Innovation Developing Innovation As A Creative Capability: Lessons From Judging Highly Innovative Companies Cleve Gibbon Forbes Councils Member Forbes Technology Council COUNCIL POST Expertise from Forbes Councils members, operated under license. Opinions expressed are those of the author. | Membership (fee-based) Aug 19, 2022, 08:00am EDT | Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin CTO of Wunderman Thompson NA, applying technology to drive client growth across the Americas and beyond. getty Innovation is critical for business transformation. In a quickly evolving, tech-embracing society barreling into new frontiers like Web3, metaverse, two-day shipping standards and ever-shrinking attention spans, brands must remain competitive, stay relevant and continuously grow. They must, therefore, innovate. Developing innovation as a creative capability, however, takes practice. Innovation is a muscle best exercised by a culture that executes good strategy. If businesses exist to create value for customers, then innovation is about finding the value-creation strategies. Value creation gets customers to pay more for a product, and it saves customers money while allowing them to be a good citizen for the planet and society at large. For innovation to be effective, it must be measured against an aligned definition of success—with a plan that moves beyond economic profit. Success should clearly demonstrate high impact and great execution. As 2022 Cannes Lions Innovation Jury President for the Cannes Lions International Festival, and as a judge for the category in earlier years, I’ve observed the following three qualities that make innovation effective and worthy of high levels of recognition. The CMO is a business partner to the CEO . Moving beyond brand activation and social impressions, leading chief marketing officers (CMOs) are now innovating to solve material business problems. MORE FOR YOU Google Issues Warning For 2 Billion Chrome Users Forget The MacBook Pro, Apple Has Bigger Plans Google Discounts Pixel 6, Nest & Pixel Buds In Limited-Time Sale Event How do the CMO’s findings in marketing and advertising campaigns inspire changes to day-to-day operations across the company? Live feedback of products across social channels is providing timely insights into what the consumer likes, dislikes and wants to see evolved, forcing brands to innovate at a quicker pace. Consumers are also now looking to brands to be social activists . The CMO is guiding leadership to respond to pivotal moments in culture and to answer the question, “What does our brand stand for?” Partnerships are crucial to powering innovation . Innovation is a team effort. Stand-out innovations I saw originated from deep, meaningful and high-trust relationships between the brand, rostered agencies and the vendor ecosystem. Do you have partnerships? Are they the right partnerships? Are there holes across the ecosystem that you need to fill? Are partnerships full of diverse and inclusive practices? Diversity, accessibility, inclusion—these aren’t just buzzwords or boxes for HR to tick off. Instead, they ensure the best creativity and insights to truly drive innovation . Corporate responsibility is not always innovative . Being purpose-driven isn’t new. The most innovative brands today are those anticipating the greater societal and planetary needs and then leading the way. Don’t seek credit for routine innovations for doing the right thing. Raise your own bar. Go further than the bare minimum. How can being sustainable create profit for business or birth a teamwide innovative idea? Position yourself as a leader in your industry by leading the way to a place that no one has been before. Make your product or service more accessible. By raising your own standards, there’s room for innovation to flourish. Why is innovation important? “The paths to the future are made, not found, and the process of making them changes both us and our final destination. ” — “ The CEO Report ” Innovation is hard. Companies need a strategy to successfully navigate organizationally complex innovation management ecosystems. Every innovation has a cast of stakeholders with varying roles and responsibilities spanning multiple co-creation activities. Innovations are multiphased and interconnected. Value creation is the goal. But within a network of adjacent opportunities that require the proactive management of risk to reward, innovation is the means to find competitive advantage. Challenge yourself and your team to create award-worthy work. The future of the business depends upon the quality of innovation outputs. Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify? Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn . Check out my website . Cleve Gibbon Editorial Standards Print Reprints & Permissions.