To appreciate the full breadth of possibility created by emerging technologies is to feel like a kid in a candy store. Our candy store is overflowing with brain-exploding and exciting new technologies including genomics, robotics, internet-of-things, big data, artificial intelligence, drones, and 3D printing to name just a few.

Any one or combination of these emerging technologies has the potential to change the world. Whether they will or not, and at what pace, depends on our ability to combine and recombine emerging technologies into next practices and new business models to solve the important social challenges of our time.

Not all organizations are able to move past the hype so here are 7 steps to avoid the most common pitfalls for converting emerging technology into real business value.

1. Focus on the business problem you are trying to solve rather than the technology itself so you can generate maximum value for your business.

Reason no. 1 why companies fail to innovate is because of their infatuation with technology instead of the business problem that needs to be solved. Many human beings in the corporate world fall in love with bright, new, shiny objects and then try to force-fit the business problem to their favored technology.

The key to successful innovation is accepting that not every technology is right for your business. Selecting the right technology requires steely-eyed focus and clarity of purpose. Instead of pondering whether AI or VR is the “best” or “coolest” technology, you should be asking, “Which new technology will help my business stay competitive and relevant over the next 100 years?”

2. Stop innovating in silos and build connectors to other parts of your existing business to leverage current strengths and competencies.

Another primary reason why companies fail at meaningful innovation is they invest in areas that are unrelated to their core competency. It’s like a tire company investing in an AI-powered skateboard, which doesn’t make them more relevant or add more value to their target audience. Smart companies invest in adjacent and synergistic categories to stay competitive. Lately, there has been a flurry of innovation labs and incubators at global companies who are trying to stay relevant in a very disruptive age. But innovating in a silo doesn’t help the organization break old business models. The innovation model must have connectors to existing parts of the business so it can become a viable and sustainable business rather than just a fun project.  

3. Have a well-thought-out plan for scaling innovation by acknowledging and preparing for the various constraints within and outside of the organization.  

The most critical threat to the adoption of new technologies and innovative business models is a legacy company culture that is fiercely resistant to change. An organization’s willingness to adopt new ways of doing things can make or break the most promising innovation program.

Successful innovators anticipate resistance and proactively plan to drive cultural change to get their organization ready for the new way of doing business.

4. Hire catalysts and enablers rather than familiar faces to turn innovation into opportunity.

Transformation is a team sport, it requires shared language but very often the same people who are tapped for running innovation are folks who have experience with the current business, but have zero expertise driving innovation. But innovation within the straitjacket of today’s legacy business model will deliver tweaks at best. Recruit change agents within your organization who are enthused about change and can inspire others to move in the right direction.  

Sometimes all it takes is one spark, one person, one idea to kindle innovation across the entire organization.

5. ‘Shift” your lens to see opportunities from the perspective of customer experience and jobs-to-be-done.

Understanding the promise of emerging technologies is an important first step but use customer experience as the foundation for the ‘Conceptual Design’ of a next practice or new business model. Why start with the customer experience? Without a consistent focus on the customer, you won’t build a viable business for the long-term.

The transformational promise of emerging technologies will never be realized without innovation strategies and approaches that put the customer experience first.

6. Start with a market-tested Minimum Viable Business Model.

Today’s corporate innovation strategies and approaches are organized to produce tweaks to today’s business model. The new corporate innovation imperative is to do ongoing R&D for next practices and new business models.  But it’s usually after the initial glow wears off and millions of dollars have been burnt in the innovation bonfire that organizations realize they are not any closer to seeing results than they were 12 months back.

To successfully commercialize next practices and new business models, start with a market-tested Minimum Viable Business Model or proof of concept.

7. ‘Prototype and Test’ in the real world.

Emerging technologies don’t deliver transformational value until they’re converted into next practices and either integrated into today’s business model or leveraged to launch entire new business models. Most often it’s not the technology that is getting in our way, it’s us: stubborn humans and organizations that throw around all the innovation buzzwords, but then constrain the exploration and development of transformational next practices and new business models.  

The only way to know if a design concept will survive customer contact is to ‘Prototype and Test’ it in the real world.

In conclusion, turning technology buzzwords into real business capabilities takes focus and discipline. Innovation is a marathon, not a sprint and the real business value is realized long after the glamor of a new bright shiny object has worn off.  

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Saul Kaplan (@SKap5) is the Founder and Chief Catalyst at Business Innovation Factory. His mission is to enable collaborative innovation and contribute to a more prosperous local and national economy and to catalyze business model innovation in healthcare, education, public safety, and consumer experience. To jumpstart your innovation efforts, download Business Innovation Factory’s white paper on how to “Create a New Business Model in 12 Months”.

Mia Dand (@MiaD) is the CEO of Lighthouse3.com, a Digital Strategy & Research Advisory firm based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Mia is an experienced marketing leader who helps F5000 companies innovate at scale in the digital and social media space. Mia has built and led digital/social media programs for world's best-known brands including Google, Symantec, HP, eBay and others. Her firm Lighthouse3.com authored the first definitive guide for Influencer Technology, which you can download here.