7 Insights on Strategic Innovation

 "Innovation is not the product of logical thought, even though the final product is tied to a logical structure." - Albert Einstein 

Innovation is the lifeblood of business. It creates value, improves customer experiences, and drives growth. I have been fortunate over the last few years to have been part of the Strategic Innovation Program - iLEAD to drive the ongoing innovation efforts.

Last month, I had the opportunity to get Insights on Strategic Innovation with Tathagat Varma, PhD (TV), VP, Strategy, Walmart Global Tech India , and, to discuss the importance of innovation, and the challenges it presents.

During the chat, TV, as he is fondly called, shared several particularly enlightening insights. Here are some of the most notable quotes from the fireside chat:

 #1 : "Get out of Zoom and get out of the room”!

  Tathagat Varma, PhD emphasized the importance of seeking out complementary worlds. He mentioned that if we stay comfortably inside a room, we'll never really see the opportunities that exist outside of our comfort zone. He believes that it takes vulnerability to step out of the comfort zone and explore different perspectives, which can lead to innovative ideas.

 #2 : "A day not learned is not a day worth living."

  Tathagat Varma, PhD encouraged a continuous learning mindset. He pointed out that the knowledge that we have is rapidly becoming outdated, and it is essential to learn something new every day. He urged everyone to look beyond their immediate subject area and explore new and diverse areas of knowledge.

 #3 : "Innovation happens within the constraints that we have."

  Tathagat Varma, PhD explained that innovation doesn't happen in a vacuum. It is essential to recognize and work within the constraints that exist in our organizations, such as budgets, resources, and customer needs. The mission of Walmart is to help customers save money so that they can lead better lives. Hence, the company's constraints are that the products and services offered must help customers save money. This approach has led to several innovative ideas at Walmart.

 #4 : "If you are having fun among each other as employees, but the customer is not a part of it, then it's not really fun. If the customer is also playing, only then is it truly a winning culture."

  Tathagat Varma, PhD emphasized the importance of being customer-centric. He stated that innovation should focus on delivering value to customers. Walmart aims to provide customers with a great experience, even for products that are not glamorous or exciting. Therefore, ensuring that the experience provided is less painful and more convenient for customers is essential. Building something that customers can derive value from is the purpose of innovation. It cannot be something that is just any hyped idea, but the customers couldn’t care less. So, it has to be customer-centric. A thousand things could be done, but if the customer doesn’t value it, then there is really no point. An experience must be built that people really look up to, especially at Walmart, where not just romantic ideas are sold. These may not be things people aspire to buy, so how can friction be reduced and made less painful for the customer?

#5 : "Never sell your idea within the firm. Nobody likes it. Instead, socialize it."

  Tathagat Varma, PhD believes that selling your idea to others is often unproductive. He stated that people don’t like it when you are constantly trying to sell your idea to them. They think, "You have already thought about it, why are you coming to me? Do you want me to legitimize what you have already thought of? Then why are you asking me? You have already decided to go ahead with that."

Where people often go wrong with socializing an idea is that it is literally and figuratively believed in. Instead, there is a need for micro-socialization to understand the problem first. That needs to be established as a contract. Unless there is an agreement among the stakeholders on the problem, there is no point in jumping into the solution. Then they need to be asked, "What do you think is the solution here?".

 #6 : “Every company has more number of non-customers than customers”

To improve, organizations need to look beyond the customers it already has. Organizations need to question - Why are these people not our customers? And how to convert them? How do we get insights from them ?

 #7 : “If you are bringing innovation at a blistering pace, but you allow it to fly like an untethered kite, it will die.”

When working in any organization, what needs to be figured out is how to balance operational excellence with innovative thinking. If the focus is only on the efficiency of things, then it tends to become purely a cost-cutting and penny-pinching kind of organization. And there are enough examples in the industry that prove that only focusing on cost-cutting and operational excellence causes a loss of competitive advantage. Only looking at fast-paced innovation leads to failure in monetizing ideas. As business entities that are required to show an ROI of the work that is done, it is essential to truly understand the inefficiencies of the system.

The insights shared by Tathagat Varma, PhD during the fireside chat were highly valuable, and it is clear that innovation is an essential aspect. Recognising the importance of seeking out complementary worlds, continuous learning, working within constraints, being customer-centric, and building ideas that add value to customers are critical. These are lessons of paramount importance for anyone looking to drive innovation in their own organisation.