How ‘Hybrid Intelligence’ can transform innovation management in modern organizations.
“Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.” –Steve Jobs
All over the world, organizations are in desperate need of innovation. However, their teams are unable to deliver the level of innovation needed. This creates the ‘innovation gap’ in organizations. The major reasons for this gap are the human limitations. Hybrid Intelligence, in which human innovators work along with AI, can help to fill up this gap.
Why organizations need innovation
Life of an organization toggles between two modes: routine and problem-solving. It is the routine operations that earn the revenue. But problem solving makes routine operations possible. While problem solving exists in every area of work, problems in the following areas can have major impact on an organization:
● New product offering
● Operational efficiency
● Marketing and sales
● Finance
● Human resources
Innovation is closely related to problem solving. A solution is called innovative if:
● The problem solved is important
● Either there is no existing solution or existing solutions are unsatisfactory
● The solution manages the constraints of the organization
● The solution is well implemented
This makes innovation such an intrinsic part of an organization’s life.
The innovation gap
Innovation management (IM) teams are responsible for making sure that there is adequate supply of innovation in an organization. However, they face a number of challenges in delivering the required innovation. The major challenges are:
● Lack of suitable people: current innovation processes are dependent on people. To be able to innovate, individuals need a mix of skills that includes not only creativity but also adequate knowledge of the subject. Such individuals are not easy to find.
● Implementation difficulty: unless the innovative idea is implemented well, it is of no use. However, successful implementation requires problem solving to a detailed level. Most innovation teams find it hard to provide such a level of details. Thus many good ideas remain stuck in incomplete implementation.
● Right solution to the wrong problem: while the solution is quite creative and well implemented, the problem may not be an important one to solve. This poses the ROI problem which leaves the innovation unused.
Apart from the fac