Innovation & the Importance of Process, with Dr. Mahesh Joshi

Dr. Mahesh Joshi, Director of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program at nearby George Mason University, joined us in studio for the 11th episode of “The Innovation Engine” podcast to talk about the importance of process in driving innovation.

As head of George Mason’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program, Dr. Joshi’s research interests include process innovativeness, the adoption of new technology, and strategic change. His published research includes topics such as business continuity planning, corporate governance, global strategy, and strategy in the public sector.

Our goal with the latest episode of the podcast was to understand why process is such an important component of driving innovation initiatives in an organization. Here is a quick overview of the discussion:

• We start the podcast off with an anecdote I recently heard from the author of Habit, Charles Duhigg, about the leading indicators of success for companies in the fashion space being not the talent of their designers or the cut of their clothes, but whether they have their business processes in order.
• Dr. Joshi discusses some of the “vital signs” that a company should look at to see whether their processes are helping the company by creating value or hindering the company by destroying value.
• We tackle the subject of homegrown innovation vs. outsourced innovation and why it’s important for at least some portion of the innovation function to come internally.
• We discuss the potential impact of one technology in particular that he thinks is flying beneath the radar but will fundamentally revolutionize our lives in the same way that the Internet has.
• Dr. Joshi explains the critical role a working prototyping can play in delivering innovation in an organization.

Want to hear the whole conversation? You can listen using the embed below.

If you’re interested in listening to previous episodes of the podast, you can subscribe to the The Innovation Engine on iTunes or tune in via the podcast’s home on Stitcher Radio to listen from any device supporting a mobile browser.