Tibor Dőry

Innovation and excellence

Management methods for innovation transformation

Steps towards becoming a leading innovator

Depending on a company's capabilities and starting position, there are several possible paths to the upper right corner of the innovation maturity matrix, towards becoming an advanced innovation company. Despite the diversity of paths leading there, it is important to emphasise that innovation transformations do not happen overnight. Even in the case of a successful and effective company, strong leadership and decisive action are required to initiate the process. In addition, clear communication is essential to ensure that all employees understand the company's strategy and know where the organisation is headed. One possible starting point for this is to present the "big picture", i.e. where the company wants to go. The vision for the future should then be broken down into several smaller, relatively easy-to-achieve and practical goals. The achievement of the goals can then be measured by launching projects assigned to the designated goals and continuously monitoring their progress.

Both management and employees need to understand that innovation transformation is an iterative process. It is not enough to simply set goals and wait for results. Serious intervention and changes are needed in work processes and the organisation of daily work. Change cannot be achieved without active action. However, it is also important to realise that many measures are unlikely to succeed because the company is not yet ready or mature enough for them. Management may also realise that the company's culture is not yet innovative enough or that it does not have sufficient capabilities and capacities to implement the innovative ideas that have emerged. Some of the many challenges associated with the innovation process may be foreseeable and avoidable with careful planning, but due to the risks of development and the uncertain outcome of market reception, company management must accept that there will always be challenges that cannot be avoided and that failed developments are a natural part of innovation.

Management must therefore do its homework and formulate an ambitious plan, but the plan itself is not the most important thing, so it is not worth investing a lot of time and energy in perfecting it. If management embarks on sufficiently innovative developments, it must be prepared well in advance for failure, regardless of the quality of the plan. In the consulting profession, no one has ever heard of a large-scale organisational transformation that went exactly according to plan. You have to consciously prepare for the potential pitfalls and obstacles that you will inevitably encounter during the transformation process. However, it is important to learn from failures and poorly executed developments.

The other bad news is that it is not possible to rush ahead and significantly shorten the transformation of organisational culture. This requires time and a great deal of experience. As soon as management begins to make meaningful, practical changes, measurable progress can be seen in the organisation very quickly. In such an environment, employees who have been waiting to formulate and implement their development proposals will be energised. This will unleash dormant energies within the organisation, the effects of which will bring about rapid changes in efficiency and work organisation. All this makes it possible to improve the organisation's innovation skills, capabilities and processes, giving it momentum that will lead to changes in operating practices, routines and culture in the longer term. These visible results can be communicated within the organisation, helping to convince management of the need for further transformation. By proceeding step by step, evaluating the results and correcting mistakes, there is no need to invest huge sums of money in the transformation immediately.

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Figure 23. Process of innovation developments

Source: based on Viima.com.

We would like to emphasise once again that it is advisable to start transformations on a small scale and gradually increase investments. Once continuous monitoring of the results proves that the approach works and brings positive results, it is much easier to use the experience to convince the organisation's management and owners to increase the resources allocated to innovation. It is necessary to be patient with slow results and focus on the long-term competitiveness of the business, putting financial considerations in the background. It must be acknowledged that a traditional business cannot be quickly transformed into an innovation champion. It takes years, or rather decades, for a supplier specialising in serving large companies to produce a significant proportion of its products and services based on its own innovation efforts.

Tartalomjegyzék

Kiadó: Akadémiai Kiadó

Online megjelenés éve: 2026

ISBN: 978 963 664 182 5

Menedzsment

The aim of the book "Innovation and Excellence" is to inspire and encourage company leaders, managers, and experts to initiate and implement innovation transformations with the help of professional literature and corporate case studies. Another important goal is to help develop the innovation capabilities of small and medium-sized enterprises in particular by sharing simple, proven management methods that can be tested in practice.

The first part of the volume reviews the factors of corporate excellence and success, then highlights the possible sources of innovation, with a focus on the role of users and employees. The empirical section presents a detailed description of the supportive role of the workplace environment and creative working conditions based on corporate case studies (AUDI, BOSCH, MELECS). The volume concludes with a description of selected tested practical methods and management techniques that readers can try out in their own businesses.

Hivatkozás: https://mersz.hu/dory-innovation-and-excellence//

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