Leading Successful Innovation in Civil Safety Products, an Australian domestic and export success story

Continuing our exploration of leading organisations that successfully drive innovation, this post is drawn from an interview I hosted with John Dignam, the MD of Ingal Civil Products.  As with previous interview reflection posts, you can find the full transcript of the interview via URL at the end of the post.

John’s view was certainly positive that Ingal have benefited immensely from taking a customer-led approach to product development innovation.  Not only has this led to stronger uptake of new products in the established local market, it has also opened up export opportunities in Asia, the Americas and the Middle East.

John ranks culture and engaging the mindset of Ingal’s staff in the innovation process as the two key factors in building a successful innovation process.  A clear strategy together with ensuring that the leadership within the business drive the process brings the whole organisation along for the ride.  Culturally, some may not wish or be able to shift gears, in which case accept that changes need to be made, have the courage to make them to build a more cohesive group. Achieving the gains benefits all and adds momentum to continue the innovative developments.

As a leader of successful innovation himself, John reflects that you have to be open to change, willing to take feedback however it comes, and take pride in the response to the changes from people at all levels of the organisation. To me this reflects a strong level of humility in John’s leadership, along with the clarity of vision too.

You can read the full interview between John and I click here, and get in touch with John directly via linkedin click here…

As always I hope you’ve enjoyed the read, and feel free to get in touch with any thoughts or questions.

All the best,
Tim