Innovation Journal - Cognizant

REINVENT - SEEDING INNOVATION
Cognizant’s Innovation Group helped set up a “managed innovation”
process for a healthcare giant that sparked a culture of innovation for
the organization. We used a three-pronged approach:
A strategy workshop geared toward innovation and idea
“champions.” The innovation champions led innovation initiatives for
the different lines of business and functional units, while the idea
champions drove the initiatives at the ground level.
A set of “igniter” workshops for specific enthusiasts. These people
became innovation evangelists, who propagated the innovation
culture inside the organization, while the wave effect carried the
initiative forward.
An Innovation Leadership Summit. This included a set of workshops
for setting the leadership vision and strategies for the future.
In our work with a global healthcare payer, a senior executive who heads an
IT team of over 500 people posed a fascinating question: “How can I
encourage my team to share their thoughts, ideas and concerns with me?
They are all smart - technically, socially and business knowledge-wise - so
I’m sure they’ve got great ideas. But they are so busy with their day-to-day
work that no one ever raises their head to speak to me about opportunities or
issues they see. I need a way to hear their ideas and bring them to fruition.” It
was clear to us that he was looking for a context-based approach to
innovation, leveraging the wisdom of crowd rather than waiting for innovation
to “just happen.”
This company is a Fortune 100 corporation that ranks in the Top 5 of the
global healthcare industry, with revenues of $45 billion. The executive heads
an IT team of over 500 people who support the company’s global business. It
was clear to us that he was looking for a context-based approach to
innovation, leveraging the wisdom of the crowd rather than waiting for
innovation to “just happen.”
While this question was unexpected, it reflected a common concern of
corporate leaders in organizations throughout the world across all industries.
In today’s dynamic and competitive business environment, leaders need to
leverage the innate capabilities of their large and diverse teams to generate
ideas and then funnel these ideas into realities that lead to corporate success,
whether in the form of continuous improvement, new products, solutions and
services, or a radically improved customer experience.
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