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8 Step Process Perfects New Product Development

Tuesday, May 21st, 2013

airplaneEvery entrepreneur knows that productivity is one of the key ingredients for successful product development. One of the two key processes in Robert’s Rules of Innovation is the NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT PROCESS. A formalized, NPD process – also referred to and best practice: the Stage Gate® Process – is a must, from simple to sophisticated. Here I will suggest an 8 step process which is fairly universal. Use it as a tool and adjust as necessary.

The New Product Development process is often referred to as The Stage-Gate innovation process, developed by Dr. Robert G. Cooper as a result of comprehensive research on reasons why products succeed and why they fail.

When teams collaborate in developing new innovations, having the following eight ingredients mixed into your team’s new product developmental repertoire will ensure that it’s overall marketability will happen relatively quick, and accurately – making everyone productive across the board.

To read more about the 8 steps to New Product Development: Please visit www.InnovationCoach.com

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Walking on the Edge with Innovation

Monday, May 6th, 2013

Innovation thrives on a diet of news ideas. It needs new views, fresh thinking; a different perspective from across the organization, from the center to the edge.

Walking on the edge

According to John Hagel and John Seely Brown for the Aspen Institute Roundtable Discussion in 2012, the place where innovation is most likely to flourish is not at the core of an organization but at the edge “where the weight of inertia is less inhibiting and where disruptive initiatives are more likely to be tolerated”.  Edges are described as peripheral areas where growth has the highest potential. They can also be the riskiest.

By contrast, the “core” of an organization or market is where the money and resources are located. The core is also the most resistant to change. The core makes up the central or essential part of a company, market, or industry.

In order to sustain innovation, risks must be undertaken. No Risk: No Innovation.  Put another way, No guts, no glory. Without risk, there can be no Innovation. Entire industries were made possible only by the risks taken in developing and commercializing them; from the 19th century advances in railroads and steam engines all the way to the invention of electricity and the later development of light bulbs, televisions, computers, internet, biotechnology, and more.

According to another article by Mr. Hagel and Mr. Brown for the HBR network, “unmet needs and unexploited capabilities tend to surface first on the edge.” In order to best take advantage of this tendency, they suggest bringing the core to the edge by exposing your company to “institutional innovations and new management practices” that emerge on the edge.

In order to foster initiative and innovation, ask yourself these questions.

  • Do you allow free research and development (R&D) time?
  • Do you invest in innovation: money, people, and resources?
  • Do you celebrate failure and risk taking?
  • Are you willing to bring the core of your business to the edge?

Although being on the edge can be risky, it is well worth it. Personal laptops were once on the edge of the traditional computer industry. Mobile banking at one time was considered the “edge”.  Hagel and Seely point out that even the iPod emerged on the edge of a number of industries, including consumer electronics, music, and the Internet.

 

To create a culture of innovation and risk taking, organizations should:

Encourage well-reasoned risk taking. Let your people feel safe to fail, but empower them to do their best work. Encourage or insist upon a plan to be presented first, to ensure understanding and buy-in across the affected organization. Know your tolerance for risk and failure in the pursuit of innovation. The key however, is to make failure a “learning experience”

Test. True innovation requires thorough testing in pursuit of success. Testing, measurement, and an accounting of what’s been learned, even in failure, bring measurable outcomes from successes and failures alike.

Trust. Trust your people to pursue new ideas on behalf of your company. Build a culture of trust in individual’s pursuits but ensure safety measures are in place to safe guard against failure damaging the organization.

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Sustainable Innovation Meets Disruptive Innovation

Tuesday, April 23rd, 2013

Why is success so hard to sustain?

In order to succeed, everybody should be involved and engaged in innovation.  Innovation should be broad; from innovations in the product or offering, to innovations in the process, delivery, and/or finance.

