People think that if they hire an Innovation Director the whole team will stop thinking and creating. That actually not true.

Innovation Director role is to build innovation capability, that means training people, create procedures etc. It is important to create cross-functional collaboration in the company. Many companies and their departments stay in the silos. That kills innovation capability almost immediately.

Information flow, expertise from different divisions it’s very important. Innovation Director role is not only working on ideas. His job is to prioritize ideas, organise what things need attention, funding, resources, next steps and what is waste of time, money, resources. In most of the companies, each department minds their own issues and budget – Innovation Director’s job is to connect each department.

Should you hire Innovation Director? Yes, I believe so.

How to do it? You have a few options. The easiest one is to find someone within your own company (Yes, you don’t need to hire me). Possibly someone from operating roles or marketing roles. But it must be someone who understands things across the business, not just his own category.

Think about the Innovation Director role, mission and ask yourself questions like: am I trying to drive change/transform my business? Am I going to empower him to truly move the organization forward? Am I backing this up with the budget, resources?

One more thing.

Should Innovation Director be creative?

Yes, but you look for someone not only creative but also with huge bravery. Someone who have strong arguments and a wide understanding of business. Creativity on its own is never enough.

Feel free to ignore this, but if you need experienced Innovation Director. I might be worth a try. My work is pretty decent and I can cover many topics at once.