A new model based on the intersections of three complementary sets of values in an organization — economic-pragmatic, ethical-social, and emotional-developmental — can help companies create the culture of passion for innovation required to meet the competitive demands of 21st century business.
Innovation is central to a firm’s survival. In a world of demanding customers, myriad choices, and constant change, a company must build its competitive advantage on its ability to innovate. However, while espousing the importance of innovation to their employees and managers, companies are finding that they are failing to create a passion for innovation — and without passion, innovation becomes a failed aspiration.
Building on previous research, a team from ESADE Business School developed a triaxial model for building a culture of passion for innovation. The three axes are based on three complementary sets of values: economic-pragmatic, ethical-social, and emotional-developmental. Economic-pragmatic values relate to values such as efficiency, punctuality, productivity and discipline. Ethical-social values relate to how people behave, and are based on values such as honesty, respect and loyalty. Emotional-developmental values are related to intrinsic motivation, and include values such as optimism, freedom and happiness.
The Coaching by Sustainable Innovation Values (CSIV) model puts these three axes in the form of a triangle. This tri-intersectional model allows managers to constantly align and realign the organization at the intersections of the three axes. Specifically, the intersection of the creative emotional-development axis and the practical economic-pragmatic axis leads to innovation. Companies develop new ideas but also know how to turn them into economic reality. Royal Dutch Shell’s GameChanger innovation program has turned 100 ideas from employees and outsiders into reality. The intersection of the practical economic-pragmatic axis and the generous and honest ethical-social axis leads to survival. Companies develop sustainable innovations, such as the low-cost sanitary pad developed by Indian entrepreneur Arunachalam Muruganantham. His innovation liberated girls and women who had been forced to stay home during their menstrual periods. The intersection of honest and generous ethical-social axis and creative emotional-development leads to sensitivity. For example, ESADE Business School and IESE Business School are two globally ranked business schools founded on the spiritual values of, respectively, their Jesuit and Opus Dei founders.
The Coaching by Sustainable Innovational Values (CSIV) model is a tool to help managers align and realign the different values of an organization to create sustainable innovation. To support these three different but complementary sets of values, organizations must develop the following key innovational core competencies within the organization:
Managers must create an open innovation environment that helps to build these innovational values and take full advantage of the CSIV model.
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