For many years, innovation was seen as the development of new products. However, creating new products is only one way to innovate. “Initially developed in 1998, the Ten Types of Innovation showed that companies that integrate multiple types of innovation will develop offerings that are more difficult to copy and that generate higher returns.” – Doblin Group, http://www.doblin.com/thinking/

Much like Doblin’s innovation theory, Clayton Christensen, Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School suggests another type of innovation as well; disruptive Innovation. According to Christensen, successful companies can put too much emphasis on customers’ current needs, and fail to adopt new technology or business models that will meet customers’ unstated or future needs.

I recently met Dr. Smith, A Dentist in Memphis who really got the idea of service innovation in business. He offers his services in-office or from the comfort of the clients own home. A dentist that comes to you…

Read the entire article at: http://www.innovationcoach.com/?p=43155

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*For more tips, see “Robert’s Rules of Innovation.”

*For a neat info-graphic about 7 disruptive innovations that turned their markets upside down, check out: http://mashable.com/2011/10/09/7-disruptive-innovations/

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The Hidden Value of an IP Portfolio – Just ask Dell

Monday, April 8th, 2013

Value creation is the performance of actions that increase the worth of goods, services and businesses. It benefits customers, who receive improved products and services, as well as shareholders of the company who wish to see their stake appreciate over time.

 

How does a company create and maintain value?

Through innovation processes that build a portfolio of patented intellectual property.

 

A company’s value is not only measured by its annual revenue, but also by the worth of its IP portfolio. Intellectual property includes inventions, designs, brands or any other nonphysical assets that add value to a company. Innovation leads to business success, and it is imperative that it is managed and protected. As Attorney Gary Winer has said, “intellectual property law puts a fence around your innovation to keep competitors at bay, so they can’t copy, use, import, or sell it, either accidentally or through reverse engineering.”

In the past few years, Dell has acquired an extensive IP portfolio as it shifted focus from hardware to the tech market. According to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Dell owns 3,449 patents and another 1,660 patent applications pending as of last year. Virginia-based firm M*CAM, which specializes in valuing corporate intellectual property, states that careful analysis of Dell’s IP portfolio has revealed hidden value in the company. Dell’s US patent portfolio includes fixtures for desktop, notebook and mobile devices, battery and power management technology-related patents, hard drives, storage systems, server technologies and wireless patents. Dell certainly understands the value of intellectual property.

While Dell may not be perceived as one of the top innovators in the tech world, it is apparent the business has created value through its substantial IP portfolio. Some of the biggest banks in the world are vying to buyout Dell as negotiations continue this week. Private equity firms Blackstone Group, Silver Lake Partners and billionaire investor Carl Icahn have submitted preliminary offers. If completed, the Dell deal could lead to a $24 billion dollar takeover, the largest leveraged buyout since 2007!

These investors realize that intellectual property can generate real money for a company, and that there is indeed intrinsic value in a company’s intellectual property. If the Dell buyout isn’t proof enough, a year ago Microsoft paid AOL $1 billion for some of its patents.

When thinking about your own approach to IP protection, remember that the wolves are always at the door. Marketing, prudent business measures, and IP (properly cared for and fed) will help your business grow and succeed.

Here are some questions to ask yourself to stay on track:

  • Who handles your organizations patent applications and the “care and feeding” of your IP portfolio?
  • When was your last patent, and what was it for?
  • Have you experienced any recent product counterfeiting or copycat issues and what was the outcome?
  • Does the leadership or Board have Innovation Governance to maximize IP portfolio ROI

 

Look for creative new way to buy and sell patents through IPXI, a new initiative that offers an IP exchange.

 

You can learn more about the above points, including how to protect your ideas, by reading  Robert’s Rules of Innovation. Robert Brands is the founder of InnovationCoach.com and the author of “Robert’s Rules of Innovation”: A 10-Step Program for Corporate Survival, with Martin Kleinman, published by Wiley.

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Net Result, Net Reward: Engineering Sustainability

Monday, March 25th, 2013

“Engineering Innovation” from The Henry Samueli School of Engineering

 

How does your company engineer sustainability?

  1. Do you track new product sales objectives?
  2. Is your NPD pipeline as robust as you’d like it to be?
  3. Do you reward people who contribute good ideas to your organization?
  4. Do you have a reward system in place for creativity?
  5. Do you recognize staff for creativity and accomplishments in your NPD?

