Innovating how innovation works at Procter & Gamble
ISSN: 1087-8572
Article publication date: 12 November 2021
Issue publication date: 10 December 2021
Abstract
Purpose
The authors map out a work system that was key to Procter & Gamble transforming its innovation practices from a slow-paced, cautious incrementalism toward a leaner, more entrepreneurial model able to make bigger and riskier long-term bets.
Design/methodology/approach
Starting in 2016, P&G began “innovating how they innovated”, supported by a strong leadership commitment to working differently.
Findings
The newly envisioned future included P&G exploring many smaller scale innovations within and across business units, with quick learning, conducted in close collaboration with consumers and driven by their problems and needs.
Practical/implications
Kathy Fish began this initiative by studying what innovation practices had produced “irresistible superiority” in the past.
Originality/value
Describes how P&G, a leading, long-established company instituted a systematic program of changing the system through which the work of innovation gets done. This system has eight action levers that collectively shape a supportive and productive work environment. Taking these actions in a coherent, coordinated fashion at Procter & Gamble, changed the operating environment and the company’s innovators adapted their behavior to the new system.
Citation
Day, G.S. and Shea, G.P. (2021), "Innovating how innovation works at Procter & Gamble", Strategy & Leadership, Vol. 49 No. 6, pp. 2-8. https://doi.org/10.1108/SL-10-2021-0101
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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