Innovation Management Career Opportunities

“The best way to predict the future is to invent it.” – Alan Kay
As the quote above mentions, today many companies prefer the innovation route to waiting for things to happen. But how do you continuously innovate on an organizational level? Well, the answer to that would be “innovation management“. 

What is innovation management? 

Innovation management is more complex than innovating something. It refers to managing all processes involved in creating and introducing something new. But it is not as simple as it sounds, as there are endless possibilities for innovation, from fostering an environment for innovation to testing innovative product ideas. 

In an organization, innovation management can be broadly divided into four key aspects; 

1. Capabilities: This aspect includes the ability of human resources to create and manage innovation. 
2. Structures: Structure refers to innovation in the infrastructure and processes side of the organization.
3. Culture: The culture aspect involves creating a pro-innovation culture in the organization. 
4. Strategy: This aspect simply means using innovative techniques to achieve the business’s long-term goals. 

What are the benefits of innovation management?

Innovation management helps businesses to grow with a formalized process of innovation, stakeholder negotiation, inter-departmental collaboration, and innovation-integrated organizational roles. According to the McKinsey Global Survey, 84% of executives say innovation is extremely important to their companies’ growth strategy. 

Some of the benefits of innovation management are as follows:

1. Promotes employee engagement and increases productivity: When you have a culture that promotes innovation among employees, it also involves giving them a platform for showcasing their ideas which in turn encourages employee engagement. Innovation also encourages employees to constantly think outside their current job profile which reduces the monotony of the job hence increasing productivity. 
2. Improves performance: When the company creates a strategy that keeps innovation at the back of the mind, employees are constantly looking for ways to improve processes. This leads to improvement of overall business performance. 
3. Gives a competitive advantage: In a world with so much competition, innovation sets you apart from the rest and keeps you ahead of the competition. For example, when you keep innovation part of the workplace culture, you come up with innovative ideas for improving customer experience giving them a reason to choose you over your competitors. 

What are the career opportunities in innovation management? 

Innovation management is a process that can be applied to almost every industry, such as automobiles, technology, healthcare, etc. In these industries, there can be different designations for innovation management depending on the area the company wants to focus on. 

Some of the common job titles are.

1. Innovation consultant/manager: An innovation consultant is an external advisor who advises on different possible areas of innovation. An in-house consultant is called given the position of innovation manager. They focus completely on their organization and make suggestions accordingly. The average salary of a business manager is $87,152 per year, according to Indeed.com.
2. Change agent: A person in this position is responsible for mankind’s changes that would focus on creating a culture of innovation and motivating people to accept necessary change. This position comes under the HR vertical. According to Glassdoor.com a change agent’s average salary per year is around $88,610. 
3. Business development manager: This role entails finding new opportunities for the company with market research. They are expected to use tools such as SWOT analyses, industry forecasts, and consumer interviews. This person also guides teams to do the same. According to Salary.com the average business development manager salary in the United States is $131,183 as of October 27, 2022, but the range typically falls between $111,703 and $151,354.
4. Chief innovation officer (CIO): The CIO is someone who drives innovation in large organizations at the executive level. An Innovation strategy is set by them that aligns with the organization’s strategy. The average salary of a CIO is $121,236 per year according to Indeed.com.
5. Business (model) designer: A business designer creates and develops business models that can help find revenue streams and pricing strategies for new products or services. These opportunities should be desirable, viable, and feasible for the business. Salary.com shows that the average salary of a business designer is $99,493 per year. 

What is the best program to get into innovation management?

The best program for innovation management would be something that is focused on not just innovation but also encourages you to reflect on your work and management and gets you ready to lead the change if necessary. One such program would be the Berkeley Executive Program in Management (Berkeley EPM). It is a year-long program that includes topics focused on innovating and managing products and services, developing innovation-centric processes, and leading forward-thinking cultural change. The faculty of the program comprises some of academia’s and the industry’s most forward-thinking minds that also include two previous Nobel Prize in Economics winners. The unique part about this program is its proximity to Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area, where participants will be introduced to the coveted innovation ecosystem, as part of program.

You also have the option of pursuing a course that would be geared toward a specific field. Such as the MIT Professional Education Technology Leadership Program (TLP) where executives learn to lead innovation-based growth by using exponential technologies. This program is designed for technology leaders and experienced practitioners working in large corporations or startups that are innovation-oriented, focusing on leveraging emerging digital technologies to remain relevant and competitive in the marketplace.

As you see, participating in a program that will help you hone your innovation management skills is the right way ahead as it prepares you for the future. And jobs in innovation management are not career-specific but rather an approach that company’s throughout the world have started to take. 

FAQs

• What is the future of innovation management?

As the world ushers into the new era, innovations are the need of the hour. These innovations have to be implemented on an organizational level and not an individual level to make any real impact. Thus, the need for innovation management is only predicted to increase. 

• Who should do an innovation management program?

An innovation management program is advantageous not just for people seeking a career in innovation management but for people working in any field.

• What does an innovation manager do?

An innovation manager is an in-house position in a company that helps find possible areas of improvement in the company. This can range from structural changes within the organization to creating a more innovation-accepting culture.

• How do I become an innovation manager? 

Someone looking to become an innovation manager requires a related certification and several years of experience. An executive education program such as the Berkeley EPM will help acquire the position much faster.