When all is said and done, innovation is about ROI derived from the transformation of ideas into money. Net Result and Reward is about motivating your people with the right incentives and generating workplace engagement. Once you have sorted your campaign logistics and established a solid marketing plan, you should focus on incentives for employees.  Incentives play an important role in motivating employees to create short term excitement as well as engineering a long-term, sustained innovation culture.

 Why do innovation efforts fail? Many of the key reasons for derailed innovation programs tie back to culture, and to people related issues.

According to James Pasmantier in an article named incentives for innovation, generating workplace engagement can be a challenge. He cites top business thinker Gary Hamel in a Towers Perrin study that discovered only one-fifth of employees are truly engaged in their work—meaning they’re fully invested and would “go the extra mile” for their employer. The rest ranged from disengaged (38%) to indifferent (41%). This feeling of detachment, and especially the sense of not having a voice in the company, is also a large factor in why employees leave their jobs.

When interviewed for Robert’s Rules of Innovation, Harlan F. Weisman MD, chief science and tech officer (Medical Devices & Diagnostics) for Johnson & Johnson said, “Today it’s innovate or die. Dr. Weisman is an expert at creating an environment for innovation, within which people can flourish. I fully agree when he says, “A single inventor, alone, can’t do it. Sometimes you stop and say, ‘maybe it’s just easier to come up with the big idea myself.’ I’m here to tell you, it’s not.”  Give your NPD team incentive to produce innovative ideas, and champion a culture of innovation where it’s not just ok to take risks, but rather, where it’s critical.

Rewards and recognition systems for a successful New Product Development Process  can take many forms, but all members of the staff need to be rewarded, and motivation isn’t always about money, and it isn’t always a cause/reaction equation.

Rewards can be monetary such as a bonus percentage based on new product sales – often the key stakeholders get a product launch reward or a percentage of sales from new products. They can also be non-monetary such as peer acknowledgments, awards, and even office perks. Web retailer Zappos, known for their “WOW” culture of service and innovation, offers employee perks like free lunch, free coffee drinks made by baristas, and 100%-paid medical, dental, and vision plans. Zappos even has a nap room at its headquarters in Henderson, Nevada.

People have more than one motivating force, which is important to understand in order to achieve optimal performance. Financial rewards are always nice, but for some creative folks, recognition may be an even more powerful driver. When considering financial rewards, keep in they could prevent building a culture of innovation by promoting participation driven by personal gain.

As Mr. Pasmantier has said, “By thinking outside the box and creatively tapping the spirit of co-creation and collaboration, non-financial rewards can have a positive impact on sustaining participation from employees in a variety of different internal innovation campaigns.”

 Non-financial rewards can:

  • Raise the commitment level of your employees
  • Enhance morale and motivate future performance
  • Generate organization-wide “good-vibes”
  • Reinforce ideal outcomes
  • Create a powerful link between strategy and innovation outcomes

The fruit of your team’s labor benefits all. Net reward, Net Profit.

Innovation culture, once started, creates passion that begets success. However, like any culture, this requires innovation management to actively drive these elements. When considering incentives for sustainable effort; focus on consistency, communication, and personalization. Remember, it’s important to reward effort, not only success.

For consistency, establish a guideline for desired performance to help keep recognition consistent. Create regular activities to help build a sense of purpose within your team. This includes updates, monthly meetings, and weekly themed brainstorming sessions. Create structure for organizational contributors by creating a method for evaluating ideas, and a process for allowing individual ideators access to designer time.

It is important to be clear for what, and why your employees are being recognized. Communication is key, not only to make it clear that you are paying attention, but also to open a dialogue between you and your team.  Share success stories that provide examples of great teamwork and superior outcomes. Be sure your communication is in a format that can be circulated, digested, and appreciated organization-wide. Develop imagery and symbols to help bring your incentive program to life. Include internal innovation awards, patent recognition badges and innovator lunches.

