Meaningful ... Business Capabilities

What is more meaningful to you and in work you do, with others across boundaries? A seemingly simple question. A question that deserves some thoughts.

In this short article I focus on the tool of Business Capabilities. A new idea served hot to executives and management by consultants and analysts.

Let us examine two meaningful questions:

1. For you as a practitioner, what is most important in your discussions amongst peers and colleges? 

• “Innovation”
• “Innovation System”
• “Innovation Management” 
• “Innovation Management System”
• “Innovation Management Capability”

Can and do you want to talk about a “Innovation Management Capability” before knowing what “Innovation Management”  is?

Can and do you want to talk about a “Innovation Management” before knowing what an “Innovation System”  is?

Can and do you want to talk about a “Innovation” before knowing what an “Innovation System”  is?

Most likely you want to know and be clear on how you view “Innovation” before talking about something such as “Innovation Management Capability”.

Interweaving recommends that a capability model should / must be accompanied by an …

• (“Innovation”) Conceptual Story aimed for human consumption and understanding. A conceptual story focus on the more imaginative right side of the brain.
• (“Innovation”) Logic Story that contains underlying logic behind the (point-of-) View. The logic story focus on the more logical left side of the brain.

So before, you venture into something such as Business Capabilities, you are clear on the underlying Business Ideas and Logics.

2. By many, a business capability is very distinct and concrete, but is this ‘square’ view meaningful and workable? Can you really make meaningful decision based on such limited and predefined set of parts?

According to ‘PwC's Strategy&’ a capability consists of the following components: Process, Knowledge, skills, behaviours, tools, systems, and organisation.

How quickly do you fall of the canvas? Can you really, and I mean really, discuss capabilities with only the supplied words? 

Try, to see how long you can maintain a meaningful discussion without using other or more specific words.

Can you avoid using words/phrases such as; creativity, ideation, access to talent, location, equipment, facility, scale, mobilisation, product, commercialisation, phase layering, horizon, customer experience, brand, penetration, diversification, diffusion, evolution, revolution, early adoption, funnel, prototyping, configuration, platform, resource allocation, etc, etc.

All above words (and underlying meanings) contribute, one way or another, to “Innovation”, they can be considered as source factors. Some more salient than others.

See the following slide for more information

https://www.slideshare.net/AndersWTell/the-stylised-capability-pattern-v094
https://www.slideshare.net/AndersWTell/the-stylised-capability-pattern-extended-v094

http://www.workem.com/index.php/en/blog/improving-capabilities-from-technology-oriented-open-group

Interweaving encourages asking meaningful questions, to create workable, understandable, acceptable and agreeable business tools and techniques.

Enjoy

/Anders

/WorkEm Toolsmiths