When one thinks of innovation, Google is usually the benchmark to compare against. Innovation is reflected in their culture, where they have a process that encourages collaboration, rewards ideas, moves ideas forward, and then capitalizes on these ideas. Their mission: “Through innovation and iteration, we aim to take things that work well and improve upon them in unexpected ways.”
If you analyze their business portfolio, 90% of revenue comes from their mature businesses, AdWords and AdSense, which are not that innovative. Yet, they are known for their rapidly growing products: Android, Glass, driverless car and a number of other innovative products. In order to launch and divest 10-15 projects a year, they have developed a process that includes:
1. Creating an exploratory culture;
2. Considering a large number of ideas…where they can make a difference;
3. Using rigorous deep analytics to select where to invest ;
4. Continuously monitoring the health;
5. Keeping speed in mind with each release.
How does your organization benchmark against Google’s innovation?