Rui Coutinho, specialist in Innovation, was responsible for closing “Road to Doing Business”, in a session dedicated to the “Innovation Strategy”.
“Road to Doing Business” ended this Thursday with Rui Coutinho, executive director of the Center for Business Innovation at Porto Business School (PBS), who shared insights on the Strategy for innovation. With this session, startups were supposed to understand how organizations define and implement their innovation strategies so they can become part of the process, bringing value to these potential clients.
What’s innovation and why is it important for competitiveness?
According to the guest, innovation means “a constant discovery and disruption. What is new, today, is the speed in which this disruption happens, thanks to the evolution of technology”.
“Innovating means remaining relevant and continuing to grow in a world in constant change; if we succeed, we are constantly and successfully innovating”.
From the ability to analyze the market and the competition, to self-analysis, moving on to the definition of new goals and the way forward, Rui Coutinho states that innovation is increasingly a necessity for large companies. They have “to reduce risks, understand the future, lead and adapt to what comes next”.
However, one must “not confuse the Innovation Strategy with the Business Strategy”, with the first being “just” a part of the Business Strategy.
“Try to stop being ‘nice to have’ and become ‘must have’ for big companies”
Mature companies can adopt several approaches to define and implement an innovation strategy. Many develop their innovative solutions by using internal knowledge and resources. However, these organisations are aware that by adopting open-innovations processes, they can become more agile and faster considering competition. In that sense, startups can become strong allies for their competitiveness. If startups want to become solid partners for their innovation strategies, they must seek to bring ‘must-have’ solutions instead of ‘nice-to-have’ solutions.
Recommended books and authors
There’s a lot of content on innovation and that’s why Rui left a curated list of books and authors that can help you understand and implement an innovation mindset:
- Innovation and Entrepreneurship, from Peter Drucker
- The Startup Way, from Eric Ries
- Competing Against Luck: The Story of Innovation and Customer Choice, from Clayton M. Christensen
“Road to Doing Business” has come to an end. Now, it’s time for 34 mature organizations and 50 startups to meet and do some business!
