Innovating requires a lot of ‘out of the box’ thinking. It requires breaking down barriers like ‘we have always done it this way’ and ‘it’s too complicated, we can’t do it’.
Then why not bring someone from outside the box inside the box? Interim innovation project managers can draw from experience in different projects, sectors, companies and cultures. Their pair of fresh eyes are almost a guarantee for a new perspective on things.
It is often said that learning while doing is an expensive way of developing new things.
‘Fail often, fail fast’ or ‘failing forward’: brilliant principles, yet, it takes practice to master them. Knowing when to stop, when to go back or push forward is key.
Using an experienced interim innovation project manager will allow your team to learn while doing. And by doing so, embedding the guiding principles for the future. The cost of the interim manager will outweigh the cost of training and a slower learning curve of team members.
As Sun Microsystems’ co-founder Bill Joy said: ‘No matter who you are, the smartest people always work for someone else’.
Quotes like this demonstrate the trend from closed innovation (doing it all by oneself behind closed doors) to open innovation (involving others like suppliers, partners, customers, the academic world) to platform innovation (creating open platforms where everybody – the crowd – can be part of the innovation project). Interim innovation managers are part of those crowds because of their passion and drive for new and innovative things.
Need help in finding your matching innovation project manager? Contact us! We’ve got interim and project managers for projects in sales, marketing, product management and innovation. We’ve got the match… made in heaven.