Innovation and Entrepreneurship in the Boardroom, with Patrick Dunne

Idea Time Innovation with Dr. Jo North

I’m joined by my special guest, Patrick Dunne, for an in-depth exploration of innovation and entrepreneurship in the boardroom.

Patrick Dunne is an experienced Chair with extensive experience of working with boards in Europe, Asia and North America. Currently Chair of board consultancy Boardelta, the charities The EY Foundation and ESSA- Education Sub Saharan Africa as well as Chair of the oversight board for the Chartered Management Consultant and trustee of the Chartered Management Institute.

He’s the author of the award-winning “Boards” and three other successful books on the subject and was a member of the Higgs Review.

He also has extensive experience of developing social enterprises.

In this episode, we delve into the common attributes shared by successful, innovative boards and outline strategies for nurturing these qualities.

Highlights from the Discussion

1. Decoding Innovation: More than just inventing new products or processes, innovation embodies the creation of successful solutions that make a genuine impact. This often requires challenging conventional thinking and the willingness to pave new paths.
2. Problem Identification and Evidence-Based Strategies: Innovative solutions are often born out of clearly identified and thoroughly understood problems. These solutions should be anchored in robust evidence and rigorous research, thus blending bright ideas with thorough testing and validation.
3. Complacency and Over-Innovation in Boards: While complacency can curb innovation, an excess of innovation without realizing the value from existing products or services also carries risks. The optimal approach is to understand and exploit the lifecycle of your product or service, planning for the next growth phase before hitting a plateau.
4. Encouraging Innovation through Diversity: Innovation can be fostered by integrating diverse viewpoints. The use of horizon boards or shadow boards, which include younger or non-board members, can introduce fresh insights and challenges. Understanding changing trends and diverse consumer behaviors is essential.
5. Cultivating a Culture of Innovation: The goal is to nurture a culture that invites challenges, appreciates various skillsets, and values everyone's contribution. Hiring driven individuals, fostering a challenging and creative environment, and recognizing the importance of delivery-focused individuals can all contribute to a vibrant innovative culture.
6. Self-Awareness in Board Members and Leaders: Leaders must be self-aware to make effective decisions, coordinate activities, and manage conflicts. Seeking feedback, reflecting on performance, observing, and learning from others, and having a good mentor or coach can significantly assist in this development. Practical tools like 360-degree feedback can be valuable when used correctly. Also, understanding the impact you have on others can be a powerful tool for self-awareness. Open conversations and genuine humility can help enhance this understanding.
7. Traits for Aspiring Board Members and Leaders: To foster an innovative environment, leaders must be open-minded, promote curiosity, encourage diversity, stay updated about relevant trends, and view failures as learning opportunities. A blend of humility and confidence can also be particularly powerful.
8. Building Confidence and Combining it with Humility: Confidence building can be achieved through self-awareness and a willingness to ask for feedback. Self-awareness should apply to both strengths and weaknesses. Over-interpreting or misinterpreting people's responses can sometimes hamper confidence. A focus on the outcome, rather than individual interactions, can help.
9. Effectiveness and Pressure Management: There is a relationship between how effective people are and the pressure they're under. Delegating tasks appropriately and focusing on things that make a material difference can help maintain the right balance between effectiveness and pressure.

Our hope is that this episode offers valuable insights into promoting innovation within your organization. Being innovative isn't just about constant disruption; it's about fostering an environment where everyone feels enabled to contribute and create. It's about transforming the spark of an idea into a successful, valuable solution.

Patrick Dunne’s Biography

Experienced Chair with extensive experience of working with boards in Europe, Asia and North America. Currently Chair of board consultancy Boardelta and the charities The EY Foundation and ESSA- Education Sub Saharan Africa.

Executive experience with Air Products and FTSE 100 investor 3i Group plc where he was Communications Director, a member of its Operating committee and Chair of its Operational Risk forum. He is also a former member of the advisory Board of Bridges Social entrepreneurs fund and has started up 3 successful social enterprises in the UK and in Africa.

He has also helped Chairs across a wide range of sectors to transform the effectiveness of their boards through Boardelta and is the author of the award winning “Boards” and three other successful books on the subject.

Patrick was member of the Higgs Review and has helped to establish many successful courses on board skills over the last twenty years including for the BVCA, Invest Europe and the Financial Times as well as for numerous commercial and social sector organisations.

He has a passion for education and was a member of the General Council of the University of Warwick from 2006 to 2015. He is a Visiting Professor at Cranfield School of Management an Associate Fellow at Warwick Business School and a former Trustee of the Chartered Management Institute and Chair of the Oversight Board for the Chartered Management Consultant accreditation.

Patrick also has extensive experience of developing social enterprises, most notably with Leap Confronting Conflict where he is Patron and was Chair, from 2006 to 2015, with ESSA- Education Sub-Saharan Africa which he founded in 2016, the EY Foundation and with Warwick in Africa which he founded in 2006. Warwick in Africa has now benefitted over 750,000 young Africans with transformed Maths and English teaching.