Strategies for Growth

To successfully navigate service transformation, it is vital to have a clear strategy for growth.

This involves:

• Identifying and articulating (new) growth opportunities.
• Embedding innovation strategy in the service strategy.
• Aligning with the company’s overall strategy.

The key is to play to win, focusing on areas where innovation can create the most value and differentiate the business in a crowded market.

What We Will Work on During the Summit

We will dive into concrete topics such as:

• Understanding the key drivers of growth and how to distinguish them from sustaining drivers
• Articulating potential growth strategies that align with innovation and long-term objectives.

In exploring these areas, we will also identify:

• Long-term vs. short-term views on developing and executing growth strategies.
• Mechanisms and patterns for better sense-making—how to navigate the complexities of service innovation and make informed strategic decisions.
• Challenges and pitfalls in driving growth through innovation, and how to avoid or overcome them.
• Concrete takeaways for actionable steps that can be applied in the next 3 to 12 months to build and implement effective growth strategies.

Ideation for Growth

Building a robust portfolio of innovative services begins with strong ideation capabilities.

This requires:

• A creative and focused environment where new ideas can be generated, captured, and screened for potential.
• A clear vision and direction to guide the creativity, screening and further decision-making.
• A systematic process for turning promising ideas into solid solutions and actionable plans.

A strong ideation capability helps companies maintain a dynamic innovation pipeline, ensuring they react to current market demands and anticipate future trends. By continuously generating high-potential ideas, manufacturers can stay ahead of the competition and position themselves for long-term growth.

What We Will Work on During the Summit

We will dive into concrete topics such as:

• Articulating a clear and compelling vision that resonates with customers, stakeholders, and employees.
• Enhancing creativity and aligning it with a focused direction for service innovation.
• Screening and prioritising ideas to ensure a balance of short-term and long-term innovations.

In exploring these areas, we will also identify:

• Long-term vs. short-term perspectives on developing and implementing creative ideas.
• Mechanisms and patterns for better sense-making—how to evaluate and select the most impactful ideas for service innovation.
• Common challenges and pitfalls in ideation and innovation—and how to overcome or avoid them.
• Concrete takeaways that participants can apply in the next 3 to 12 months to refine their ideation processes and drive meaningful innovation.

Managing the Innovation Portfolio

Once innovation ideas are generated, manufacturers must carefully manage their innovation portfolio to balance short-term needs with long-term objectives. This involves prioritising initiatives that align with the company’s overall strategy and deciding when to pivot, scale, or even terminate certain projects.

A well-managed portfolio allows companies to invest in both sustaining innovations and high-risk, high-reward growth initiatives. Effective portfolio management also includes evaluating whether to build capabilities in-house or partner with external firms to accelerate innovation.

This strategic decision-making ensures that resources are allocated effectively, and the right innovations are nurtured for maximum impact.

What We Will Work on During the Summit

We will dive into concrete topics such as:

• Defining what an ideal service innovation portfolio looks like and how it balances different types of innovations.
• Effective strategies for managing a service innovation portfolio to align with company goals.
• Identifying decision drivers and criteria for different types of innovation—whether short-term, long-term, sustaining, or growth-oriented—and understanding how to evaluate uncertain innovations.

In exploring these areas, we will also identify:

• Long-term vs. short-term perspectives on managing a diverse portfolio of innovations.
• Mechanisms and patterns for better sense-making—how to assess and prioritise innovations based on risk, potential, and strategic fit.
• Common challenges and pitfalls in portfolio management—and how to overcome or avoid them.
• These are concrete takeaways that participants can apply in the next 3 to 12 months to optimise their innovation portfolios and make more informed decisions.

Organising for Innovation

Effectively organising innovation efforts is essential for driving growth.

A critical success factor for service innovation is the organisational structure of their innovation teams, balancing between:

• Core operational groups,
• Dedicated project teams,
• Entrepreneurial satellite teams.

Depending on the nature of the innovation—whether it’s a short-term improvement or a disruptive, long-term solution—the organisation of these teams should be flexible to meet changing needs.

By tailoring team structures to the complexity of the innovation and the skills required, manufacturers can accelerate development, drive creativity, and ensure that innovation efforts align with both immediate goals and future growth opportunities.

What We Will Work on During the Summit

We will dive into concrete topics such as:

• Identifying common mistakes in organising innovation teams and decision-making processes for different types of innovations.
• Exploring real-world examples of how to structure teams for various types of service innovations.
• Understanding how to ensure that resource allocation methods support different innovation types, preventing a portfolio that overemphasises short-term or sustaining innovations.

In exploring these areas, we will also identify:

• Long-term vs. short-term perspectives on organising innovation and resource allocation.
• Mechanisms and patterns for better sense-making—how to align team structures and decision-making processes with the innovation strategy.
• Common challenges and pitfalls in organising innovation teams—and how to overcome or avoid them.

Concrete takeaways that participants can apply in the next 3 to 12 months to improve their innovation team structures and resource allocation methods.