The Innovation Imperative
The Innovation Imperative
A new report from GHD Digital
Download report
89% of executives believe that disruption and uncertainty in their industry is creating greater pressure to innovate and stay relevant.
Digital disruption was not seen to be a negative, however, with 94% of executives regarding digital as an opportunity rather than a threat.
Key findings
How digital transformation has become a matter of survival
COVID-19 and its associated shocks have had an extraordinary impact on innovation. The status quo has been de-constructed, fresh thinking is bubbling up, and there is a confidence and a bullishness that did not exist pre-COVID.
We have identified key themes that explain how COVID-19 has changed innovation in the infrastructure, construction, transportation, energy and natural resources industries.
Unified around why
The barriers to innovation are clear
- Lack of investment resources
- Lack of the right skills/capabilities
- Short-term thinking
Who’s really ahead?
Majority of respondents think they are ahead of competitors.
- Moved ahead - 55%
- Moved significantly ahead - 31%
- Neutral - 13%
- Fallen behind - 1%
Re-think resource constraints
The most important technologies over the next three years
- Intelligent automation
- Advanced automation
- AI/Machine learning
- Connected infrastructure
Humanised innovation
The primary ways organisations source digital innovation from the outside
- Customer analytics and customer experience data - 58%
- Workshops with those in other industries - 53%
- Online idea generation / Online communities - 49%
- Workshops with those in the same industry - 49%
Research insights
How can organisations respond to The Innovation Imperative?
There are five critical enabling capabilities that need to be considered to set the stage for a more innovative future.
Creating an inspiring leadership narrative
To create an environment that shapes the culture, mindset and behaviours, where businesses think ahead to future-proof the organisation.
Fostering an innovation mindset
The need for openness to new ideas, for curiosity, for a willingness to challenge how things are done, and for a risk-driven, experimental approach.
Tracking technology and market trajectories
The need for insight and intelligence capabilities to assess how different market and technology trajectories are developing and to better understand a set of probable futures in terms of applications, use cases and competitors.
Pursuing more radical forms of collaboration
The need to pursue even more progressive and radical forms of collaboration to keep pace.
Driving innovation top-down and bottom-up
The ability to create a culture of innovation that empowers all to pursue their ideas and opportunities, whilst also ensuring the foremost strategic bets are being properly pursued.
In the next one or two years, organisations will have a once-in-a-century opportunity to leapfrog. Industry lines have been blurred, symmetric competition is coming into and impacting various industries and sectors and therefore others will have a significant first-mover advantage over these organisations So it’s not a question of, “Should we grow and focus on the future?”, it’s a question of, “How quickly can we grow, thrive, and plan ahead based on digital innovation?”
Webinar
Join The Innovation Imperative conversation
Register for our upcoming webinar to hear from the whitepaper’s leading voices. Sharing invaluable nuances and deepening insights, this Think Digital webinar is for individuals embracing innovation as an opportunity rather than a threat.