The innovation culture you create will be unique to your business. Identify and establish where key positions need to be created or structured to enable organic growth of innovation, and understand your employees when creating incentive programs. Realize that different employees may want different recognition rewards. Ideas for non-financial rewards can range from lunch with the CEO, to employee assignment to develop and implement the idea, days off or workplace perks (e.g. premium parking spots, etc.).

To get results in Innovation, a structured, repeatable process is essential. Look to all imperatives of Robert’s Rules of Innovation: I.N.N.O.V.A.T.I.O.N

  • Inspire
  • No Risk, No Innovation
  • New Product Development Process
  • Ownership
  • Value Creation
  • Accountability
  • Training and Coaching
  • Idea Management
  • Observe and Measure
  • New Result Net Reward

These rules of order are meant to be applied regularly as part of a sustainable growth strategy. All these parameters should be continually utilized – and not just when sales or ideas are low – to achieve successful, lasting innovation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Innovation Leadership Re-invented.

Monday, March 11th, 2013

Innovation is constantly taking place around us, from the mundane and simple, to the abstract and grand. Last night I was watching a video for Samsung’s newest screen prototype, the oled bendable plastic screen under the Youm brand name.

This morning I am sitting in a coffee shop using webbeams – free Wi-Fi provided with coffee drinker’s in mind. I especially love the language used on webbeams website. “Serious Coffee, Serious Wi-Fi. You have things to do and coffee to drink. The last thing you need is sad, sluggish, unresponsive Wi-Fi. Our Wi-Fi is always in a good mood, fast and reliable, so you can enjoy your drink while you do what you need to do.”

Today, reading this, I am reminded of the importance of creatives in business. By “creatives” I am referring to the highly charged creative people, who are often the source of truly momentous innovation breakthroughs.

 

How does your company foster innovation excellence?

Read more at:  http://www.innovationcoach.com/2013/03/innovation-leadership-re-invented/

 

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Sustainable Innovation Metrics

Tuesday, February 26th, 2013
Observe and Measure

Observe and Measure

 

Of the 10 imperatives of Robert’s Rules of Innovation, Observe and Measure is one of the most vital.

Innovation is ultimately about Return on Investment. A system of metrics will objectively show your progress and success each step of the way. It’s essential to follow a course of action that produces ongoing improvement, and sustainable and repeatable innovation. Innovation is meaningless without attaching measurable goals to an initiative.

 

In order to have optimal measurements there are two types of indicators (metrics) you need to be aware of:

  1. Leading indicators: These types of indicators signal future events. They show you where you are heading. Leading indicators often change prior to large economic or business adjustments and, as such, can be used to predict future trends. Examples of leading indicators can be patents filed, ideas created, and development time spent.
  1. Lagging indicators: These indicators show you your rearview mirror observations. The importance of a lagging indicator is its ability to confirm that a pattern is occurring or about to occur. Examples of lagging indicators include patents granted, expenses, revenue, and inventory turnover.

The most successful innovative companies observe and measure both indicators for successful development and execution of their quarterly and annual plans. Be sure to measure the time spent in each gate, and the time spent to get to the next gate. See if you can make any innovation improvements as far as efficiency along the way. By observing both key metrics, you gain a holistic and well-rounded view of your company’s performance.

Douglas Wick, President of Positioning Systems, recommends, for every one lagging indicator, you should have two leading indicators.  “Leading indicators let you know what to expect.  They help with forecasting and predicting where your business is going and protect you against falling off the cliff.”

Based on a survey of 200 companies by Goldense Group, the following are the top five R&D metrics used by industry:

  • R&D spending as a percentage of sales
  • Total patents filed/pending/awarded/rejected
  • Total R&D head count
  • Current year percentage of sales attributable to new products released in the past year/three years/five years
  • Number of new products released

By following a set of metrics, you’ll be able to evaluate the performance of your New Product Development process and your end result. Be sure to continue to observe and measure these metrics even after the product is launched.

