The essential five sense-making steps in any innovative transition

Today’s call is for more ‘search, scope, speed, stretch and scale’ irrespective of the challenge being worked upon. These are essential steps in any transformation work, in any innovation undertaken to take discovery through to commercialisation.

Applying the innovation lense to the energy transition requires a significant need for innovation in all it does to undertake the transformation needed. It needs to apply these five steps within any innovation thinking.

The five aspects of search, scope, speed, stretch and scale are highly relevant to the success of any innovation introduction.

So we need to think through the five essential needs within innovation when applying innovative thinking to the Energy Transition, a growing focal point of my work.

Firstly, we need to go through many essential steps to search for all the possibilities and triggers needed for sparking new ideas and concepts.

Secondly, we then need to scope the challenge or concept out and understand and appreciate what this might mean.

Thirdly any innovation needs the constant element of speed, partly to be first to market but recognizing that the freshness of the idea has a premium that needs this focused effort.

To me, the fourth one of Stretch is often not recognized as well as it should be.  We need to recognize stretch happens constantly, ideas stretch the thinking, resources need to create a stretched tension to generate the required energy and commitment, and as we think through a concept, we can begin to stretch it, either out of its original shape (intent) or
“push it” even further in its value or impact.

My fifth one is scale. To take any concept from a pilot or lab into a demonstration, validation and full commercialisation need to consider all aspects of scaling. In many ways, so many of our innovative ideas fail to scale or become constrained as a concept cannot move from this “great idea” into a product or service delivered at an economic level to make it commercially viable and provide a return on what has been invested.

The energy transition requires a significant need for innovation in all it does to undertake the transformation needed.

In my previous two posts, “I aim to put more innovation into the front end of Energy” and “My multipliers for innovation at the front end of energy”  I introduce where I believe my fit of innovation understanding can combine with the Energy Transition we are all undertaking.

The five aspects of search, scope, speed, stretch and scale are highly relevant to the success of any innovation introduction.

We are always in a constant need to answer questions that are hard without access to external insight and knowledge:

– The demand today of our innovation process is for a ‘faster and leaner’ approach, but we are still having so many difficulties executing this “learner thinking” really well- a speed of execution becomes essential.

– How can we accelerate, stimulate and coordinate within an increasingly complex environment? The discovery and validation stage becomes vital, and to get there, we need to search, relate and see new possibilities.

– Any innovation needs to be built on a structured, systematic process it needs clarity of direction and purpose- the vision, mission and purpose understanding. It needs a good scoping out that all involved can relate to the concept and gain their identification.

– What helps sequencing investigation and implementation of our innovations? A constant “mapping back” often facilitates progress and validates, even updates this scoping step.

– Where do you apply appropriate diagnostics to identify and fix ‘troubled’ spots? The building of capability, capacity and competency needs a depth of response understanding. They need scaling out and stretching.

– How do we apply and adopt different growth methodologies and practices across a diverse business? Often it is the channelling back into the foundation knowledge and insights that bring common purpose and understanding, it is this mutually building upon advances all those involved in their understanding stretches the thinking.

– What limits ‘scaling’ and what needs changing to allow this to work in different situations? Often if something has not been well (re) searched, and scoped or stretched it remains in pilot and not capable of scaling.

– What gives more ‘stretch’ for the investments we make, where will these come from? Knowing the limitations pushes boundaries.

– We stretch the minds to push something existing into something new in design, different materials, or a totally different experience previously unknown or yet to be conceived.-Establishing the new often means moving beyond experimenting with the untried, which needs constant challenging. Never be afraid to challenge the scope, innovation is a discovery process that evolves as you progress.

-We need to be always aware that there are often limitations in one aspect of any innovative concept that can radically be altered through discovery and validation.

-As we search, stretch and seek out avenues towards scale, concepts often need major overhaul and rethinking; they benefit from a new fresh set of insightful value.- Having different and fresh perspectives that are constantly intervening and improving can help in any validation. We need to seek these out.

The outsider offers a very different perspective

Can we help you think and work these “S” steps to resolve those tough questions organizations are seeking answers to? Innovation is vital to the discovery and validation process in the Energy Transition. As we adapt to a new way of thinking and understanding, we stretch our understanding and ‘advance’ in new ways.

It is often the outside perspective, where a different set of insights and knowledge combine with the internal outlook opens up the vista to new ideas. We need to consider this outside perspective in any scoping.

The need for search, scope, speed, stretch and scale have a vital role in any innovation journey, ones that push at the edges of discovery, validation and transformation.

Where else do these five essential aspects of innovation come into play?