Agile Innovation

Innovation is often perceived as strategic, risky, disruptive, messy and absolutely necessary for growth. By definition, it is an exercise in addressing the unknown. And thus it typically lies outsidethe comfort zone for organizations that excel at their core competences. So is there a *best* way to pursue innovation?

I believe there is. I hesitate to label it a "process", because in my experience an organization will embrace a process with the welcome relief that comes with having a documented set of steps to follow. Innovation rarely follows a well defined path to success. The key is to pursue it with creativity and flexibility. You have to adapt quickly and incorporate the lessons learned. This requires a specific way-of-working and an appropriate set of metrics.

This is what we call "agile" innovation. It is not chaotic or uncontrolled. It is a disciplined approach to prioritizing the unknowns over what is already known with a team selected for persistence, risk tolerance, creativity and entrepreneurial success. And hard work. An XTM. We’ve found this to be a preferred approach to getting the desired results.