Author: Mitch Betts

My latest IDC report ($$$$) — about managing the digital innovation process — describes how chief information officers (CIOs) are fostering an innovation culture, feeding the pipeline of innovative ideas, and selecting which innovation ideas to pursue.

What I like about this report is that the CIOs provide pragmatic advice about handling the real-world politics of innovation, not the glittering generalities found in many articles about innovation.

They reveal how they prioritize ideas based on strategic goals defined by business leaders; win C-suite support and funding for innovation; and spot the “red flags” suggesting a pilot project should be halted.

The report is based on interviews with Adam Stanley, global CIO and chief digital officer at real-estate firm Cushman & Wakefield Inc.; Bryan Muehlberger, CIO at BeachBody LLC; Greg Tacchetti, chief information and strategy officer at State Auto Insurance Companies; and Alan Boehme, chief technology and IT innovation officer at Procter & Gamble Co.

Two of my favorite gems in this report came from P&G’s Boehme:

• Avoid “tech tourism” — the trips to Silicon Valley to inhale the innovation atmosphere. It doesn’t produce sustainable innovation or competitive advantage.
• Innovation begins with the hiring process — hiring people who are naturally curious. “Certain individuals are wired differently. They’re truly inquisitive and thrive on change. They will amaze you in how they looked at the situation and then how they solved the problem. They have the ability to innovate and come up with new ideas with a higher probability of success, over and over again, than others.”

I’ve started writing articles for CIO Dive, an editorial website for CIOs (part of the Industry Dive group of targeted publications). So far, the editor likes my idea of profiling CIOs after they’ve been in a job for about 12 months. I figure that, after a year at a new company, CIOs may be comfortable enough to talk about early accomplishments and what’s on their agenda for the future.

First up: Michael Smith, the CIO at cosmetics company Estée Lauder Companies Inc. in New York. He’s moving the IT organization towards speedier software development; data analytics to anticipate consumer trends; and more business-focused innovation. He also moved most of the New York area IT staff to a “technology hub” in Long Island City, an up-and-coming neighborhood in Queens. The office space — full of conference rooms and innovation labs — is intended for business & IT collaboration.

Analysts say that, so far, the company has done a good job of anticipating market shifts in the fickle, fast-moving beauty market (where an Instagram photo of a celebrity’s new lip gloss and can trigger a spike in sales). But it will need to use data analytics to continue that success.

As for CIO Dive, my goal is to boost the “CIO voices” in their content offering.