Making innovation happen - a CEO's report to the Board
When we look to the future, how much should we build from our strengths and extend our current path? And, how much should we advance a new route to our destination? For highly effective organizations, this is often at the heart of strategic planning processes. Of course, there is no one size fits all answer. That means, organizations have to wrestle with these dynamics.
Below is a letter written by Michael McKee, CEO of the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, to the Board of Directors, in the thick of strategic planning, as they discerned the balance of their strategies: building upon our strengths and activating innovation. As a highly effective organization, the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank didn’t need to start over, and yet they could sense that there was room for emergence as well. But how? As Michael asked:
“How can we make innovation happen rather than simply letting – or worse, hoping – it will happen?”
CEO REPORT TO THE BOARD
After months of research and planning, and conversations with guests, neighbors, partners, experts, staff and Board members, the future for the Food Bank is starting to come into focus. Much of what we see – like food distribution through pantries and tried and true programs for children and seniors – are easily recognizable, even if some of the details are unclear. But the nature and shape of other forms on the horizon are unfamiliar, even undefined.
Strategic planning is a process of making choices, and among the choices we make is how much to invest in the proven vs. the untested, the known vs. the unknown. For the Food Bank, these choices come during a period of regeneration in our organizational life cycle. Over most of the last four decades, we have grown into a mature, high-performing food bank by following more or less the same trajectory set by our founder.
In recent years, though, we have shifted course to become more innovative in the ways we think about and respond to food insecurity. Notably, we have introduced health and nutrition initiatives like Healthy Food Pantries and Food Pharmacies, and even developed a novel software platform, called Nourish, that is changing the way we source nutritious food.
We didn’t intentionally set out to co-develop a new technology with a local university. We were simply looking for an evidence-based approach to source and track inventory on the basis of the nutritional quality of food items. But one conversation with Dr. Michelle Hesse at JMU led to another and eventually to the development of a partnership and co-licensing agreement between BRAFB and JMU to develop Nourish. And now, Nourish is operational at BRAFB and is being piloted at other Virginia food banks as well.
In this case, innovation happened. Going forward, our opportunity is to make it happen. Intentionally. Thoughtfully. Strategically.
Twenty years ago, no one approached Steve Jobs and asked, “hey, can you squeeze a computer into a cell phone so that I can learn about stuff happening all over the world from the palm of my hand?” The inspiration came to him by observing how people were interacting with different technologies. He combined two different ideas, and in a company designed for innovation, changed the world.
As we refine and build out the strategic direction for the Food Bank, how can we design our organization for innovation? How can we make innovation happen rather than simply letting – or worse, hoping – it will happen? We will need the Board’s help in answering these questions, and in creating the guiding principles that inform how we manage risk and change responsibly.
In September [2023], the White House convened thought leaders and people facing hunger for a conference on hunger, nutrition and health. Among the priorities for innovation identified by the Administration:
Improve food access by making it easier for people to access and afford food… by expanding eligibility for food assistance programs like SNAP and improving transportation [read about how BRAFB is eliminating disparities in access to nutritious food here.]
Integrate nutrition and health by prioritizing food security in overall health and ensuring our healthcare system addresses the nutrition needs of all people. [read about how BRAFB is improving the health of guests here.}
Whether at the intersection of hunger and health, or in some small way addressing hunger’s root causes, or in developing new models of community-based collaboration, the opportunity in this moment is to make room in our plan for those undefined forms on our horizon, and for the uncertainty, learning and the exploration that make innovation possible.
