Growth Through Innovation – helping your business create new businesses
At the Academy of Innovation Coaching we train business executives and managers to become Innovation Coaches who are able to methodically manage corporate business innovation processes leading to building new growth businesses and succeeding at delivering growth through innovation in their companies.
Executives and managers are typically doing a good job at managing existing businesses, but the omnipresent need for growth requires ever more from them. In the best companies, growth opportunities by way of product development and tweaking the existing business have usually already been realised. Some companies have then tried outsourcing growth through M&A deals or engaging with start-ups, often with subpar end results. Other companies have turned to insourcing growth – encouraging their employees become intrapreneurs (corporate entrepreneurs) and launching internal innovation initiatives. But often leaders in these companies lack a proper methodology to support innovation initiatives and intrapreneurs on the way from innovative new business ideas to proper execution plans that deserve investment and will result in new growth businesses.
We have developed and practiced the Customer Centric Business Design™ methodology, comprising roadmap and toolkit to support the corporate innovation processes. It provides an effective way to manage innovation initiatives by first identifying the best innovative new business ideas and then methodically progressing them through a streamlined roadmap. When combined with innovation coaching the methodology gives executives and managers practical tools for leading their intrapreneurs in the innovation projects effectively and efficiently, allowing the company achieve growth through creating new businesses, at the same time saving time and money in the process. The methodology includes a set of practical tools which help the intrapreneurs deliver innovation and communicate effectively with their managers, allowing for efficient and evidence-based decision making while the innovation project proceeds.
Training Programs
Our in-house and open training programs help corporate executives and managers become Innovation Coaches with skills to effectively lead and manage innovation initiatives and deliver growth through innovation in their companies.
We are living in the age of hyper competition with numerous competing products and services for each customer need. Incremental and traditional “waterfall” style product/service development is ineffective in today’s marketplace because innovation requires more agile methods. This is why the failure rates of even well-funded corporate innovation projects are above 80%. With all their resources, experience and talent many companies have failed spectacularly in their attempts at innovation. Our training programs expose the sources of the failures and offer a methodology by which to dramatically increase innovation success rates.
The programs are based on the Customer Centric Business Design™ methodology that provides a framework, roadmap and toolkit, all with proven applicability in real life situations. It allows for rapid but methodical development of innovative new business ideas into executable plans that deserve investment and will result in new growth businesses.
Integration of individual and group exercises and practical application of the theories learned provide participants innovation coaching skills which are necessary to effectively lead and manage corporate innovation initiatives.
• Everything we teach gets immediately reinforced with specific business case studies and applied through practical exercises of real-world business problems.
• Everybody participating in the programs receives individual attention and coaching.
The 2-day Innovation Coaching Certificate Program gives an experience what it’s like to be an innovation coach. The participants will get an overview of the Customer Centric Business Design™ methodology, including the toolkit. During this very practical and hands-on program the participants will be able to test the tools out on selected new business ideas, getting the first skills of innovation coaching.
Certification: Innovation Coaching Certificate
The 6-day Innovation Coaching Practitioner Diploma Program (in 2-day modules over the period of 3 months) gives a full overview of the Customer Centric Business Design™ methodology, including the toolkit and a thorough training of innovation coaching. The participants will get the skills of innovation coaching which are necessary to methodically manage corporate innovation processes leading to building new growth businesses and succeeding at delivering growth through innovation in their companies.
Certification: Innovation Coaching Practitioner Diploma
Make-it Program™
Our tailor-made and unique Make-it Program™ is for companies who want to grow through creating new businesses and therefore need their executives and managers become Innovation Coaches who are able to methodically manage corporate innovation processes.
Typically, the Make-it Program™ starts with an introductory hands-on and very practical training session in a form of a 2-day internal workshop or bootcamp, for both managers and intrapreneurs. During this session we provide an overview of the Customer Centric Business Design™ methodology, including the toolkit, and help the participants to test it out on their own innovative new business ideas.
After the introductory session we organize a series of regular meetings either face-to-face or online. Some meetings are with managers, some with innovation teams and some are joint meetings. This process usually takes 2-6 months. In those meetings we serve as Innovation Coaches for managers and their innovation teams and deliver upon an agreed innovation coaching plan.
We, as Innovation Coaches, help managers and intrapreneurs by asking appropriate questions along the roadmap laid out in the Customer Centric Business Design™ methodology, leading from an innovative new business idea to an investment decision in a new growth business. We don’t give answers but ask questions, allowing the managers and intrapreneurs arrive at their own answers and solutions, ensuring their buy-in and engagement in the innovation process.
During the Make-it Program™ participating managers will master the Customer Centric Business Design™ methodology and acquire the skills of innovation coaching, becoming better at leading innovation projects at their company as Innovation Coaches (optional certification: Innovation Coaching Certificate or Practitioner Diploma). The participating intarpreneurs will get experience in using the toolset and acquire the skills of delivering innovation at their company, profitably.
We are an international network of experienced and fully certified Innovation Coaches
I am Mart Kikas, Managing Partner, faculty member and Senior Innovation Coach at the Academy of Innovation Coaching, creator of the Customer Centric Business Design™ methodology. I have an MBA from BI Norwegian Business School, over 20 years of international managerial experience and a background in executive coaching. As Managing Partner I am the contact person for the Academy and our international network of experienced and fully certified Innovation Coaches.
In case you want to deliver growth through innovation at your company and become an Innovation Coach, you want executives and managers in your company to receive training in innovation coaching, or you just want more information about our programs, please feel free to contact us: