Innovation: the answer to a prosperous 2009

Below are seven predictions for innovation in 2009 from problem-solving and collaborative innovation software company, Imaginatik, looking at how innovation will flourish and act as a lifeline to those smart enough to harness it.

1. Top performers accelerate innovation whilst others pull the handbrake – The top 15 per cent of companies will hit the innovation accelerator pedal, continuing to invest in innovation activities across the board, even expanding them. Only a third of these firms will be truly successful though (the top 5 per cent). Meanwhile the other 85 per cent of companies will cut or scale back most of their innovation programmes.
2. Innovation tools and methods will get used for cost reduction, process improvement…and survival – Companies who defocus from general innovation efforts will nevertheless find huge value in applying typical innovation tools, methods and trained professionals to help reduce costs and manage business in this uncertain world. The term ‘innovation’ may be absent from the company talk, but the successful tools will be the same.
3. More opportunity and openness to try new things emerges – The willingness to try new things will grow, as old business models have been shown not to work and new approaches need to be found in order to survive and thrive.
4. Old prediction and forecasting models are broken – Many groups will find that even if their business models are not entirely broken, the historic data and models we have used to base judgments on are now misleading or even wrong.
5. The multi-job world leads to an entrepreneurship explosion and greater diversity of thought and attitude in the corporate workplace – Many people will be ‘freed’ to become more entrepreneurial. The low cost of doing business on the internet, and increasingly in the physical world, will encourage a larger number of people to experiment with being an entrepreneur, albeit on a small scale. The bankruptcy of retailers will create affordable retail space and online ordering systems will lower the start-up and ongoing cost of doing business. Employees will then draw on this experience in the corporate world.
6. Leaders adopt technology-supported ‘collective genius’ collaboration systems with IT nowhere to be seen – With collaborative technology becoming available to tap into the brainpower of the many, leaders will learn to appreciate this important new corporate asset: the ability to easily tap into the brainpower of their people – and beyond – to solve problems almost instantly, cheaper, faster and with better quality than ever before.
7. Governments will strive to boost innovation – Whilst 2009 is the year that really needs a change in emphasis and approach regarding innovation, it will take a while for governments to find appropriate answers. There is so much investment in the old ways of doing things, with large-scale investments in core R&D, EU initiatives on ICT, and the US lobbies calling for special treatment for whichever industry and whatever sexy buzzword that is around. The stimulus provided by the world governments will boost investment in the next 12 months, although not necessarily in the right areas. At the same time, some well-selected bets, or several smaller bets spread out across a range of technologies and industries, could make a material difference to the path of the world economy over the next one – three years.