Task C5.4: Design Concepts and Actions to Deal with Changes

What is Task C5.4?

Task C5.4 is part of the "Decide" phase in the Viability Canvas methodology, specifically within the "Innovate" step (Step C5). This task instructs you to develop "Innovative solutions" that can "appear locally under stress," emerge as "exaptation" (transferring ideas to new contexts), or be "actively researched."

Purpose of Designing Concepts and Actions

The purpose of this task is to translate your environmental understanding and change capability assessment into concrete innovation initiatives. This serves several important functions:

1. Translating awareness into action: Moving from understanding change to responding to it
2. Building adaptive capacity: Developing specific capabilities to handle environmental shifts
3. Creating multiple innovation pathways: Establishing diverse approaches to change and improvement
4. Balancing reactivity and proactivity: Addressing both immediate adaptations and long-term transformations
5. Operationalizing System 4: Making the "Outside and Then" function tangible through specific initiatives

By designing concepts and actions to deal with changes, you create practical mechanisms for your organization to adapt to its environment, maintaining viability through innovation.

Understanding Innovation Approaches

In the context of the Viability Canvas, innovative solutions can emerge through multiple pathways:

• Local innovation under stress: Problem-solving that occurs at the front lines when people face immediate challenges and constraints
• Exaptation: Applying existing ideas, technologies, or processes from one context to another in novel ways
• Active research: Deliberate exploration and development of new approaches through structured innovation processes

Each pathway has its place in a comprehensive innovation strategy, with different strengths and applications depending on the nature of the challenges being addressed.

How to Complete Task C5.4

To design concepts and actions effectively:

1. Identify innovation needs based on previous tasks:
   • What environmental changes require adaptive responses?
   • Which areas of the organization need enhanced change capabilities?
   • What barriers to adaptation need to be addressed?
   • Where are the greatest opportunities for meaningful innovation?
   • What threats demand the most urgent attention?
2. Design local innovation mechanisms:
   • How can you empower frontline teams to solve problems?
   • What structures could facilitate capturing and sharing local innovations?
   • How might you recognize and reward innovative problem-solving?
   • What resources or support could help local teams innovate under pressure?
   • How can you reduce barriers to implementation of local solutions?
3. Develop exaptation strategies:
   • What successful approaches from other parts of the organization could be transferred?
   • Which innovations from other industries might be applicable?
   • How could existing technologies be repurposed for new applications?
   • What mechanisms could help identify transferable ideas?
   • How might you adapt rather than adopt external innovations?
4. Create active research initiatives:
   • What areas warrant dedicated innovation research?
   • How should innovation projects be structured and governed?
   • What methodologies will guide your research efforts?
   • How will innovation projects be resourced and prioritized?
   • What metrics will evaluate innovation performance?
5. Design integration mechanisms:
   • How will innovations move from concept to implementation?
   • What processes will connect innovation to core operations?
   • How will you balance innovation portfolio across time horizons?
   • What role will leadership play in championing innovation?
   • How will innovation learnings be captured and shared?

Example Application

In a healthcare organization, the task might produce:

Local innovation mechanisms:

• Frontline innovation fund allowing clinical teams to implement immediate solutions
• Monthly "innovation rounds" where teams share problem-solving approaches
• Simplified approval process for low-risk, local process improvements
• Training for team leaders in facilitating creative problem-solving
• Digital platform for sharing challenges and solutions across departments

Exaptation strategies:

• Cross-department observation program where staff experience different clinical areas
• External site visits to non-healthcare organizations with relevant capabilities
• Innovation scanning team monitoring developments in adjacent industries
• Quarterly "exaptation workshops" focused on adapting external innovations
• Advisory board including representatives from diverse industries

Active research initiatives:

• Dedicated innovation lab for exploring digital health technologies
• Research partnerships with three regional universities
• Annual innovation challenge focused on specific strategic priorities
• Protected time allocation for clinical staff to pursue innovation projects
• Innovation fellowship program rotating staff through research initiatives

Integration mechanisms:

• Stage-gate process for moving innovations from concept to implementation
• Innovation steering committee balancing operational and strategic perspectives
• Integration specialists who help translate innovations into operational context
• Metrics balancing innovation activity, outcomes, and organizational impact
• Executive sponsors assigned to major innovation initiatives

Strategic Considerations

When designing concepts and actions to deal with changes, consider these strategic factors:

1. Balance innovation horizons: Create a portfolio spanning immediate improvements, near-term adaptations, and long-term transformations
2. Consider innovation types: Include product/service innovations, process innovations, business model innovations, and management innovations
3. Address innovation blockers: Design specifically to overcome identified barriers to change
4. Connect to strategic direction: Ensure innovation initiatives align with organizational purpose and identity
5. Build innovation capabilities: Focus not just on specific innovations but on developing the organizational muscle for ongoing innovation
6. Create feedback loops: Design mechanisms to learn from both successes and failures
7. Balance structure and freedom: Provide enough structure for coordination while allowing freedom for creativity

Effective innovation design creates multiple pathways for your organization to adapt to environmental changes, ensuring ongoing viability through both incremental improvements and transformative changes.