Is Innovation still Innovative?

“Innovative” is an adjective frequently used to describe many companies and business leaders. It’s used so frequently you could argue it’s lost a bit of its cachet, and become almost commonplace. How many leaders would say that their company is not innovative? I’m guessing very few. Even if a president or CEO won’t go out and say that their organization is innovative, they might at least talk about their innovative products or people, or company structure, or even their office space. They might say, “We’re not not innovative.”

Many great publications, like Inc. Magazine and Becker’s Hospital Review on the healthcare side, will publish lists of the top 50, 25, etc., innovative companies to work for or to watch. The March 2016 issue of Fast Company bares the headline: The World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies.

Before we talk about that, let’s take a step back and do something that is not innovative; let’s define the word. Merriam-Webster defines innovative in two ways: “introducing or using new ideas or methods,” and, “having new ideas about how something can be done.”

Buzzfeed is number 1 on the Fast Company list. Buzzfeed’s innovation, simply put, is tailoring content for the umpteen social platforms that readers are already using, rather than trying to draw everyone to their website; and data/analytics drives what content they are providing. That’s a new spin on an old idea: media distribution.

Number 7 on the list is Alphabet, the holding company that includes Google. Forming Alphabet was an innovative move as it solidified what Google is and gave the organization much more flexibility to develop companies that experiment outside of the world of search (something Google revolutionized and made wildly profitable).

The issue breaks down innovative companies by 27 sectors, like Energy (Tesla was #1), Sports (Hudl was #1), and Data Science (Spotify was #1). Who was #1 in healthcare? Healthcare wasn’t even a sector they identified. Biotech was, but not healthcare. Should we read into that? Biotech is part of $3 trillion-plus healthcare sector, but it’s not the healthcare that you and I experience day-to-day.

But there are innovative companies in healthcare; don’t many of us work for one? Not wanting to be promotional, but I work for one. Avantas leverages predictive analytics to forecast volumes, and provides labor analytics and technologies so provider organizations can more efficiently manage their workforce. There are a number of startups that are changing the way that care is delivered. Pager and Medicast are examples of Uber-style apps that provide a modern twist on the doctor house call. And there’s Epic. Opinions vary on this leading provider of EMR technology, but as they balance negative press with accolades and incredible market share, they provide their employees benefits that include a paid four-week sabbatical to pursue creative ideas (after five years of employment). And what about Cleveland Clinic, Mayo, and Kaiser Permanente. Leaders from these organizations are often thought of as oracles and can be found speaking at just about every major conference in the industry.

If a Tree Falls in a Forest…

A philosopher’s might ask: If everyone is innovative, is anyone innovative?

As a healthcare professional and a business leader I don’t have the luxury of being a philosopher. I need to make decisions and help my teams develop products and services that help our clients achieve their goals. I can only answer the question logically: If everyone is innovative then everyone is innovative, some just more so than others, and some have better support networks.

In an environment of constant change, innovation is the new status quo. Those organizations that innovate more rapidly, resulting in products and services that people and other organizations want, understand, and can afford, should be the ones gaining market share and making the biggest difference to provider organizations and patients.

If you are in healthcare long enough you’ll probably hear that our industry is 5-to-7 years behind most other industries. This lag can refer to business structure, use of technology, and management strategies. Some of this might be true, but I’ve been able to attribute this to change resistance, leadership deficiencies, and fear of stepping up to be a champion; all issues that hinder innovation.

Buzzfeed’s CEO, Jonah Peretti, attributes one of the reasons for Buzzfeed’s success to a company culture that embraces constant change. Based on my experience, I’d go out on a limb and say that a culture that embraces change is the chief reason for Buzzfeed’s success. Part of that is having individuals who want to step up and drive something, coupled with a hierarchy that is comfortable with it happening. This isn’t always easy in a provider organization, but it can happen, and be done so with great effect.

We all can be innovative. We have to be. There really is no choice anymore. And anyway, it’s fun. Surrounding yourself with capable, inquisitive people who are not afraid to try something a little different keeps life interesting.

Thoughts or comments? You can email me directly at jackie.larson@avantas.com.

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NOTE: While there was not a healthcare sector, CVS Health was #3 on the list (although it was lumped into the Retail sector) for its strategy to meet the healthcare consumer where they live with Minute Clinics, and its efforts to develop a healthier population, like not selling tobacco products and its partnership with IBM (Watson) to chart behavioral patterns to determine consumer choices that could be negatively impacting their heath.