No organisation can survive long term without change.
Think of businesses like Apple, Amazon, Australia’s supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths, the major airlines, Coca-Cola. These corporations are constantly re-inventing themselves – moving with the times – adding new products, services and systems in line with emerging technologies and consumer expectations.
Then remember what happened to Kodak, Blockbuster Video, Xerox, the big newspaper and magazine publishers, postal services, telecommunications companies – some of the world’s biggest corporations brought undone by their failure to keep up with the increasingly rapid pace of technological change.
It’s little wonder that ‘Innovation’ – the ability to change, transform, reorganise, restructure; the introduction of something new – is now widely recognised as the key to corporate success.
What is not so widely recognised is that innovation can also lead to failure – Google Glass anyone? The Apple Lisa? New Coke? Vegemite’s iSnack 2.0? Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 … you know: the one that went up in smoke … literally?
That’s why ‘innovation’ needs to be redefined as a ‘science’ rather than an ‘art’; a core business attribute comprising a set of skills that can be clearly identified, evaluated, replicated and taught.
At Bond University on Queensland’s Gold Coast, Professor Craig Langston who leads the Project Management program, has developed Australia’s first Master’s degree in Project Innovation.
Broadly structured around design thinking, the Master of Project Innovation curriculum is focused on core subjects aligned to the ‘agile’ approach to project management.
These, in turn, lead to six emerging career specialisations with digital badging for:
“Expertise in project innovation is considered to be the next big thing for the project management profession,” said Professor Langston, who co-authored ‘The Innovation of Things’ with fellow Bond University professors Greg Skulmoski and George Hrivnak.
“The delivery of innovative ideas that lead to successful projects – including new products and services – is based on an understanding of the financial, social, political and environmental consequences so as to ensure that the right projects are done right.
“This won’t happen by accident.
“Now is the time to build knowledge and capability by upskilling with postgraduate qualifications that will future-proof your career.”