Welcome to the first installment in our four-part series examining the fundamentals of innovation velocity.
In today’s competitive landscape, the most successful companies know that it’s not enough to build something great — they also have to bring it to market ahead of the competition.
This is where innovation velocity comes into play. As a concept, velocity isn’t just about moving quickly, it’s about moving quickly and toward the right goal. When companies harness their innovation velocity, they are able to innovate both faster and better.
While technology plays an important role in maximizing this ability, Miro’s ongoing research finds that culture is the greatest determinant of a company’s ability to innovate effectively. After all, innovation is a deeply human process — it’s about bringing people together on the journey to transform creativity into reality.
In this article, we’ll examine the first of the four building blocks of an innovative culture: a strong sense of purpose. Let’s take a closer look.
Purpose brings strategy to life — but enterprises are struggling
Purpose — defined as a company’s shared vision and strategy — lies at the core of any successful team or organization. Without a clear and strong sense of purpose, team members and teams as a whole lack a unifying goal, without a clear North Star to bring them together on a shared journey. But when they do have a unifying purpose, the magic happens: team members and their work are transformed into something greater than the sum of their parts.
Cultivating a strong sense of purpose is easier said than done, however, and many organizations struggle. Miro research reveals that nearly eight in 10 enterprise leaders agree that their company struggles to turn their innovation strategy into a reality.
Interestingly, decision makers and information workers share similar perspectives around this important area for improvement. Both cohorts cite an unclear or inconsistent strategy as the top factor stalling innovation at their companies. Over 40% of both groups agree that their organization needs to rethink how it cascades its strategic vision internally in order to become better at innovation.
What’s more, we find that over half of both groups feel that their company does not walk the talk when it comes to purpose.1 That is, while these organizations say that a strong sense of purpose is one of their core values, they do not model this through actions on the ground.
Purpose and alignment go hand in hand
We’ve covered how purpose brings strategy to life, now let’s turn to the relationship between purpose and alignment within an organization. There’s no doubt about it: Like a clear strategy, a strong sense of purpose is a prerequisite for alignment within and across teams.
At every level of the org chart, alignment around shared goals is the fuel that powers innovation velocity. In order to do their best work as individuals, teams, or an organization as a whole, everyone must be able to rally around a common end goal.
However, our research finds that only one in five global information workers rate their company as “excellent” when asked about alignment around shared goals or vision — and only 28% are confident in their company leadership’s ability to guide this vision.
These findings are a cautionary flag for leaders. When alignment falters, individuals and teams can feel confused about what they are working toward. It becomes difficult to discern how everyone’s contributions ladder up to a larger end goal, as well as how to execute effectively and efficiently to achieve this result. Similarly, when leaders and team members are not aligned, it’s a recipe for frustration on all sides — making it easy for projects to stall or get derailed.
Purpose creates a more positive work environment
Work, like innovation, is a deeply human process. It isn’t simply about completing a task and earning a paycheck; rather, it’s about putting our individual skills, talents, and backgrounds to use in our daily lives.
And research consistently shows a connection between employee engagement and innovation. In fact, 78% of global info workers agree that innovation improves employee engagement. The takeaway? Team members want to be part of something bigger and more impactful.
However, there are indicators of trouble brewing. A 2023 Gallup survey noted a decline in role clarity among workers in recent years, which coincides with stagnating engagement levels. When team members do not know what is expected of them or what “good” looks like, they end up operating on shaky ground. This uncertainty gets in the way of them doing their best work, while also creating potentially stressful situations that can lead to disengagement or burnout.
All told, it’s a good reminder for people leaders — from team leads to c-suite executives — to ensure that roles and responsibilities are clear at every level, and that everyone in the organization understands the purpose that’s driving their work.
Prioritize purpose to fuel innovation velocity
Prioritizing purpose to increase innovation velocity is easier said than done, but we hope that these insights can help enterprises improve. By understanding the role of purpose in bringing innovation strategy to life, building alignment across the org chart, and enabling more positive and engaging employee experiences, leaders can better position their organizations to put purpose in the spotlight.
All told, a shared sense of purpose is the bedrock of a successful culture of innovation, but it’s just one of the four core competencies embodied by the best innovators. Stay tuned for the upcoming articles in this series, where we’ll dive into how adaptability, collaboration, and customer-centricity fit into this puzzle — and how leaders can harness these findings to build a more innovative future for their companies.
1 In August 2024, Miro conducted a survey of 1,500 information workers and 1,500 decision makers, all of whom were full-time employees at enterprise companies. Respondents were from seven markets (Australia, Austria, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Switzerland, UK, and US) and included a variety of industries.
2 In March 2024, Miro conducted a survey of 7,180 information workers and 1,802 decision makers, all of whom were full-time employees at enterprise companies. Respondents were from seven markets (Australia, Austria, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Switzerland, UK, and US) and included a variety of industries.
