How important is culture for corporate innovation?

Think of an ant nest. A superficial glance might give an impression of purposeless activity. But the more you look, the more you come to understand just how interconnected all of the actions, movements, behaviours and relationships are; every ant playing its part in delivering food, stability and longevity to the colony.
Now think of your organisation's innovation efforts. Are they streamlined and interconnected? Are they a 'system' designed to deliver a cohesive vision? Or are your people just doing lots and lots of stuff, measuring actions rather than outcomes in some vague hope that in-novation and growth will follow? The difference between the two scenarios is, quite simply, culture!
However, on the face of it, it's not challenging to disagree. You might say leadership or strategy are critical determinants of innovation. And yes, leadership plays its part, but only if that leadership is commit-ted to building a culture of innovation. And yes, strategy plays its role, but only if that strategy has been designed specifically around the pursuit of innovation-led outcomes. Quite simply, you can't just overlay the pursuit of innovation onto an existing structure and hope to get away with it. True innovation - innovation that delivers real change and makes fundamental differences - requires a root and branch change. And that only happens within a system where strategy, leadership and culture align every individual and every process around the same pursuit [ ... ]