 How large organisations can leverage the digital advantage for innovation? 
By Suraya Sulaiman and Azim Pawanchik
Featured in SMU Magazine The digital world has permeated our lives in more ways than we would like to admit. Everyday we hear of new apps that promise to make our life better, ranging from delegation of personal tasks to guiding us through downtown peak-hour traffic snarls and managing our personal budgets. Companies like Airbnb, Uber and GrabCar have creatively and radically changed how the service industry operates. We read using Amazon Kindle and Google Books, listen to music streamed from Spotify, and subscribe to Netflix or iflix to watch our favourite television programmes and movies. And these only begin to scratch the surface of what’s available out there. In their book Exponential Organisations, Salim Ismail, Yuri van Geest and Mike Malone discuss the rapid change in technological capabilities and computing. They focus on how much new software has built-in intelligent processes to create constant improvements through continuous feedback, how the Internet of Things is creating an information-connected nervous system of the world and how everything and anything can now be tracked, measure and act as a catalyst for change. 
Economists believe that 60 to 80 percent of economic growth comes from innovation and new knowledge. In fact, studies show that innovation is a key driver of organic growth for all businesses regardless of sector or geography.
Yet, very few boards specifically put innovation on their meeting agenda. At best, the topic is a small part of a broader strategy discussion which, more often than not, ends up being geographic expansions, mergers and acquisitions, and even risk management. 
The role of the Board member in directing strategy and ensuring long term value growth and marketplace relevance has never been more important. It is no longer just about corporate governance. The Board of Directors play a critical role in constantly pushing for innovation, as a means to ensure solid, sustainable growth for the company.
 Dr. Suraya wrote a review on Dr Bruno Lanvin‘s views based on analysis of INSEAD’s Global Innovation Index (GII), during the recent World Innovation Forum 2013 in Kuala Lumpur.
Read the article in Crowdsourcing Week Global website. 
In the recent World Economic Forum’s (WEF) annual Global Competitiveness Index Report (2012-2013), Malaysia’s ranking slipped again, this time down 4 notches, to No.25. This sent shock waves to various stakeholders, from government agencies, to political parties, businesses, NGOs and even to the general public. Each party pointing to the drop as an indication that Malaysia is losing out.
As 2012 unfolds before us, many companies of our companies to embark on risky ventures means scramble to devise and formulate new lower chances of Malaysian companies growing through strategies for growth. Some continue on innovation and being in the same league as Apple, the same path by increasing efficiency Google or Facebook.and cutting cost, while others divest their non-corebusinesses or acquire other companies to increase Innovation push and pulltheir scale or gain access to new markets.
In recent times, innovation has been the latest buzzword added to an organization’s vocabulary. However, how attuned are leaders to the innovation needs of their organization? This article explores new approaches towards innovation. This article appeared in the January 2012 issue of myForesight Magazine, published by MIGHT (Malaysian Industry Group for High Technology).
This report on Stimulating Innovation for Large Firms in Malaysia later became part of the National Innovation Strategy. It was commissioned by the Special Innovation Unit of the Prime Minister’s Office. It gives the reader a good insight into what is innovation, examples of innovation from around the globe and how to drive innovation within large organizations, not only from an organization’s perspective but also from a country’s policy point of view.
 In March 2009, Alpha Catalyst Consulting in collaboration with Microsoft Innovation Center Malaysia, launched The Malaysian Innovation Climate Survey 2009. The report that resulted from this survey looks at the innovation scene in Malaysia, from a pragmatic bottom-up perspective, exploring innovation at an operating level. The report also explores views on innovation as well as the drivers and the barriers to innovate.
|
|||||||||||||||
RSS Feed