Strategy and Innovation
‘Strategy and innovation’ is the heading of this web page. It is a sensible heading, as the two terms are often mentioned in one breath. But why? A strategy is definitely not an example of an innovation and an innovation is not an example of a strategy.
The reason, obviously, is that a good strategy for the year 2020 always includes innovations. When it comes to the implementation of a modern strategy, there is a lot to innovate in the process of implementing the strategy to achieve the goal of the strategy at all (for example: turnover doubling or world domination).
It all sounds abstract and it is, so let's make it concrete. Consider an Internet platform like Facebook. If this company were to choose a new strategy, you know that for the platform, the website, this would lead to dozens if not hundreds of adjustments and innovations. Innovations are then the solutions that have not yet been thought of.
How very different, by the way, innovation used to be. Back then, you thought of a product or a service, and you immediately came up with the idea how that product or service would be created. From A to Z, it was a sophisticated process. Nowadays, it is a matter of experimenting, of trial and error.
Does this trial and error also apply to strategies? At least in new business development, which is often the most adventurous side of a strategy, failure has become acceptable. At least, if failure means that from failure you move on to success. Because when it comes to strategies, times are merciless. Organizations that do not have a strong strategy and corresponding plan risk being quickly overtaken by competitors, old or new. There should be room for experimenting in this age of social innovation. But time is always limited – given that competitors are also feverishly trying to innovate. The objective these days is nearly always implementing digital transformation or a digital transition.
Disruptive innovation
With the advance of digitalization, strategies sometimes become such radically different concepts that they can disrupt entire sectors. This is called disruption and is the starting point for changing value chains. Disruptive innovations increasingly force companies to enhance and then maintain their agility. Agile organizations respond more easily and quickly to trends and developments in the market. Digitalization is nearly always at the heart of a new strategy, that much is clear. But there is more to it than that because our society is also changing radically in other ways. And finally, what about the effect of digital business processes and cloud computing, which facilitate working from home and support agile organizations?
Mission and Vision
In addition, consumers increasingly expect that companies and other organizations have a good story to tell: a story that pays attention to the environment, climate, stakeholders internationally and their own employees. Focusing on social impact is the overall theme, as it has also been named as an important theme by Management Scope, alongside diversity. Social impact usually comes down to sustainability, but socially acceptable policies, the ‘S’ of ESG (environmental, social & governance) are also becoming an increasingly important focus point for organizations.
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Wouter van Benten (DHL): ‘I am a tech optimist’
How can organizations survive in the digital age? This question is explored in depth in a series of articles in Management Scope by Hilde van der Baan and Gijs Linse of A&O Shearman. This time, they interview Wouter van Benten, CEO of DHL eCommerce, about his digital journey, about speed – ‘we were moving so fast that we had to fight quite a few battles with head office to get our way and keep going’ – about choices that differed from those of the competition, and about what will be needed for the next ten years.
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SeederDeBoer, the new knowledge partner of Management Scope, aims to become the leading organizational consultancy for complex change processes in large Dutch organizations. Partner Lotte Hart discusses her and her colleagues’ unconventional approach, with the common thread being the extent to which people embrace change. ‘Often, there is a problem behind the problem and a question behind the question. If you succeed in clarifying that together, you can avoid a lot of hassle and disappointment during the process.’
The further development of (critical) infrastructure will determine the Netherlands’ position as a hub in the European economy. A question on what strategic choices the country therefore urgently needs to make for the near and distant future is discussed during a round table. Plus, what the mainports themselves can do to remain strategically relevant. ‘We are simply going to invest ten billion. Period. Legal certainty or no legal certainty.’
Lotte Hart (SeederDeBoer): ‘The human side is crucial’
SeederDeBoer, the new knowledge partner of Management Scope, aims to become the leading organizational consultancy for complex change processes in large Dutch organizations. Partner Lotte Hart discusses her and her colleagues’ unconventional approach, with the common thread being the extent to which people embrace change. ‘Often, there is a problem behind the problem and a question behind the question. If you succeed in clarifying that together, you can avoid a lot of hassle and disappointment during the process.’
Critical infrastructure: ‘A little more of that can-do mentality, and it will be possible’
The further development of (critical) infrastructure will determine the Netherlands’ position as a hub in the European economy. A question on what strategic choices the country therefore urgently needs to make for the near and distant future is discussed during a round table. Plus, what the mainports themselves can do to remain strategically relevant. ‘We are simply going to invest ten billion. Period. Legal certainty or no legal certainty.’
Rinke van de Rhee and Mario Suykerbuyk are working under pressure facilitating the energy transition. As CDO of regional grid operator Alliander and CIO of high-voltage grid operator TenneT respectively, they are ensuring that the electricity grid is ready for the future. ‘To what extent is the energy transition a digital transformation? Completely.’
The energy transition is fully underway, but directors and supervisory board members do not have all their questions answered. How to make an informed choice from the complex range of sustainable alternatives to fossil energy, or, which technological leaps are in fact unavoidable? In the Netherlands, energy company Vattenfall focuses primarily on the shift from fossil fuels to green electricity, utilizing various technological solutions to assist industrial companies in becoming more sustainable. The solution lies in a combination of flexible energy use and a differentiated approach, write Boudewijn Tjeertes and Maurice Vlek.
