Overview

Competitive advantage fades unless organizations continuously create new ideas, convert them into innovations, and manage the human side of change. This topic explores creativity techniques, innovation types, and change‑management frameworks that help firms thrive in dynamic markets.

Key Concepts and Models

• Types of Innovation: Product, process, business‑model, and incremental vs. radical.
• Sources of Creativity: Individual traits (openness, expertise), team diversity, psychological safety.
• Creativity Techniques: Brainwriting 6‑3‑5, SCAMPER, design thinking (empathize, define, ideate, prototype, test).
• Stage‑Gate Process: Idea → Scoping → Business case → Development → Testing → Launch.
• Change Management Models:
  • Lewin’s Unfreeze‑Change‑Refreeze
  • Kotter’s 8‑Step Model
  • ADKAR (Awareness, Desire, Knowledge, Ability, Reinforcement)
• Resistance to Change: Habit, fear of unknown, loss of control—overcome via communication & participation.
• Innovation Metrics: R&D intensity, time‑to‑market, percentage of revenue from products <2 years old.

Step‑by‑Step Example

Scenario: SparkWear wants to launch a smart‑fabric fitness shirt in 12 months. Outline an innovation and change plan.

Step 1 – Ideation: Run a cross‑functional brainwriting session; generate 30 concepts; score using a decision matrix.

Step 2 – Stage‑Gate: Advance top concept through feasibility and business‑case gates; approve $2 M budget.

Step 3 – Change Framework: Apply Kotter Step 1‑3: build urgency with market data, form a guiding coalition, craft vision.

Step 4 – Implementation: Agile sprints develop prototypes; parallel workstream trains salesforce (ADKAR).

Final Answer: Combining Stage‑Gate for product development with Kotter & ADKAR for people‑side change keeps the project on schedule and adoption smooth.

Quick Tip