In the past, organizations did innovate to grow business - more recently innovation was used to differentiate competition. Going forward without innovation you may not be able to even survive. That’s the level of challenge we are faced with.
The triple bottom-line; PROFIT-PLANET-PEOPLE as a mere concept, facade or fashion is inadequate to sustain it. Right weight to the three elements is critical. The limiting factor though is that there is no accepted norm, regulation or legislation on the right balance between the three elements.
The question is, why should a business organization invest too much money on PLANET and PEOPLE and minimize competitiveness? In the Sri Lankan business environment, the most common barrier to innovation in organizations, are leaders who are not open to new ideas and unwilling to make the right investment to promote innovation.
This negatively impacts the team by discouraging creative thoughts. Space for thinking, right tools, supportive systems and processes are ingredients to promote innovation. There are several factors that prevent innovation from occurring.
The ability to recognize and work through these factors will help you to create an innovative culture in your organization and help you to make your business successful. Innovation in response to rising consumer expectations has been the order of the day.
Customers are used to products that continually improve and make their life easier. But given the multiplying challenges for mankind, innovation should go beyond business objectives.
In a broader sense, innovation is important for the advancement of society around the world in the backdrop of depleting resources to be shared by the increasing population.
Breakthrough innovation can increase the standard of living and provide people with opportunities to improve their lives and prolong the life of natural resources for future generations. How do we still create an environment that allows our people to have a decent quality of life and preserve the biologically diverse ecosystems on which to create a sustainable future for Sri Lankans?
Economic perspective
Practical perspective, though, is that the innovators need to wear multiple hats - think commerce and economics to generate viable innovative options to overcome the global challenges. Economic and market theory dictates that the innovation should have a commercial value to benefit man. This dilemma is a major hindrance to liberal innovation. So how do you motivate companies to promote innovation?
Business leaders today are challenged by economic and market theory to reduce cost, improve efficiency, minimize consumption and move the world away from living off natural capital to natural death.
There is a very clear economic danger ahead of us. But with it is a great opportunity.
I hope that our business leaders are up to the challenge to make the best use of the opportunity to invent, design or adapt and commercialize the innovation that will lead Sri Lanka to a sustainable future.
We have seen a positive trend towards constant innovation, mainly by the global giants.
Innovation at country level has been rare, but unique excellence has been observed. With greater awareness about the value of innovation, the right respect for such organizations will only elevate.