Addition tips:

  • What’s Measured, Gets Done:  Observation, measurement and tracking of new product development results are essential to optimal ROI.
  • What to look for: Successful Key Performance indicators (KPIs) follow the SMART criteria (s.m.a.r.t). They are…
    1. Specific ‐ pertaining to the goal of the organization
    2. Measurable ‐ for the organization to assess its progress
    3. Achievable ‐ realistic in terms of the business environment
    4. Relevant ‐ directly linking the business and metrics
    5. Time-Bound ‐ placing goal achievement in a certain time frame.

 

For more Tips, see “Robert’s Rules of Innovation” A 10-Step Program for Corporate Survival.

Robert F. Brands is President and Founder of Brands & Company, LLC. Robert speaks to companies around the globe, sharing such topics as “Innovate to Thrive” and “Results Driven Innovation”. He has led worldwide teams responsible for marketing and sales, operations, and R&D and is a regular contributor to real- and virtual-world media and social networking platforms. Brands’ hands-on experience in bringing innovation to market spans decades, and includes the creation and improvement of product development processes and company culture.

For more information, visit www.linkedin.com/in/robertfbrands or www.innovationcoach.com/about/biography

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Innovation from a “Gemba” perspective

Friday, February 22nd, 2013

When was the last time you approached your business as a customer?

Have you ever placed an order for your own product, and followed its path from start to finish? It may be time to start. It may be time for a Gemba Walk.

Competitive business strategy requires effective planning, development and growth. It demands innovation in all aspects of performance and interaction.

The ability to monitor, study, and track core elements; both human and material, can help to minimizing errors and increase profitability. Theories, studies, and methods implemented for achieving innovation vary, but the core essence of all teachings is same; understanding the situation and thus improving the structure.

Read More at Innovation Coach: http://www.innovationcoach.com/2013/02/innovation-gemba-perspective

 

 

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Sustainable Innovation – Inspiration from a 7-year-old

Tuesday, February 5th, 2013

Vision leads to the mission, from which is developed the strategy. Inject vibrant ideas, and stir in some climate and culture, process, and technology.

The result: Sustainable Innovation

About those vibrant ideas, where do they come from?

You can wait for that “divine spark,” or you can make it happen. Often the hardest part of generating new innovative ideas is knowing where and how to begin looking for them.

 

In the earliest days of our childhood, we spent a great amount of time creating and thinking up new ideas. We were continually building, imagining, and creating things; pillow forts, Lego buildings, kitchen snacks, and whatever else we could dream up using household supplies.

Somewhere along the way, our idea machine got a little rusty or maybe constraint by knowledge and believes. We forgot how to create like kids without boundaries. We entered the workforce where creativity and ideation are often kept in check. “It seems to be more common inside most workplaces for the work environment to undermine creativity, to kill it, rather than to stimulate it and keep it alive,” says Harvard Business School’s Teresa Amabile, co-author of “The Progress Principle.”

The first imperative of Roberts Rules of Innovation is INSPIRE. The leader of your innovation team has to inspire, lead, and drive the process.  For inspiration to take place, the leader has to be regularly and personally involved so that everyone is on the same page.  Along with vibrant ideas, setting a culture of innovation is a key ingredient in sustainable innovation. Develop it step-by-step by building consensus, reinforcing ideas, underscoring the need for accountability, and asking the right questions.

There are five key steps to achieve the culture that inspires and creates intra-organizational cohesion.

 

  • Lead By Example
  • Over communicate, under promise
  • Two-way traffic
  • Silo demolition
  • Pick the right champions

 

It doesn’t hurt to take a few notes on generating ideas from a 7 year old either.

Pratya was assigned the task of coming up with the 8th wonder of the world in school. She recorded her thought process on her blog, Tiger Monkey Forest with the help of her father.

 

She began with her mission: Come up with the 8th wonder of the world.

Her first step was logic modification: Following a straight line of logic, generate ideas that build on what is already known.

Palace  Rainbow Palace                      Castle  Made of glass

 

Then she added the Jump:  Generating ideas that combine different elements in new ways. Rather than thinking in a lateral fashion of “what comes next,” think “what could be”.

