At Stonehill, “innovation” is defined as “a state of being which significantly exceeds that of traditional norms and is often sparked by unconventional and revolutionary measures to elicit enriched levels of success as it is defined within each unique context”.

As leaders strive to achieve a state of “innovative” being within their respective organizations, they must also strive to understand the readiness level at which their organizations are prepared to embark on the desired new state. While a leader or collective group of leaders within the organization may have aggressive and bold strategies for innovative change, it will require the entire organization in all its veins to establish an adequate level of “readiness” prior to embarking on the quest for innovative change.

Innovation Readiness is largely qualified by the establishment of the following factors which must all be present:

• Transformational Leader: A widely respected transformational leader must be in place to champion and lead the change. The leader must also become the “source” of truth for all communication stemming from the effort as well as mirroring the behavior which supports the new trajectory.  

• Engaged Workforce: There must be a collective effort across the impacted and non-impacted workforce to support the change at all levels of the organization.

• Organizational Framework: The organization must be designed to promote agility, fluid communication, and transparency to reduce silos, competing interests, and inefficiencies.

• Financial Strength: The organization must have a financial structure in place which supports an equitable investment in the desired innovation (if required) and thus, the ability to recoup any financial losses, if necessary.

• Risk Tolerance: The organization must accept and establish the appropriate risk tolerance measures in which governs the change in order to maintain the core business model and transcend current perceived barriers.

In developing a strategic pathway towards innovative change, Stonehill provides its clients with an Innovation Readiness Assessment to pre-establish the parameters in which the organization currently operates as well as facilitate the readiness positioning to achieve greater levels of planned/desired outcomes.