Innovation 20% higher, and ...
innovation revenue higher
Innovation through diversity ... how?
Innovation revenue equals future growth, a key focus for both investors and founders.
So, how and why is diversity such an innovation driver?
A quick spin through some of the reasons how ...
Innovation drivers, diversity of gender, nationality, experience & career path
Rocio Lorenzo, BCG, found when leadership teams were diverse, innovation revenue was significantly higher. Diversity drivers were gender, nationality, industry experience, career path. With age and education as lesser influential drivers
Innovation Revenue
45%
above-average diverse leadership
26%
below-average diverse leadership
EBIT
+
9%
higher
above-average diverse leadership
Products innovated in last 3 yrs
Rocio Lorenzo, partner and MD, BCG
the Diversity Bonus
Scott Page, MIT, was approached by Google, NASA, Boeing, to translate what they were seeing from 'the diversity difference' (his earlier book), into The Diversity Bonus.
If I say 'blue' and we all say 'sky', we're generating the same, and only the same, ideas. If someone who lives by the sea joins us, and they say 'water', we start to generate new and more ideas.
1 + 1 = 3
but only if
the two 1's are different
"diversity trumps ability"
"the more complex the problem,
the bigger the diversity bonus"
How? Cognitive diversity
If 'what's next in what we think about' is different, together we generate more innovative ideas.
the Diversity Bonus
Group intelligence is highest with diverse teams
Anita Woolley (Carnegie Mellon) discovered the smartest teams in problem solving, were those with gender diverse teams (to a peak of 70% women). One key factor, emotional-intelligence, changed the whole teams behaviour and raised the teams problem solving.
the smartest teams
were distinguished by three characteristics …
equal individual participation
and primarily …
the number of women
social perceptiveness
(face-to-face and online)
Diversity of Thought
Diversity of thought is the underlying theme of all these concepts.
Diversity of thought
a team challenging of themselves and each other
idea generation,
avoid group think,
better decision making
Mercer is convinced diverse teams are more likely to out perform, citing idea generation, avoiding group-think, reducing risk in portfolio construction, and how well a business is managed. The Mercer questionnaire for prospective asset managers, is a useful tool if you're looking to confirm or generate a culture open to diversity of thought.
