DATA DRIVEN
For Kate Carruthers, the nexus between innovation and data is a key area for businesses to focus on—and in the future, every innovation will be built on data.
Kate Carruthers, Chief Data & Insights Officer, UNSW Planning & Performance, UNSW Sydney
The nexus between innovation and data is an important thing to understand now. This is what’s different from last century when I did innovation in a special group. Now, every innovation will be data-driven. Every innovation will be built on data, and it’ll be built on AI going forward. If you’re not ready to manage your resources in an essentially data-driven world, then you’re going to get left behind and you probably need to start thinking about living in a data-driven world. THE INNOVATOR’S DILEMMA The state of affairs of innovation? It’s quite varied as to the industry size, scale of business, and jurisdiction that the business operates in. I’m seeing a lot of innovation out of Asia, the U.S., and the E.U., but other regions seem to be lagging. It’s tied to the scale of the organization. Organizations that are richer and have more resources are putting more thought into innovation.
The other end of the market—where there are scrappy contenders—is also putting a lot of thought into innovation. It’s that middle level that is not really doing anything. Is innovation evolving? Innovation as a separate role means it becomes someone’s problem, and then no one else must do anything. It’s like digital—I don’t think anyone should own digital either. I think innovation and digital are two things that no one should be the chief of. I know a lot of organizations are playing with having Chief Innovation Officers, but I believe that it gets stuck in, “It’s their job. It’s not my job anymore. I don’t have to worry about that.” Clayton Christensen wrote about the “innovator’s dilemma,” of how hard it is to switch from doing something you’re profitable and good at to doing something you’re not so good at that might not be so profitable. This constant tension within an organization between the need to be innovative and business as usual and making a profit is a real thing.
FEI 2024 & Key Innovation Perspectives
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