Language !

Sparks to fire up your innovation combustion

This coaching session discusses the importance for innovation to speak a common language.

Starring: Inna (Innovation Leader in a large Pharma corporation) and Wim (coach for Innovation Leaders). [Transcription far below]

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Are you looking for a personal innovation coach?

• Do you want a soundboard, a sparring partner?
• Do you want to run an idea by a passionate outsider?
• Did you just start an innovation program or want to improve it?
• Do you need practical ideas to stimulate innovation?
• Do you want tips on how to manage an innovation portfolio?

If yes, I’m ready to help you!

• I believe in KISS: Keeping Innovation Super Simple. High focus on passion, low focus on processes.
• I have coached more than 50 innovation leaders across the globe in Pharma/healthcare.
• I work as independent coach: per hour or as long as you consider valuable.
• I can be reached (Wim Vandenhouweele) at wimvand@outlook.com

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Transcript

Inna:

⁃ Hi Wim, what are important barriers for innovation across departments in a company?

Wim:

⁃ There are possibly several. This of course depends on the company, it’s divisional leadership, it’s history, etc. Some barriers I encountered include: a silo mentality from the leadership in some departments; geographic isolation between departments, such as marketing located in the city and manufacturing in an industrial area and speaking a different language

Inna:

⁃ What do you mean with “speaking a different language”?

Wim:

⁃ Well, I of course do not mean languages like English, French or Chinese. I’m referring to the use of specific terms that have a different meaning in different departments. This misalignment can lead to confusion, misunderstanding, frustration and failure… for the wrong reasons.

Inna:

⁃ Like…?

Wim:

⁃ Here are a few of the misunderstandings I have encountered:

⁃ a surprising misunderstanding was the job definition of “product manager”. In the marketing department this was typically someone who manages the brand. In the manufacturing or IT organization, this was someone who managed an internal process or a specific technology.

⁃ an interesting misunderstanding is the term “platform”. In IT this is usually understood to be a framework on which multiple applications could be run. In Sales or Marketing, a platform is a stage from which to give a presentation to an audience.

⁃ a critical misunderstanding can occur when different companies from different industries collaborate. I recall a collaboration between our Pharma company and a Financial company, a bank. There was not only a difference in culture, but also in the understanding of concepts like compliance and privacy. It took a long time and overcoming multiple misunderstandings to align the 2 companies.

Inna:

⁃ What is your advise for me, as Innovation Leader?

Wim:

⁃ Engagement and communication! It’s important to be close to innovators, especially those that collaborate across divisions. Through careful observation, you can identify potential misalignments in the languages used. By your communication of examples of different meanings of critical terms, innovators and their leadership will become more sensitive and open to actively listen to colleagues in other divisions. By the way, this potential for misunderstanding and confusion is also why I was hesitant to introduce new “innovation” terms into the corporation. Even the word “innovation” itself has so many definitions. I tried as much as possible to apply or build on the terminology that the organization was already familiar with.

Inna:

⁃ Thanks! Attention – Engagement – Communication

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