The concept of innovation itself has evolved from just thinking differently and turning problems into solutions. History suggests that fostering innovation is at the forefront of forward-thinking organisations. Now more than ever, it requires organisations to constantly adapt and thrive beyond ever-changing business climates as creating a culture of innovation is not only good for a company’s bottom line – it also creates a shared value among all their stakeholders.
Innovation doesn’t need to be groundbreaking technological advancements or life-transforming inventions. For any organisation, it could mean finding better ways to make products and deliver services that could lead to significant long-term improvements. Nonetheless, any initiative on innovation requires effective strategies to ensure they work their best.
This year, the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) breaks new ground by publishing ISO 56002, the first international standard for innovation management systems. The standard, being the first of its kind, covers all facets of innovation management – from the concept of ideation right until the delivery of such new product or service solutions to the market. Like the rest of the world’s most popular management systems standards such as ISO 9001 for Quality of ISO 45001 for Occupational Health and Safety, ISO 56002 considers the context that an organisation works in – its strategy, processes and impact which are all highly crucial to instill a culture of innovation.
Most organisations around the world have been built on management principles that stood the test of time. Yet, people think that managing innovations is the ‘antithesis of creativity’ as standards are prescriptive and rule-driven by nature. It doesn’t have to be. Instead of seeing international standards such as ISO 56002 as restrictive, I strongly believe that all types of organisations, regardless of size or type, can utilise it as a means of establishing a technical baseline for benchmarking its proposed new strategies and solutions. I am convinced that it’s one of the best ways to move forward together. Innovation is a process, and when there is a process, it means that it can be standardised.
Peter Drucker, known as the father of modern management, said: “What gets measured gets managed.” Organisations worldwide have reported numerous benefits by integrating international standards into their management systems such as significant cost savings and optimised business profits. By harnessing the creativity and motivation of organisations in a structured way, improved collaboration, communication and performance are ensured. Based on these benefits alone, it also appears that what gets managed, gets continually improved.
At some point, any organisation will have questions like: “What’s next for us?” “How do we differentiate our value proposition?” “How do we make us great again?” “How do we gain that competitive advantage?” While there is no known magic formula to create and sustain an organisation’s innovative success, utilising the ISO 56002, with all its promising bottom line for businesses, just might lead to that.
The author is a management systems lead auditor and innovation leader