Initiator Tank Meeting December 2011: Overview

Radical Innovation. Disruptive Innovation. What it is? What it entails? What is the difference between the two?

On the 7^th of December, the wet snowy-rainy morning could not deter the enthusiasm of 30 participants who had come from various initiating companies – companies that co-founded the Innovation Pioneers Network. They were coming to The Absolut Company for the 2^nd day of the Initiator Tank Meeting 2011 after the 1^st day of reflections and agenda setting for the year 2012.

This meeting was particularly special because it was Bengt Johansson’s (Uponor) last Tank Meeting as Chairperson of the Innovation Pioneers Network for 2011. It was also the very last meeting of a series of Tank Meetings that is held at every quarter of the year.

Day one’s meeting revealed similar sentiments shared by all the initiators: 2011 was a great run for the Innovation Pioneers Network, and all were excited for 2012, under the new leadership of Pia Wågberg (Innventia).

 The agenda of the meeting for the second day was simple – to define and explain Radical and Disruptive Innovation.

Deciphering these terms have contributed to countless sleepless nights; which I soon realized I shared with many others. As remedy for the insomnia, four speakers, who are leaders in their respective fields, were invited to enlighten the audience by addressing the contention.

Julie Jenson Bennett, CEO of Precipice Design, opened the session with her rendition of “Disruptive Innovation of Meaning” by positing that innovation is sometimes lost through iteration. She added that one way of solving this problem was by putting meaning at the centre of product development for the makers and the buyers.

The following speaker was Christian Sandström, lecturer cum postdoctoral researcher at the Royal Institute of Technology, and researcher at Ratio Institute. Having written a paper on the subject of Disruptive Innovation, he provided a very informative presentation, which contextualized the approach of Radical Innovation for whom? And how?

After the intermittent lunch, Klas Bertilsson, innovation management process in-charge at Alfa Laval, reignited the fire of curiosity by proposing that businesses are “losing visionary leaders” and are instead “promoting controllers”. His presentation, which talked about incremental, disruptive and radical innovation, gave us a peek into the gated process of innovation management and product development at Alfa Laval.

Connected to Klas’ presentation was a lecture-workshop conducted by Henrik Berglund, innovation researcher at Chalmers University of Technology. He started by stating that all innovation requires customers and markets. After which, proceeded to take the audience through a two-step process: business canvas assumption writing, and testing customer development.

By the end of the meeting, it was apparent that many questions relating to the confusion between the terms had been answered. However, it would truly be a farcical to suggest that we all had the answers then. With a scope that encompasses the past, the present and much of the future, it was obvious that these debated terms were not passive and lifeless. Rather, they were as much in evolution as how businesses of today were.

Nonetheless, I felt a kind of peace descending upon the meeting room we were in. We were aligned in our thoughts, all of us drawing back a single large bow with the arrow of innovation pointing towards the same target.

Although unspoken of, it was clear that everyone was thinking similarly about what we have created – an expanded network of contacts and joint projects through which we share information, experiences, methods and tools with each other. And it was great.

Article by Errol Lim