A floating city in the sky

 

She then brought in additional data and insight to solve a problem.

Sky + Asteroids that killed dinosaurs + Great Wall of China

 

The result:  Innovation, The great shield of earth!

 

Standard idea-generation techniques concentrate on combining or adapting existing ideas. This can certainly generate results, but sometimes you need to jump out of the box. Pratya chose think differently and consider new perspectives. While the great shield of earth will most likely never be become the 8th wonder of the world, I think you would agree that we could all benefit from seeing the world from a child’s perspective now and again. As adults we’re so busy taking life so seriously we don’t give enough thought to tapping into our inner child.

Go buy some Lego’s.

 

*To read more about the 5 key steps to workplace inspiration and ideation see “Robert’s Rules of Innovation” A 10-Step Program for Corporate Survival.”

 

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If ideas are the seeds of innovation…

Tuesday, January 22nd, 2013

Innovation is a product of human activity. Innovation keeps life interesting, yet it begins first, with ideation. The creation of a new thought or idea.

If ideas are the seeds of innovation, idea management  is the formalization of the processes involved in gathering, sharing, analyzing and executing the ideas generated within an organization and its collaborative networks.

Ideation and idea management pack the front end of the New Product Development (NPD) funnel with a wealth of viable concepts. Since only a fraction of ideas actually reach fruition, ideation should be harnessed by a process with dedicated resources and with both NPD & LTD (Long Term Development) teams working together.

Ideations can take many different forms. They can be solutions; where there is a problem, there is a solution waiting to be found. They can be evolutionary by modifying an existing product or adding a feature to it. Ideations can be symbiotic; combining multiple ideas, using different elements of each to make a whole. They can be revolutionary (a brand new perspective). Ideations can be serendipitous; where the intended idea is generated by the unexpected. They can be targeted; dealing with a direct and planned path to discovery, or they can be artistic, disregarding practicality and allowing ideas to flow without constraints.

Whichever form your ideas take, how you manage them dictates the outcome of each endeavor. Frequent and intelligently facilitated ideation sessions lead to successful new products… and the much sought after AHA! or Eureka! moment.

Here’s a fun little side fact for you: The Eureka moment is said to be named after the myth that the Greek mathematician Archimedes, having discovered how to measure the volume of an irregular object, leaped out of a public bath, shouting “Eureka! Eureka!” Or, translated: “I’ve found it! I’ve found it!”

Now, getting back to the business of ideation, here are some idea management tips:

  1. Tear down the walls or create dedicated ideation space – Break up teams into people who know each other but are not “that friendly” with each other in order to minimize group think.
  2. Provide a framework to capture ideas – Accept ALL ideas and get them written down on the board. You never know when a concept can be recycled for future use.
  3. Setting and Location – Create a positive environment to delivery pitches, but vary the format as well as locations and times of ideation sessions. Predictability can kill ideation. Mix it up to get people out of their comfort zones.
  4. Info Alchemy – Create and maintain your idea inventory & review it regularly. Build a database of ideas from which new combinations and solutions can be derived.
  5. Include a diverse group of people – In addition to your team, include members such as the sales team, people who interact directly with customers, and maybe even a few select customers themselves to offer their insight into the meeting.
  6. Establish rules of engagement – At some point during the ideation process you will need to inform your team what you are, and are not looking for. Communicate what the overall process will look like, and how ideas will be evaluated.
  7. Recognize and reward contributors – Instill a sense of urgency in every employee about what needs to be done; give them the support they need to feel their good efforts will be rewarded.
  8. Encourage the creative process – The Challenge sponsor must promise that the crowd’s efforts will not be for nothing and that the ideas will all be taken seriously and some will be further developed.

Last but not least start with White Boarding or Brain writing versus just Brainstorming that should follow… ask your Innovation Coach about this.

For additional Tips on Idea Management, see Robert’s Rules of Innovation ™ by Wiley, Spring, 2010.

 

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