When a 90-year-old British woman received the first injection of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, you could almost feel the shift in the war against COVID-19. The vaccine is a huge innovation and even though dark days are still with us, it is impossible to ignore the optimism that comes with certainty that the pandemic will end.
The certainty that better days lie ahead at a knowable time tees up an opportunity for innovators in organizations of all types and sizes in the Chicago region that is unique and almost breathtaking in scope. The innovation ecosystem built in the Chicago region over the past 20 years perfectly positions it to seize this moment.
The focus of our work for more than two decades has been the innovation process and how innovation can drive the region’s economy. It is rooted in the belief that new products and services should be launched with the certainty of success, not just hope for the best. We go so far as to say that a firm’s budget should include anticipated revenues from new products. If ever there was a time to use the innovation process, this is it.
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Think about the uniqueness of the moment. You might even compare it to post-World War II America. A global military war ended, giving way to an unprecedented surge in optimism and economic growth. Now the war against COVID-19 is ending and it is not unreasonable to expect the same.
For innovators, the process boils down to these three things.
Understand the customer’s needs and pain points.
Collaborate with your team and your customers.
Build a culture that supports risk-taking.
Anyone who is an A-plus in each of those three will be an innovation success. Courtesy of the pandemic, we add a fourth: velocity. In order to adjust to the pandemic, organizations had to pivot fast or fail. That gave us all a real-time lesson in driving the velocity of innovation.
Here are ways to build on those four points.
Listen to the customers. Find out from them how their needs have changed so you can custom tailor your offerings. Don’t assume that the end of the pandemic will simply mean a return to what used to be. If that were so, why innovate? No, the pandemic has changed so much that any organization, large or small, public or nonprofit, should be doing research into how business will change because of the pandemic. What new products and services does that suggest?
Look for the money now, not later. The venture capitalists we are talking to understand that huge opportunities are heading our way and are thinking now about how to position their portfolios accordingly.
Change the business structure to capitalize on pandemic-driven changes. We found, for example, that so much could be done remotely that we cut our office space by half, and know that many others are doing the same. People who never dreamed they would adapt to remote meetings have become as comfortable as a millennial in the art of the Zoom. In the post-pandemic world, business travel will be a strategic decision not a given.
Perceptions of time at work have been altered. Think about the daily commute from the suburbs and the hours each week that can be saved. Total up those hours and think about how to use them. And even if you are on the train you can be doing a meeting. It has become that easy and it is getting easier.
When we talk about the innovation ecosystem in the Chicago region, we are talking about the combination of talent, initiative and venture support that has grown and intertwined here over the past 20 years. Equally important is the fact that we have a highly diversified economy. The largest single sector, health care, accounts for only 14% of the whole. In the post-COVID-19 regional economy, this diversity means that we are positioned to innovate across many different sectors.
The pandemic has brought historic levels of pain to people and to the economy, and there is plenty of work to be done sorting out responsibility for that. Innovators learn lessons from the past but focus on the future. And seldom has the future offered more opportunity.
That injection in England was as loud as a starter’s pistol. The innovation ecosystem in Chicago is poised to lead in the change that we now know is certain to come. It is opportunity knocking with a sledgehammer.
Luke Tanen is executive director of Chicago Innovation, the civic initiative that connects innovators in the Chicago region. He is co-author of the recently published book, “Rising Together: The Story of Chicago’s Innovation Ecosystem.” Tom Kuczmarski is the president of Kuczmarski Innovation, a global innovation firm based in Chicago.
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