Nowadays, the main objective of organisations and individuals themselves is not only to survive, but to thrive in an increasingly dynamic and competitive environment. During the VII Conference on Innovation based on Innovation Surveillance and Ideation organised by InTool, we were honoured to have Javier Martínez Aldanondo, partner of Culture and Learning at Knowledge Works, who gave us a fascinating talk on organisational intelligence. Here I share the key ideas he presented and how they can transform the way we understand innovation.

Companies need an organisational brain

Traditionally, we have thought that intelligence depends on the amount of information we possess. However, organisational intelligence is not based on ‘knowing a lot of things’, but on the ability to anticipate what is coming. Organisations that are able to foresee future scenarios can make more informed decisions and adapt quickly, thus maintaining their relevance in the marketplace.

In this sense, companies need their own ‘organisational brain’ or area of intelligence, which allows them to manage and learn both what they already know and what they do not know.

From adaptation to proactive learning.

Adapting to change is a concept widely discussed in the business world, but this approach is no longer sufficient. In addition to reacting when change is already evident, companies must focus on prediction and anticipation. This implies, in addition to observing the present, picking up early signals that allow them to prepare for the future.

In other words, organisational intelligence consists of learning from the environment before problems arise and developing mechanisms to adapt to changes, from a position of advantage and preparation.

Smart organisations

But what is the challenge today?

It is to develop intelligent organisations that, like people, can make good decisions based on knowledge. This requires continuous learning, as knowledge expires quickly. To be competitive, companies must ensure that they make the most of the knowledge they already have, optimising their processes and anticipating the future rather than just reacting.

The greater the need for intelligence, the greater the need for knowledge and learning. Just as the human brain registers new experiences, organisations must register what they have learned in order not to miss opportunities for improvement. Only those that value learning and foster a culture of innovation will be able to stay relevant in a changing environment.

Three key areas to boost business intelligence.

• Learning from the future: We cannot wait for problems to arrive before reacting. It is crucial to anticipate and prepare. ‘If you want to know where you are going, you have to know where you came from. If we do not have the past to face the future, we must try to predict possible scenarios. A smart organisation needs a network of sensors that informs it about what is happening, allowing it to anticipate and prepare appropriate responses. This includes imagining possible scenarios and preparing for them, as well as fostering a culture where mistakes are seen as part of the innovation and learning process.
• Collective learning: Intelligence is not in the neurons, but in the connections between them. In the same way, an organisation learns when people connect with each other and share knowledge. Individual knowledge becomes organisational knowledge when it is distributed among the members of the company. This is achieved by creating routines for connecting people and teams. Without collaboration, there is no knowledge. The intelligence of an organisation is proportional to the strength of the connections between its members. Leadership has a crucial role to play in facilitating these connections, reinforcing them and ensuring that knowledge flows properly.
• Leverage Digital Learning: The emergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming the way we manage knowledge. AI allows knowledge to be systematised, captured, organised and reused, making it accessible to all. The promise of AI is to automate tasks, assist in decision-making and create new solutions. Systematised knowledge becomes a valuable asset, as it can be reused and optimised. AI is only as effective as the data it uses to train itself, which is why it is critical to capture enterprise knowledge in a rigorous way. The enterprise must have both a ‘physical brain’ – people acting as neurons – and a ‘virtual brain’ – a system that collects all the knowledge available for anyone to tap into when they need it.

The double brain of the organisation, people and technology.

Organisational intelligence needs both a physical brain – made up of people and their connections – and a virtual brain that manages and stores knowledge collectively. This hybrid model facilitates access to accumulated knowledge and helps the organisation build on previous learning.

The future of smart organisations

Businesses don’t just need smart people or advanced technologies; their real challenge is to become smart organisations, able to adapt, innovate and thrive in an ever-changing environment. The artificial intelligence craze reflects the growing centrality of intelligence in business. Harnessing it properly will be fundamental to excel in the coming years.

As Javier concluded in his presentation, success in today’s world lies in continuously learning and transforming that learning into action, thus creating ever more competitive and intelligent organisations.

InTool, as a surveillance and intelligence tool, complements the vision of the double organisational brain, on the one hand facilitating the systematisation of information, functioning as an extension of the virtual brain. On the other hand, InTool fosters the connection between teams for knowledge management, reinforcing the connections of the physical brain, which is key to transforming individual intelligence into organisational intelligence and guaranteeing good knowledge management.

I hope this reflection inspires you to rethink the importance of intelligence in your organisation. Turning information into knowledge and knowledge into constant learning is what will make the companies of the future truly sustainable and successful.