How To Be Innovative – Day 25 – Manage The Interfaces

The core of your business will always be a powerful force that morphs the work around it. This can mean that new growth projects can slowly transform into projects that look like the core business and end up not growing or innovating nearly as well as you had hoped.
Preventing this outcome from occurring means you have to definitively manage the interfaces between the main (core) business and the new areas of business/innovation. There are three main ways to do this:

• 1: Separate the new business area out as its own stand alone company within the group. This way there are no interfaces present between the parent company and the new one.
• 2: Bring in outsiders. If you bring in highly qualified outsiders you get a whole new perspective that does not automatically float towards the core business. Many successful businesses have done this including Hulu. Outsiders can also spot areas that need improvement that an insider may be so acclimatized to that they never notice.
• 3: The final way of managing interfaces is to make sure it is 100% clear who has the decision rights for specific processes. In general, global enterprises are structured using complex webs with owner typically have control over specific regions, product lines and business functions. This is a well-established structure, with many benefits, but can sometimes put a strain on innovation progress. By having clear decision rights that do not overlap between innovation and other areas of the business you take the pressure off. Make sure it is very clear who has the ultimate say on critical decisions and you will reduce unnecessary problems that are easily mitigated.

Interface management can be a very tricky challenge to overcome for corporate innovation. However, if you make sure these processes are clearly outlined and addressed using the three methods above, you will have more time and energy to innovate, rather than being bogged down with these issues.