Insight

Innovation is not an event, it’s a system. CEOs must create an environment where ideas are encouraged, tested, and scaled effectively.

Key Strategies:
1. Set Clear Innovation Priorities – Tie innovation to strategic goals.
2. Promote Fast Experimentation – Low-cost pilots and rapid prototyping.
3. Allocate Innovation Funding – Support promising concepts early.
4. Collaborate Externally – Partner with startups, universities, and innovators.
5. Reward Creative Thinking – Recognize teams that challenge the status quo.

CEO Leadership Actions

✅ Attend innovation reviews personally.
✅ Build cross-functional innovation squads.
✅ Remove bureaucracy that slows creativity.

Actionable Tip.

• Choose one customer pain point—challenge your team to design a new solution this month.

Why This Matters?

Innovation drives growth, competitive advantage, and long-term relevance.

About the Author.

Ernest De-Graft Egyir, CEO advisor and Founding CEO of Chief Executives Network Ghana, convenes the Ghana CEO Summit and served on Ghana’s Economic Dialogue Planning Committee.