Increasingly we are hearing about the need to support and foster healthcare innovation…be it product, process, social or organizational. Join our panel for a stimulating session that will explore innovation from a variety of perspectives and contexts. Areas of focus will include what is innovation and what is it not? What does it mean to lead for innovation? How do you turn thought and ideas into action for change? What does innovation look like within the health care setting? How can health leaders create a culture and context for innovation and develop systems and partnerships that create collective impact for individuals and communities.

1. Ian P. McCarthy
Canadian College of Health Leaders
BC Lower Mainland Chapter Event:
Entrepreneurial Leadership: How do you
create the culture and context for innovation
in healthcare?
November 27, 2015
FOSTERING
INNOVATION

2. INTRODUCTION
@Toffeemen68
Ian_mccarthy@sfu.ca
www.slideshare.net/IanMcCarthy
2

3. INTRODUCTION
• What is innovation?
– Types of innovation
• Innovation and the work harder trap
– Being ambidextrous
• How to foster innovation?
– Create the context to innovate
– Be diverse
– Be open to user (patient)
innovation

4. COMPONENTS OF INNOVATION
Element Recognized as
Newness A change, a difference, and some uncertainty and anxiety
Ideation The idea, the spark, the knowledge and the origins of the
innovation. Often linked to a ‘gap’
Application The innovation is used, applied, put into action
Benefit The innovation has some value, it makes a difference, it has
consequences
It is to renew or change something, which is then applied and has some
benefits.

5. WHAT IS INNOVATION? (OECD DEFINITIONS)
• Product innovation
– A good or service that is new or significantly improved. This includes significant
improvements in technical specifications, components and materials, software in the
product, user friendliness or other functional characteristics.
• Process innovation
– A new or significantly improved production or delivery method. This includes
significant changes in techniques, equipment and/or software.
• Marketing innovation
– A new marketing method involving significant changes in product design or
packaging, product placement, product promotion or pricing.
• Social Innovation
– A new approach to addressing social issues (e.g., working conditions and education
to community development and health) that extend and strengthen civil society.
• Organizational innovation
– A new organizational method in business practices, workplace organization or
external relations.

6. INNOVATIONS

7. THE WORK HARDER TRAP
• Is it better to work harder or work
smarter (differently)?
• So why is it more common to
work harder?

8. THE WORK HARDER TRAP
• Working harder:
– Focuses on refinement and efficiency
– Initially it gives faster and cheaper returns
– It is easier to measure, manage and reward
• Working smarter:
– Involves searching, thinking, experimenting, and creativity
– Takes longer and is riskier
– It is harder to measure, manage and reward
• ‘Working harder’ dominates and starves ‘working smarter’.

9. CREATING THE CONTEXT TO INNOVATE
• Leadership is required to:
1. provide time to innovate (80-
20 rule)
2. provide space to innovate
3. provide the controls (goals,
rules, resources and rewards)
to innovate

10. THE RULES FOR THE CONTEXT
Divergence: Idea Creation
• Ideas come from anywhere
• Egalitarian
• Brainstorming
• One idea at a time
• Listen actively
• Build on ideas of others
• No criticism
• No punishment for failure
• Initiative is expected
• Data driven
• Ask “experts” and “customers”
• Diverse groups
• Fun, playful
• Passion and energy
Convergence: Idea Selection & Development
• Clear direction
• One conversation at a time
• Action oriented
• Fail early, fail often
• Rapid prototyping
• Role of leadership
• Focus
• Use of deadlines
• Not “experts”
• Process for deciding
• Voting
• Involvement
• Sub-groups
• Adult supervision

11. SOME WEIRD RULES
• Flip-flop method – design the worse process
you can imagine, and then consider the
opposite.
• Think of some ridiculous or impractical things to
do and plan to do them.
• Take your past successes and forget them
• Hire:
• slow learners of the organizational code
• people who make you uncomfortable
• Encourage people to ignore and defy their
bosses and peers

12. INNOVATION AND TEAM DIVERSITY

13. INNOVATION TEAM DIVERSITY
AMOUNT OF DIVERSITY
Type of Team Diversity Minimum Moderate Maximum
Separation – differences in the
preferences, values, and
attitudes of team members
Variety - differences in the
expertise and access to
knowledge of team members
Disparity – differences in the
status, authority and rewards of
team members
Adapted from Harrison & Klein (2007):

14. POSSIBLE EFFECTS OF TEAM DIVERSITY
Type of Innovation Team Diversity
Innovation
Performance
Low
High
Min Max
Separation
Disparity
Variety
Adapted from Harrison & Klein (2007):

15. BE OPEN TO USER INNOVATION
Earle Dickson
invented the Band-
Aid in 1920 for his
wife.Tim Omer is a diabetic and he built his own
continuous glucose monitor.

16. 16
SUMMARY AND REFLECTION
• What types of innovation do you
need?
– Different types require different
contexts
• What is your work harder – work
smarter balance?
– If you need to change the
balance, what could you do?
• How “open” are you to innovation?
• If everybody likes your idea for
innovation it is probably not that
innovative.