Becoming an innovative company: a question of mindset

How do you drive a wealth of innovations while sustainably raising the company's performance? An op-ed by Nathalie Delmas published in HEC Gestion magazine.

For Nathalie Delmas, president of Connexion TIP in Montréal and of TIP Consulting in Paris, the success of innovation depends first on the organization's mindset, far more than on strategy or processes alone. Instilling a genuine innovation "mindset" (MindNovaction®) at every level of the company makes it everyone's business, and no longer the preserve of R&D or of a few profiles deemed creative. This cultural transformation becomes a competitive advantage that is hard to copy.

Rather than focusing solely on the customer, the stakes, the organization's reason for being, must resonate deeply with all stakeholders: employees, leaders, suppliers and customers. The author draws on the image of the casino: you don't engage the same way whether you're playing $10 or $10,000. The higher the stakes, the more they mobilize effort and innovation.

Beyond a reason for being, the company must set concrete, ambitious commitments turned toward the future, in the spirit of an Elon Musk aiming for Mars or a Muhammad Yunus committing to eradicate poverty. Sustainable performance then rests on an authentic connection, from the leader down to every employee and partner, grounded in mutual respect rather than in metrics alone. Finally, it calls for resilience and faithfulness to the commitments made, even when the context grows harsher.