Next Generation Organisations deserve Next Generation guidance. That’s the founding principle of The Future Shapers; a global network of thought leaders, innovation practitioners, business leaders, academics and speakers who have come together with the aim of helping businesses and other organisations to shape and create innovative futures.
We all know that innovation is a game changer, with its capability for creative destruction both inside and outside our organisations. The thing is, we also know that innovations (and innovators) are often opposed. The ancient Greeks regarded it as subversive; Machiavelli reminded us that innovation is the surest way to make enemies of all those in the established order of things. Heck, a Wharton study from a few years ago even suggested that we view the innovators among us as being lesser leaders.
Innovating is tough
So innovating is undoubtedly tough, and we all know the stats on the success rate of change projects. But innovation is also crucial if our organisations are to thrive. No, innovation is crucial if our organisations are going to survive. It’s perhaps no surprise that the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) reported that nearly four out of five leaders saw innovation as a key priority for their business.
This kind of finding is certainly not uncommon, with McKinsey one of a host of thought leading organisations revealing the same thing. So what do we have? Innovation is really difficult, and whilst many leaders say they think it is crucial to their success, we have evidence from Wazoku that there remains a gap between that desire to be innovative and the reality.
My first step in addressing this gap was to co-write Building a Culture of Innovation with Derek Bishop and Jo Geraghty, and the next stage was to develop and launch The Future Shapers with my co-founders, Richard Copland and Simon Hill. No one wants to just talk a good game when it comes to innovation, but we accept how hard it is and are here to help you.
What is The Future Shapers?
www.thefutureshapers.com is designed to draw together knowledge and expertise for the benefit of leaders who are looking to build innovation-led organisations in a continuously evolving, volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) world. And it will be those very organisations who successfully build a culture of innovation in which innovation performance moves away from the theoretical and into everyday actions which will shape the future.
So what does The Future Shapers offer? Well, we’re working with thought leaders so you won’t get lots of bandwagon-jumping material but high level, high quality thought pieces which will help senior leaders start to move organisations forward on their innovation journey.
We’ll be bringing together people from around the world that not only talk a good game on innovation but have got the successes (and scars) to prove that they know their stuff. They’ll be sharing their insights in a range of forms, so hopefully there will be something for everyone, whether you like meatier articles, something to review on your way to work or longer form whitepapers.
All of this will be designed to help and support you to drive innovation and build a culture of innovation in your organisation, because we believe the best individuals and the best organisations are those that have mastered what it means to be innovative. They will have mastered the very essence of being an innovation-led and it will show in everything they do.
To support Next Generation Organisations who strive to become innovation masters, we strive to give you a potent cocktail of:
- Intelligence, in the form of reports and evidence so that you understand just what drives effective change.
- Collaboration, so that you can pick the brains of both knowledgeable experts but also those who are on the same journey as you.
- Adaptability, so that all of these benefits are delivered in a format that best suits you, whether that’s bite sized chunks or a full three course meal.
The Future Shapers isn’t just about creating more blogs, that space is well served. Our mission is to leverage leadership and management insight, thought leadership and expertise for the benefit of CEOs, senior executives and HR leaders who not only understand the positive impact which innovation can bring but who are determined to shape a strong future for their organisation, its people and its customers.
This article was written by Cris Beswick, for www.thefutureshapers.com and previously posted on 15/09/2016