IBM offers an Innovation Maturity Model that helps organisations assess their innovation capabilities and provides a framework for improving them.
The model consists of four levels:
- Reactive Management,
- Proactive Management,
- Service-Oriented Management, and
- Dynamic Management.
Each level represents a different stage of innovation maturity. Organisations can use the model to identify where they fall on the innovation spectrum.
Reactive Management
The first level of the IBM Innovation Maturity Model is Reactive Management.
This is the most basic level of innovation maturity, characterising organisations with no formal process for managing innovation. Instead, these organisations typically rely on ad-hoc initiatives and are driven by individual effort rather than by organisational strategy.
In this model, innovation is seen as something that happens sporadically rather than as a continuous process. As a result, these organisations often miss out on opportunities to improve their products and services.
Moreover, they are less able to respond effectively to market or industry changes. While organisations at this level may be able to achieve some success through individual initiative, they will ultimately be limited by their need for a coordinated approach to innovation. To reach the next level, they must develop an innovation strategy and formal processes for managing innovation.
Proactive Management
The second level of the IBM Innovation Maturity Model is Proactive Management.
Moving beyond the first level of the IBM Innovation Maturity Model, organisations at the second level have established a formal process for managing innovation. However, this is typically siloed within R&D or other technical functions and needs cross-functional collaboration and coordination. As a result, centralised management of innovation is present, but it does not extend across the organisation.
As a result, these organisations may find it difficult to sustain a high level of innovation over time. To reach the next level, they will need to find ways to break down silos and encourage more cross-functional collaboration.
Service-Oriented Management
The third level of the IBM Innovation Maturity Model is Service-Oriented Management.
To reach this level, organisations must have established an end-to-end innovation management process that involves every part of the organisation, from ideation to commercialisation. These organisations are focused on creating value for customers and other stakeholders, and they typically have strong cross-functional collaboration and communication.
At this level, organisations clearly understand their customers’ needs and pain points, and they are constantly looking for ways to improve the customer experience. They can also quickly adapt to changing market conditions and seize new opportunities.
As a result, Service-Oriented Management is essential for organisations that want to be leaders in their industry. To reach the highest level of the IBM Innovation Maturity Model, organisations must focus on customer-centricity and speed.
Dynamic Management
Dynamic Management is the fourth and final level of the IBM Innovation Maturity Model.
This is when organisations constantly evolve their innovation management process in response to changes in the marketplace or their own business. They’re focused on continuously improving their performance and have formalised mechanisms for doing so. These organisations typically have real-time visibility into their innovation portfolio and use data to decide where to allocate resources.
In other words, they’re always trying to get better at innovating and using data to help them do that. If your organisation is at this level, congratulations! You’re doing a good job at innovation. But don’t rest on your laurels – there’s always room for improvement.