Innovation - the CEO’s Role in Making it Happen at Tesco

It's always worth following the news releases of the CEOs of major businesses to see what they are up to and what they are saying. I spotted this press release from the office of Philip Clarke, the (relatively new) CEO of Tesco in which he outlines his observations on the role of the CEO in fostering innovation in a large, complex business. The press release is actually a transcript of a speech given at the recent FT conference on innovation in business.

It's an interesting, short speech and it contains some good examples and data for students, including reference to the work of Tesco subsidiary Dunnhumby which we wrote about recently here on the Business Blog .

I highlighted a couple of quotes from Philip Clarke's follow-up blog to the speech which I think are also useful in helping to identify the appropriate role of a CEO in innovation:

"...CEO’s don’t have all the new ideas. Innovation doesn’t have to flow from a boardroom where we sit in meditative contemplation. Innovation can come from anyone in the business. My job is to make sure great ideas get a good hearing, that they are teased out and tuned up. Business leaders set the vision - the stretching ambition - and nurture a culture where everyone in the business is excited by innovation.

Google famously gives its engineers 20% of their time to pursue their own work. As important as the time is the attitude. Real, far-sighted, game-changing innovation takes risks and it takes time. Innovation needs us to accept that creativity courts failure. The CEO’s job isn’t just to open the space for innovation but to keep it open, managing the tension between tried-and-tested performance and new ideas."