The Innovation Incubator

There are times when having a good think about a problem is not enough to solve it; we need more resources.  That is when the Innovation Incubator model can be of incredible value.

What is the Innovation Incubator?

This is a problem solving model in essence, with a number of very important distinctions.  Yes, it’s for solving problems, but it’s also for commercialising the solutions wherever possible. And it uses a very specialised method of reaching those solutions.

It came out of a Soft Skills program I was delivering for Queensland Transport. Part of their brief was to look at the problems the regional offices had and that needed exploring.  We created a model then that provided amazing outcomes through a very specialised process of questioning to uncover the real problems, not just the stimuli that was creating the immediate issues, and further innovative methods of selecting the options to solve the problem.

Over the years, the model was refined further and through the period of the Executive Mastermind workshops, we began to harness the process for creating solutions which could be commercialised.  That meant protecting the intellectual property so that the commercial value of the solution could be protected.  Our final program was the Innovation Incubator model we now have, with the features of:

• Specialised questioning processes to uncover the real issues
• Further processes to examine and choose the most suitable solutions or options
• Commercialisation filters
• Intellectual Property Protection
• Commercialisation processes
• Marketing

It took time for the model to be distilled down into a unit that was scalable, suiting every situation from a consultancy model, to a small problem solving model for a specific challenge in a small business, to a large stand-alone model inside a major corporation, or a whole section within a council or government department.

What can be achieved with the Innovation Incubator?

Let’s look at a City Council model, for an example.  City councils are at the coalface of where employment statistics and regional economic development are measured.  They are usually under-funded, reliant on charging rates from residents, and government funding for shared projects. Yet each council has social and infrastructure challenges and responsibilities that fall outside any of the areas where funding support is available from.

By installing an Innovation Incubator, a City Council could:

• Create a Council of Elders Think Tank
• Create a Technology Think Tank
• Have a panel of experts on hand with an external facilitator
• Take their local problems into the Innovation Incubator think tanks, create solutions and commercialise the outcomes. Commercialising the outcomes is a business development opportunity, creating employment and economic development.
• Take other non-council problems into the Innovation Incubator, specifically for business development through commercialising the solution and creating a new business and employment.
• Community involvement and input can be encouraged into the innovation Incubator program, by incorporating a community centre environment and actually encouraging community input. This engages the community more and reduces social problems also.

The final outcome could include:

1. Employment increase.
2. New businesses registered and operating in partnership with the council.
3. Income generation from the commercialisation of the IP in the solutions.
4. Community engagement, reducing social issues.
5. Council seen as being more ‘in touch’ with the community.
6. A sense of prosperity, hope and confidence emanating from the Innovation Incubator environment.

What about small businesses and the Innovation Incubator?

Similarly with small businesses, the Innovation Incubator can be installed either wholly within the business with an external facilitator, or facilitated with the business as a partner in the process, sharing the IP and the benefits of the solutions found.  In this case, the small business might request support with a challenge and the facilitator will arrange the panel of expertise required for the problem solving process.  When a solution is found, if it can be commercialised, the business and the experts involved share in the IP values and commercial outcomes, whether it is a licence fee or royalty basis.

There are many models and variants of the core concept of the Innovation Incubator.  However they all have one thing in common; they need an external facilitator, for the benefits of objectivity and the specialised questioning processes.

“You cannot do your own brain surgery!”  Ray Jamieson 1997

Objectivity is greater than just not being blind to what has been done that way for ever, it’s also the ability to see beyond ‘sacred cows’ and ‘raging bull’ that often abounds in mature business models – practices that have long outgrown their useful lives and are now problematic in themselves.

If you feel this is something that could have a value in your organisation, do some more homework on it by looking HERE, on the Executive Mastermind website.  I will be delighted to speak with you more about it and help you take it to the next stage.

Til next time, take time to enjoy the life you live.

Ray Jamieson