As the landscape of innovation continues to transform, we oftentimes get asked: How is the innovation economy evolving? The answer lies in the convergence of classical innovation profiles with traditional business roles – which creates a whole new set of opportunities for innovation profiles.
In the past year and a half, with the economy throwing some curveballs (e.g. growing slower than anticipated), many big companies have started tightening their innovation budgets. Instead of hunting for new money-makers or innovative business models, they’re all about fine-tuning what they’ve already got. This means less cash for the classical innovation departments, e.g. folks who dream up new ideas and test them out, as seen in the recent shake-up at Nike (check out the full story here).
So, what’s happening to innovation managers?
The ones with a knack for digital stuff, making deals, plotting strategies, and building products are finding a new home: right in the middle of regular old business teams. No more separate innovation departments for them, they’re becoming the secret sauce in everyday business operations.
At In Five Years , we’re seeing this change play out firsthand. Innovation managers and consultants are seamlessly sliding into roles within business teams, bringing their unique skills to the table and shaking things up for the better. We’ve recently placed innovation professionals in a wide range roles:
- Business development managers in MedTech
- Product managers / Product Owners in FMCG
- Product analysts in renewables
- CEO’s in scale-ups
- Digital growth manager in agency context
- Or even in Strategical Data Scientists opportunities for the ones with more technical skills