At CBTW (Collaboration Betters The World), our journey with Idea Management Software began as we shifted from traditional consulting to offering more concrete, packaged solutions. To reach this goal, our Innovation Leader came with a clear purpose: building a balanced portfolio of solutions that bring value to our clients.
Following a strategic evolution in our operating model, the company’s board launched an innovation forum to rethink its future growth which was anchored in innovation.
The forum’s efforts led to a white paper that set the stage for CBTW’s innovation journey, focusing on:
- developing solutions directly aligned with customer needs.
- balancing our portfolio with solutions that meet market demands.
- staying true to our capacity to deliver effectively.
Above all, our vision was about evolving the company culture so that it could better address customer challenges with tech and business solutions.
This transformation highlights CBTW’s commitment to growth through innovation, providing valuable insights for other organizations wishing to embark on a similar path and providing solutions to support them towards this change.
Challenges in Our Innovation Journey
- Fragmented Innovation Efforts:
Our initial approach to innovation was disjointed and lacked coherence. Teams were relying on local SharePoint, Teams, or Miro for ideation, resulting in isolated solutions and missed opportunities for cross-departmental insights. This fragmentation led to parallel tracks that raised frustration among field and upper management, hindering effective innovation management. - Absence of Cohesive Processes and Tools:
Without a clearly adopted process or appropriate tooling, CBTW’s innovation efforts were stifled. The lack of organized campaigns, the inability to link innovation activities to the current solution portfolio, and the challenge of engaging communities in the innovation process highlighted the need for a dedicated tool to support a streamlined and efficient innovation process. - Resource Allocation and Organizational Obstacles:
At the field level, new projects faced significant organizational obstacles, notably in resource allocation. This caused delays, inefficiencies, and often brought innovation projects to a halt. The absence of cohesion between teams further slowed progress and weakened the focus on innovation projects.
Our Approach to Becoming Innovative
- Establishing a Clear Innovation Framework:
We began by defining what innovation meant to the company and ensuring a company-wide consensus. The Innovation Forum, co-led by our Innovation Leader and Innovation Advisor was instrumental in this effort. They produced a white paper, the Innovation Manifesto, which outlined key process propositions and spotlighted early success stories. - Implementing the Right Tool:
Recognizing the need for a dedicated tool, our team embarked on a careful search for the perfect innovation management tool. Under our Innovation Leader’s supervision, we defined our innovation process and goals, identified a list of capabilities, built a vendor shortlist, and conducted a Proof of Concept (PoC). Through thorough market research and evaluations, we selected Qmarkets’ Q-ideate as the tool that matched over 80% of our weighted criteria. - Customizing and Integrating Qideate:
We prioritized customizing Q-ideate to match CBTW’s established processes exactly, ensuring the digital platform mirrored the paper-based plans. We incorporated the existing solutions portfolio into Q-ideate, showcasing the full innovation cycle from concept to solution in a coherent and accessible manner. This approach helped users visually connect the dots, making the process more tangible and understandable.
The Benefits of Our Innovation Strategy
- Enhanced Innovation Culture and Engagement:
Implementing Q-ideate marked a significant shift towards integrating innovation into CBTW’s daily routines. The tool’s flexibility and customizability made it essential for promoting an inclusive culture of innovation. It simplified the process for users, democratizing idea generation and collaboration, and increased participation, transforming innovation into a unified effort. - Streamlined Processes and Improved Efficiency:
Q-ideate’s ability to track efforts with clear reports and performance metrics helped improve CBTW’s Collaborative Operating Model. The tool enabled short feedback cycles, continuous refinement of methods, and close collaboration with Q-ideate’s team, enhancing our innovation strategy. This streamlined approach led to the efficient management of innovation projects and reduced the time to market for new solutions. - Tangible Business Outcomes:
The strategic implementation of Q-ideate resulted in over ten ideas transitioning into marketable products within a year. This success underscored the importance of having a dedicated tool and a clear framework for measuring success. The focus on targeted tools and lessons learned from the implementation project significantly enhanced CBTW’s efficiency, collaboration, and innovation culture. - Role of Innovation Coaches:
A pivotal insight from our journey was the importance of dedicated people driving the innovation process. Recognizing this, our Innovation Leader appointed innovation coaches to act as ambassadors, ensuring the innovation efforts maintained momentum. These coaches played a crucial role in leading and supporting the process, guiding Spark teams, sharing knowledge, and ensuring ideas aligned with our company’s vision. This approach significantly increased employee engagement in innovation activities and helped build a stronger innovation culture.
Conclusion and Future Aspirations
Our journey with Q-ideate has been transformative, emphasizing the real value of innovation over mere appearances. The efforts of our Innovation Leader to avoid “innovation theatre” and focus on meaningful ideas with clear potential have led to substantial business outcomes. Moving forward, CBTW aims to increase platform users, enhance integration with tools like Teams and Salesforce, and experiment with new ways to engage employees, such as flash campaigns.
By linking innovation to the company’s main goals, CBTW is creating a culture that values new ideas and puts them into action. This approach ensures continuous evolution and leadership in innovation, providing a valuable blueprint for other organizations looking to harness the power of innovation management tools.
In conclusion, CBTW’s implementation of an Idea Management Tool has not only enhanced its innovation culture but also resulted in tangible business benefits. Our journey underscores the importance of a clear innovation framework, the right tools, and dedicated people in driving successful innovation.