Asia brims with ideas. The question is which idea to support. Leaders might not have all the answers, but they are integral to the process of asking the right questions and executing the answers. In October 2011, the Human Capital Leadership Institute (HCLI) brought together entrepreneurs, thought- and business leaders from all across Asia for a round table debate on innovation. The animated discussion revealed a number of new trends in Asian innovation, recipes for achieving organisational sustainability, and fresh ideas on the role of leaders. These insights were captured by the many eloquent authors in the current issue of HQ Asia, and have been condensed into six key ways for Asian leaders to foster innovation.  

1. Spotting the innovator and enabling oddity

Oddity may be an identifier of innovators. Yet, in Asia, there is an emphasis on conformity. In organisations, being different and doing things differently from the mainstream can cause conflict. Thus, after spotting unusual talents, odd individuals need to be provided with a network that allows him or her to fully realise their potential while working alongside their colleagues. Bridging the gap between the odd one out and the mainstream is a core skill for leaders. With inclusion and practice, the unusual view offered by employees outside the mainstream is enriching and should be encouraged.  

2. Enabling curiosity

Equal to facilitating oddity, is the skill to enable curiosity. One leader mentioned that this attitude starts at a young age and needs to be honed by trying new things. All children are born innovators, in the sense that they enact four typical roles: constantly observe, ask questions, experiment and network by asking parents. These roles are also vital for innovators. Moreover, one participant observed that small towns often have big ideas, as small towns often have many gaps to fill and people have time. There is a lot of truth in the saying “necessity is the mother of invention”. Yet, the disadvantage of small towns is that they are outside a network of cities and innovation outlets are not networked. It is a leader’s role to enable these ideas and connect them with others. Anil Gupta’s National Innovation Foundation is evidence of the creativity hidden in young minds. As a showcase of Indian grassroots innovation, it provides an outlet for innovations of all scales and towards all ends. Maintaining curiosity is crucial for successful leaders in Asia.  

3. Increased relevance of ideas

The probability of success for an innovative idea is directly linked to its relevance. The first step is to be aware of, and prepare for failure by testing the idea rigorously. Client-facing salespeople should be joined by the innovator and the financier for the entirety of the innovation process, so that the outcome will be more relevant and practical from a business perspective. Also, trials on a smaller scale and in different environments increase the success of an innovation when it goes live.  

4. Manage failure

Despite every leader’s ambition to make innovation a success, innovation remains a trial and error process, often resulting in failure. The risk of failure is particularly relevant in Asia for two reasons. Due to Asia’s exponential growth, competition exists aplenty forcing businesses to tap Asia’s abundant opportunities fast. Failure to do so is an opportunity cost that most organisations can ill afford. Moreover for leaders, their people’s well-being has to be maintained. Failure also means embarrassment and can lead to demotivation. To avoid these risks, leaders have to manage failure by establishing a culture conducive to trying and learning from one’s mistakes, and which encourages persistence. For example, in one organisation, promotions are only considered if the person is also submitting a ‘Failure CV’ listing the lessons learned from each mistake. Successful leaders create stories around how individuals deal with failure, persist and win, in order to manage potential failures and encourage their staff to continue innovating.  

5. Small “pellets” of funding, and encouragement

Nourishing innovation cannot just be achieved through funding. In fact, some participants preferred the approach of “not cannonballs, but pellets”, as introduced by one participant.  Cannonballs of funding destroy more than they build.  By contrast, small pellets of funding help keep innovators focused on the critical aspects of innovation. Together with small injections of funding, the encouragement of leaders was crucial. Leaders have to care, show interest, ask the right questions and examine progress regularly. One business leader shared the story of his innovation experience: as a young engineer, he and his friends worked out of a shed with a leaking roof. Their financier extended minimal funds, but made it a point to drop in often and have a chat about their progress and bottlenecks. The financier’s questions evoked discussions and helped find solutions to most issues. Eventually, their financier set a deadline, which the team had to scramble to meet — and they eventually succeeded. This story emphasised that accessibility to leaders, support and encouragement are more valuable than providing funds, something which resonated with other participants.  

6. Jungle gardens — a case for chaos amongst order

Innovation can be compared to gardening: an idea is a seed that is nourished through funds and encouragement, plus occasional trimming. A leader is like a gardener. All gardeners hope that their gardens will only have strong and beautiful plants. To achieve this goal, gardeners have to remove weeds. Yet, successful gardeners also see value in weeds, as they provide pest control, often have beautiful flowers and, thus, have unexpected benefits. It might also be beneficial to let some plants grow wild and let the fittest survive. To get the best of all worlds, effective leaders need to find a balance between manicured innovation and the valuable weeds of oddity. One might be pleasantly surprised at what innovations ‘jungle gardens’ may uncover.  

Using the six keys

The role of leaders in innovation reverberated throughout the entirety of the round table, where the parameters of leadership were further refined. Should Asian leaders heed to these suggestions, the abundance of ideas in Asia can finally be tapped and brought to bear within Asia and the rest of the world.  

Participants

• Alok Mishra, Vice President, Strategic Marketing & Market Access, Johnson & Johnson Medical Asia Pacific
• Ramakrishnan Mukundan, Managing Director, Tata Chemicals Ltd
• Peter Cheng, Vice President, Global Research and Innovation, Vestas Technology R&D
• Chng Yi Ta, CEO Asia, ?WhatIf! The Innovation Company
• Grant Powell, Managing Director, Accenture’s Management Consulting Innovation Center
• Anil K Gupta, Professor, Coordinator of SRISTI, Founder of the Honey Bee Network and Executive Vice Chair of the National Innovation Foundation at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad
• Claus Nehmzow, Founder & CEO, 3D Avatar School
• Soumitra Dutta, Professor of Information Systems, The Roland Berger Chaired Professor in Business and Technology, Academic Director of Elab@INSEAD

This article was first published in HQ Asia (Print) Issue 03 (2012)