- What is an "innovation"?
- The 3 innovation levers
- The innovation lever "innovation culture"
- The innovation lever "innovation structures, processes & spaces"
- The innovation lever "innovation strategy"
- Success Story - Example of our experience in developing innovative organizations
1. What is an "innovation"?
Being "innovative" is a goal many aspire to achieve. Innovations not only allow companies to stand out in the market and differentiate themselves from competitors, but they also benefit non-economic organizations. Developing new business models and products can help navigate challenging competitive landscapes and price wars, as well as strengthen market leadership. Innovations come in two forms: "incremental" and "disruptive". Incremental innovations involve gradual improvements to existing processes and products, while disruptive innovations introduce entirely new products or services that have the potential to significantly impact competitive dynamics.
So, the types of innovation you aim for really matter. The more disruptive you want to be, the more you'll need to effectively utilize and align the 3 innovation levers.
2. The 3 innovation levers
At Timmermann, we identify and work with 3 innovation levers to help our clients align and optimize them. True innovation is achieved by companies that effectively leverage all 3 innovation levers. While many organizations may claim to be innovative, only a few truly embody innovation.
3. The innovation lever "innovation culture"
One of the hallmarks of a good innovation culture is that ...
- ... people dare to express and contribute their own ideas. This is promoted by an atmosphere of psychological safety
- ... employees understand that making mistakes is not only allowed but also encouraged. These mistakes are seen as valuable learning opportunities, leading to growth and improvement
- ... employees at all levels of the organization actively interact with their environment, including the market, customers, and competitors, and organically delve into innovative concepts beyond conventional limits
- ... there is time and space to break out of the operational daily routine and to shape it in a liberated way
- ... everyone exchanges ideas beyond their own area of expertise
- ... learning and experimentation are challenged and encouraged
- ... corporate strategy, challenges and opportunities are discussed transparently, and suitable innovations are then developed to meet these challenges.
We value helping you create a culture of innovation. With our expertise in cultural development, we've seen firsthand how corporate cultures can be transformed and enhanced in a focused way. When it comes to fostering innovation cultures, we believe in promoting "intrapreneurship". This means guiding managers and employees to think and act in a more entrepreneurial manner, leading to the growth of more innovative and impactful ideas. By encouraging testing in a structured, commercially viable way and implementing promising ideas, we pave the way for success. Through a range of services like Agile Coaching, culture analysis, experiential trainings, and innovation workshops, we consistently strive to make organizations more entrepreneurial and ultimately, more innovative.
4. The innovation lever "innovation structures, processes & spaces"
In addition to developing entrepreneurial cultures, we use our practical experience and methodological expertise to build the backbone of an innovative company. By "backbone" we mean the structures: Processes and spaces that make it easier to develop, test and implement ideas.
Structures
As seasoned organization designers, we assist in crafting a customer-centric organizational structure. With our expertise as Agile Coaches and business consultants specializing in project structuring and new business unit development, we prioritize enhancing cross-functionality, professional excellence, adaptability, and operational efficiency within your organization. Collaborating closely with you, we tailor the organizational structure to meet your needs and continually refine it for optimal performance.
Processes
The heart of innovation lies in the idea. However, many ideas often face roadblocks, are overlooked, stored away, incorrectly prioritized, tested too late, or implemented half-heartedly. But fear not, as we are here to help you establish a dynamic and efficient idea management process. This process not only boosts the quantity of ideas but also significantly shortens the time from idea conception to a market-ready product or service. We also specialize in creating effective processes for resource allocation, such as budgeting for ideas and assigning personnel. Moreover, we bring a diverse toolbox of methods from the realms of agility, design thinking, and change management to find the best approaches for generating and pursuing innovative ideas.
Rooms
The physical environment plays a crucial role in shaping the quality, efficiency, and creativity of work. That's why we have crafted our very own office, Timmerland, based on New-Work principles, and extend the same approach to our clients' office spaces and campuses. For more information, please explore Timmermann Architecture & Design and New Ways of Working. We are excited to assist you in enhancing your workspace through interior design, architecture, and innovative work practices to foster a culture where innovation thrives.
5. The "innovation strategy" innovation lever
Joseph Schumpeter described innovation as the combination of an invention and market success. This implies that many ideas may not qualify as innovations if they do not achieve success in the market. Our role is to assist you in identifying the right ideas, pursuing them, and guiding them towards market success through the development and implementation of an innovation strategy. This involves determining the optimal positioning for your company, products, and services, as well as devising effective strategies to attain this position. Potential approaches could include establishing an innovation lab, undergoing an agile transformation, enhancing research & development efforts, utilizing venture capital, supporting start-ups, or engaging in partnerships or acquisitions with other companies. Whatever path you decide to take, rest assured that we are here as your supportive, structured, and proactive partner to help you make informed decisions efficiently and effectively.
6. Success story - example of our experience in the development of innovative organizations
Alongside our expertise in strategy consulting and Agile coaching, we offer a unique blend of psychological insights and scientifically-backed knowledge on personality traits and group dynamics that foster innovation. Our goal is to unlock the creative potential of your team members by utilizing a diverse range of creative tools and innovative methods. Drawing from our experience in cultivating a culture of learning and embracing mistakes, we are equipped to guide employees and managers on their personal journey towards innovation. Here's an example of our approach in action.
The ZUFALL lab as a place of innovation and symbol of the future
We had the privilege of partnering with ZUFALL, a logistics service provider with over 2,000 employees, in a transformative journey towards sustainability across people, planet, and profit. As part of this initiative, we established a dedicated innovation lab to serve as a hub for cultivating, refining, and implementing the multitude of ideas from ZUFALL team members. This collaborative effort has yielded a range of innovative solutions, from incremental improvements to disruptive digital advancements, within the zufall.lab. In a remarkably short period, the tangible outcomes include new business models, services, subsidiaries, and patents, unlocking a myriad of revenue streams and invigorating the core business. Dive deeper into this success story by watching the video below:
