In today's dynamic market, many companies are faced with providing creative solutions to their customer's problems in lodge to stay in business, making workplace innovation extremely important.

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According to the McKinsey Global Innovation Survey, though 86% of executives hold innovation is key for growth strategy, only 6% are satisfied with the innovative efforts of their company. In other words, companies need innovative strategies merely are struggling to create and implement them.

While many businesses look to hire artistic problem-solvers, for many employees performing their daily tasks and having the energy to provide fresh, innovative ideas above and beyond their daily duties tin be challenging. When team members are so shut to the work they do every day or are used to providing a specific value for their customers, strategic improvements to their business can be challenging to identify or act upon.

This is why consulting exists. However, all consulting is not created equal.

In that location are diverse types of consultants who specialize in different subjects. If y'all're already in the consulting field, y'all may already have a specific niche or area of expertise. However, equally I mentioned higher up, businesses are going to need support centered on innovation to remain competitive.

Enter innovation consulting.

What is innovation consulting?

Innovation consulting is the practice of providing advice and direction to businesses and organizations looking to implement new growth and business organisation strategies.

Innovation involves new ways of creating values for customers. Though commonly associated with tech, innovation consultants can unlock new business organisation opportunities for companies of all sectors. In this function, innovation consultants support organizations in creating and implementing creative strategies to support business objectives in a new manner.

If yous're interested in a career in innovation consulting, let's dive a little deeper to empathize the value you would provide to your clients in the part.

What does an innovation consultant practice?

The part of an innovation consultant tin vary depending on the industry they back up, and the unique needs of the client. Some common areas an innovation consultant supports can include the following.

one. Reveal and fix broken processes.

When organizations keep to follow the same processes over and over because it'southward "what they've ever done" they are doing themselves a huge disservice. Not but does following the same processes time and time again get out little room for innovation, but information technology tin also perpetuate inefficiencies and bad habits that can prevent business growth.

As an innovation consultant, you tin enquire the key questions about what processes your clients have in place and recommend amend alternatives and solutions that can make a huge deviation in their bottom line.

ii. Provide a fresh perspective.

Sometimes having a different perspective can make all the deviation. As an innovation consultant, you lot get to provide a fresh perspective with every client yous work with.

By implementing your recommendations, clients can unlock new means of operating. Every bit a consultant who is well-versed in innovation strategy, you tin provide meaningful insight that teams you're working with may not see because they are too busy working in their business concern to see what improvements could exist made.

3. Clarify your customer's vision.

Do your clients have a articulate vision for where they want their companies to go but take a hard fourth dimension articulating and executing that vision? If and so, you tin can help them gain clarity putting their thoughts onto paper and into activeness.

As an innovation consultant, you have the opportunity to map out strategies that can bring your client's visions to life.

4. Explore new ways of doing business.

In consulting, chances are you lot have feel working with various organizations. Your clients on the other mitt may not have diverse backgrounds to draw from when navigating their current business organization climate.

Yous can share all-time practices and lessons learned from your experience working with other clients to support those you're currently working with, teaching them new ways of doing business.

five. Identify new growth strategies.

For companies looking to develop and sell new products and services, having a clear, viable growth strategy is critical. Every bit an innovation consultant, you could piece of work alongside organizations to provide valuable management for the need and development of new offerings and ways to grow their businesses.

6. Support and develop the customer's team.

Having a strong team is of import for any organization focused on innovation. As an innovation consultant, you can provide much-needed guidance to support employee development for evolving organizations.

Some important tasks related to supporting and developing squad members for tiptop innovation tin can include:

Systems to Make Innovation Possible

Recognizing where some organizational systems may be falling short, and preventing creative ideas and problem-solving. If an organization's team is spending precious time finding workarounds to broken systems, they have less capacity to truly introduce in ways that can create growth opportunities for their company.

Grooming Plans to Close Skill Gaps

What gets measured gets done. An innovation consultant tin help create tangible plans to assistance team members shut necessary skills gaps and attain their workplace goals.

Though as the consultant you are not necessarily responsible for executing these tasks, you lot can lay the framework empowering your clients to span the gap betwixt where their workforce is currently performing, and how they demand to perform in the hereafter to drive innovation.

7. Uncover opportunities to build new business organisation.

For many companies looking for growth, new business is essential. Innovation consultants work with their clients to place new opportunities and markets, which are essential for mapping out future growth. Additionally, innovation consultants can provide insight into new business model opportunities for the organizations they piece of work with.

Additionally, companies who are looking to launch entirely new ventures can find value in receiving strategic support from innovation consultants.

viii. New production prototypes and testing.

Depending on the client and the type of production they are looking to launch, innovation consultants may also provide support in ensuring their production is ready to go to marketplace. A consultant with a design or product background tin assistance facilitate the testing of new products for adherence to quality standards, and can also provide design and functionality input for new offerings.

How to Become An Innovation Consultant

There is no linear path to condign an innovation consultant, however, experience in the following areas tin help qualify yous for the role:

Go-to-Market Strategy

As an innovation consultant yous will likely be tasked with supporting your clients as they launch a new product or offer. Having experience working on teams that take successfully gone to market with a new production tin can provide valuable insight for your consulting work.

Employee Development

We previously discussed how team member evolution is an important attribute of innovation. Having experience supporting employees as they build new skills can give you a competitive edge.

Data Analysis

While innovation consulting can be a creative field, it also requires the power to read and translate information to make sound recommendations.

Track Tape of Driving Results

Even if you don't take extensive consulting feel, draw upon your experiences working on projects or in teams that had a tangible positive effect. Approaching these experiences with innovation at the peak of heed, and a measurable impact to show for it is cardinal.

A career in consulting tin offer a wide variety of opportunities as our world and business landscape continue to evolve. Check out The Complete Guide to Starting A Consulting Business for more insight into the field.

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Originally published Jul 20, 2020 8:thirty:00 AM, updated February 04 2022