KPN is Management Scope's new knowledge partner in the areas of cybersecurity, digital resilience and chain digitization. Executive director Chantal Vergouw is responsible for the business market. She is optimistic but also realistic about the digital future of business. ‘Research shows that a quarter of medium and large Dutch organizations are still poorly prepared for serious cyber threats. Through innovation and collaboration, we can continue to make progress.’
Process intelligence in the energy transition
Rinke van de Rhee and Mario Suykerbuyk are working under pressure facilitating the energy transition. As CDO of regional grid operator Alliander and CIO of high-voltage grid operator TenneT respectively, they are ensuring that the electricity grid is ready for the future. ‘To what extent is the energy transition a digital transformation? Completely.’
Industrial sustainability requires a differentiated approach
The energy transition is fully underway, but directors and supervisory board members do not have all their questions answered. How to make an informed choice from the complex range of sustainable alternatives to fossil energy, or, which technological leaps are in fact unavoidable? In the Netherlands, energy company Vattenfall focuses primarily on the shift from fossil fuels to green electricity, utilizing various technological solutions to assist industrial companies in becoming more sustainable. The solution lies in a combination of flexible energy use and a differentiated approach, write Boudewijn Tjeertes and Maurice Vlek.
Chantal Vergouw (KPN): ‘Still much to be gained with digital resilience’
KPN is Management Scope's new knowledge partner in the areas of cybersecurity, digital resilience and chain digitization. Executive director Chantal Vergouw is responsible for the business market. She is optimistic but also realistic about the digital future of business. ‘Research shows that a quarter of medium and large Dutch organizations are still poorly prepared for serious cyber threats. Through innovation and collaboration, we can continue to make progress.’
Daniele Tonella (ING): ‘Innovation is also about behavior and governance’
As chief technology officer and member of the management board banking at ING Bank, Daniele Tonella is responsible for the bank's entire IT landscape, with its nearly twenty thousand employees. His mandate covers everything within the organization ‘that contains a chip or line of code’, as he puts it. Tonella discusses his concerns about knowledge development and how technology and organizational development are becoming increasingly intertwined. ‘ING's digital transformation is more a challenge in terms of organization, culture, and governance than a technology issue.’
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Frans Muller (Ahold Delhaize): ‘We Aim to Grow Faster Than the Market’
Under the leadership of CEO Frans Muller, Belgian supermarket chain Delhaize merged with the Dutch Ahold. Muller reflects with pride on that merger but is first and foremost focused on the future, as shown in the recently presented group strategy update.
Harold Van Den Broek (Heineken): 'No Blank Cheques On ESG Designation'
Heineken's Chief Financial Officer, Harold van den Broek, is executing his strategic and sustainability agenda in a tumultuous climate of rising prices and pressured profit figures. According to the CFO, shareholder value creation will give way to stakeholder value creation.
Willemien Terpstra (Gasunie): ‘Setting up new energy systems is the only way’
Interventions are needed for a resilient food chain
Robert Otto (Achmea): 'I want to accelerate the growth of our international activities'
The world is not fully controllable, but public-private collaboration is
Heleen Cocu-Wassink, Trudy Onland and Mariëlle Vogt: 'We need to learn to experiment'
Ronald Paul and Tjark Tjin-A-Tsoi: ‘Do Not Nip Innovation in the Bud’
The Supervisory Director as Guardian of the Future
The HR specialists at this roundtable discussion on employee well-being have a clear message: Do not haphazardly launch a new HR tool or a survey on employee well-being without a clear vision of what you aim to achieve and how it fits into the organization's strategy. ‘People need to know how their contributions align with the organization's goals.’
Employers’ responsibility for the well-being of employees is increasing, but conversely, employees must also contribute to the ‘well-being’ of an organization. Companies that manage to align their purpose with that of their employees hold the key to future success, according to Stefan Duran of the insurer elipsLife.
How Does Employee Well-being Fit Into Strategy?
The HR specialists at this roundtable discussion on employee well-being have a clear message: Do not haphazardly launch a new HR tool or a survey on employee well-being without a clear vision of what you aim to achieve and how it fits into the organization's strategy. ‘People need to know how their contributions align with the organization's goals.’
The Strategic Importance of Employee Well-being
Employers’ responsibility for the well-being of employees is increasing, but conversely, employees must also contribute to the ‘well-being’ of an organization. Companies that manage to align their purpose with that of their employees hold the key to future success, according to Stefan Duran of the insurer elipsLife.
Joost Nelis (BAM Group): ‘We Aim to Be the Market Leader in Sustainable Construction’
Yvette Heijwegen (AS Watson): ‘Decision-Making With a Focus on Technological Flexibility’
Kitty Koelemeijer: ‘Becoming Future-Proof? Address The Supply Chain’
Gitte Kristiansen: ‘Absence Management Should Be on the Board Agenda’
Gerben Everts (VEB): ‘Do Not Let Financial Analysts Guide You’
