Innovation and The New CIO

Great Stuff Henno - looks like you've got some excellent ideas. Would love to see how you progress with this framework.

Well, its in its infancy stages. Currently doing the background reading to support my problem statement, which basically boils down to the following:How can I use technology to improve my organization's innovation capability and thereby gain and exploit a competitive advantage?From there I argue that to improve innovation capability, you have to understand the mix of your own organization's innovation capability breakdown, as this is greatly influenced by organization-specific innovation strategy. Other organizational parameters, e.g. enterprise life cycle position, complexity, etc. also play a role, although most of these effects are evident in the innovation strategy. Innovation capabilities can in broad terms be broken down into three categories: innovation process, knowledge and competency, and organizational supportOnce organization-specific innovation capabilities are understood, we can figure out how to use technology to help fulfill the requirements. So in essence, we are aligning our technology architecture with the organization's innovation strategy. Populating and instantiating this architecture is where the changing technological comes into play and where sustainable functional analysis and matching of technological characteristics are preferred over dated, once-off implementations.Another element of the research is concerned with ensuring that the framework is useful in a wide spectrum of business scenarios, ranging from a simple SME to a large multi-national corporation with formalized Enterprise Architectures and policies.

I think you've got a good start. Part of the problem in the past (and even today) is the focus on a technology or system rather than on the underlying characteristics of the technology.Off the top of my head, I can't think of any framework that could be used as guidance but I'll think about it. I'd also love to hear more about your research.

Totally in agreement.And it is precisely this lack of guidance for the confused CIO that is the motivation for my personal research. I am proposing an Innovation Technology Framework which will help CIO's to understand their organization's critical innovation capabilities and their respective technological requirements.The changing technological landscape however adds another dimension to such a framework, as this threatens to render your innovation technology architecture outdated before your implementation is done! In my opinion, one has to focus on the functional characteristics of technologies that can support your innovation capabilities. By rather focusing on the characteristics than the specific technologies/applications/systems, the technology portfolio can be replenished as is deemed applicable and necessary.Do you know of any frameworks/reference materials that could provide the same guidance to our confused CIO?

I have lately started to understand that my thinking around the use of technology to drive innovation was too narrow-minded... almost too focused on supporting the product development life cycle with technology, rather than the innovation process. Innovation is something much more far-reaching than simple product development. In some organizations, innovation may indeed be dominated by product development, but that is only one scenario and technological support for innovation should not be limited to that.That was when the importance of service-oriented architecture struck me. When one begins to comprehend the complexity of innovation, you also begin to understand the challenge of providing technological support for it. So, over and above designing your technological architecture to fit your innovation strategy and capabilities, you need to embed flexibility and reusability as features. Almost like ensuring that your Swiss army knife has all the necessary tools to do specific jobs, but also the ability to be adapted and used for other things.

I think you've got a good start. Part of the problem in the past (and even today) is the focus on a technology or system rather than on the underlying characteristics of the technology.Off the top of my head, I can't think of any framework that could be used as guidance but I'll think about it. I'd also love to hear more about your research.

Totally in agreement.And it is precisely this lack of guidance for the confused CIO that is the motivation for my personal research. I am proposing an Innovation Technology Framework which will help CIO's to understand their organization's critical innovation capabilities and their respective technological requirements.The changing technological landscape however adds another dimension to such a framework, as this threatens to render your innovation technology architecture outdated before your implementation is done! In my opinion, one has to focus on the functional characteristics of technologies that can support your innovation capabilities. By rather focusing on the characteristics than the specific technologies/applications/systems, the technology portfolio can be replenished as is deemed applicable and necessary.Do you know of any frameworks/reference materials that could provide the same guidance to our confused CIO?

I think the CIO has to use the business strategy to align his/her IT strategy & architecture. Without this alignment, the business & IT group will most likely be moving in different directions.You are correct...the CIO should use technology for innovation only when it fits within the context of the organization. That confused CIO is what we have today (I believe) and our jobs are to help them become less confused.

Eric, some interesting perspectives.A question though... what could a CIO use to guide him in aligning his organization's IT architecture with innovation strategy?Surely the approach to enabling/driving innovation with technology should be tailored to fit and help fulfill organization-specific innovation capabilities?Then, once the IT architecture is properly aligned with the organization's innovation strategy and capabilities, a new wave of technological development comes along. So, in essence, we have two variable parameters with a confused CIO in the middle of it all.Any ideas?

Thanks Steve....and thanks for the conversation and questions.

Eric, I'm clearer about what CIO innovation means to you. Thank you.

Hi Stephen - When I talk about the CIO as innovator, I'm not just talking about the CIO as IT innovator. The CIO has to step outside of IT to help the entire organizaiton innovate. The CIO can no longer stay within IT....the entire organization has to be considered.So...when I said "Creating something new that delivers value to the organization, customer or individual" I meant just that. The CIO as innovator is someone that helps deliver new ideas for the organization to create revenue. They deliver new ideas that lead to new products that lead to new revenue or better service to clients. The CIO can also drive innovation in the area of individuals. Innovative ideas for better working conditions (making telecommuting a reality for employees, etc) or making it easier for the organization's employees to find knowledge throughout the enterprise.

Thank you.A few follow up questions.Creating something new -- do you mean the creation happens inside the CIO's organization? Is it innovation when an IT organization deploys a technology created by an outside organization? I assume it is.Creating something new -- do you mean its innovation when new things are created that enable old things to continue creating value? I assume it might be.Delivers value to the organization -- do you mean to the IT organization? It could be the overall organization. I'm not sure.Delivers value to the individual -- do you mean to the CIO? That's a pure guess. I need help.

My definition of innovation?Creating something new that delivers value to the organization, customer or individual.

Eric, Would you help me interpret what you mean when you say "innovation?"The word is used so often these days that it can mean anything. I clicked through the links in this post but couldn't find a definition. Everybody seems to assume everyone knows what it means. I'm fairly certain that all commentators think innovation is always good, but that's an attribute rather than a definition.The introduction of new things is my best guess at your intended meaning. So the CIO would be someone who introduces news things.What is your definition for innovation?

Agreed...all business leaders should be looking to be more innovative, but the CIO is the one position that I've seen that has historically shied away from innovation. CIO's and the IT group are perfectly poised to help drive innovation.

I think all business leaders have to innovate to survive in the changing world. It is definitely something CIOs can aspire to.

Hi Scott - In many organizations that I've been part of, there is a huge vacuum and the CIO is perfectly positioned to fill that void. thanks for stopping by!

Eric,Thanks for this post and I agree that Innovation is a job requirement, whether it is explicitly stated or not. The interesting thing about this particular role for CIOs is that, for many organizations, they won't need to fight their way into the role with their business partners (assuming they have a collaborating partnership in-place). For many organizations, this is a vacuum waiting to be filled by someone - if the CIO is comfortable in the role, they can quickly step in and add a lot of value.