The Rise of the Intrapreneur
Having implemented an innovation process in place, it is important for companies to have the right talent to kick start the process. The right people are the key to any company’s success, so it stands to reason that in addition to acknowledging the need for the implementation of a process for innovation, companies need to understand the importance of hiring the right talent, and cultivating their current workforce to catalyse innovative processes. Anand Pillai, Senior Executive Vice President & Chief Learning Officer, Reliance Industries Ltd, introduced the concept ‘Intrapreneurship’, which he simply defines as dreamers who do. Based on assumption that anyone can be an entrepreneur, in theory – with the real difference being made when theories are put into action. His point is further validated by the fact that the critical challenges faced by companies in Malaysia, limiting their ability to innovate, are the lack of talent or inadequate skillset (28%) followed by the incapacity to scale up successful innovations to wider or international markets (26%). 77% also said that it is a crucial ability to attract and retain the most talented and skilled individuals.
See Anand Pillai’s full presentation here and video here.
Kal Joffres, Director of Tandemic. Photo Credit: BFM Innovation
Giving Back to the Community
Innovation is changing the way companies perform their corporate social responsibility (CSR) duties. The concept of ‘Social Innovation’, introduced by Kal Joffres, Director of Tandemic, allows companies to combine profit with purpose. Tandemic help build communities and movements in innovation, entrepreneurship, social enterprise, and volunteering. This thinking will eventually provide companies a platform to learn about the needs of new markets, consumers they affect, thus allowing corporations to ensure the social well-being aspect is given due consideration when implementing business strategies.
According to Kal, among the common barriers to innovation is that companies do not like to experiment on their products that have already been approved – owing to the extra time it would take to go-to-market. Social innovation thus gives companies the chance to close the learning loop with quick wins. It allows companies to build a deep understanding of a problem through observation, interviews, and identify opportunities to create better product solutions. Companies are then naturally motivated to produce product prototypes that are affordable to get market validation and a chance to test prototypes with potential customers for feedback.
Social innovation proves to be a solution as it offers a platform for companies to perform their CSR and at the same time, leave a positive impact to the community. As the famous saying goes, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him a lifetime”. Innovation begins anywhere, not just in a company but in our daily lives. Innovation has changed the face of CSR efforts.
Innovation fuels organizational growth
The panel discussions saw all participation agrees that innovative companies are built as a result of a shared, innovation-led, mindset – becoming the engine that allows businesses to sustain their viability in a global economy. It is at the core of every business and it is a vital component that companies could not afford to ignore.
Discussions also revolved around the importance of encouraging an innovative spirit through visions and mottos as a constant reminder for employees. Watch CEO’s from Maybank, Guardian, General Electric and AirAsia X as they share their experience on introducing innovation to the company and the qualities it takes to lead the effort.
Panel discussion 1 : The Journey to Innovation: Business Leaders Speak Up
- Michael Foong, Group Chief Strategy Officer, Maybank
- Loi Liang Tok, Chief Operating Officer, Guardian Retail (Malaysia)
Panel Discussion 2 : Innovation by Leadership: Innovation Success Stories
- Azran Osman Rani, CEO, Air Asia X
- Stuart Dean, CEO, GE ASEAN