In 1980, the Coca-Cola Company was struggling, and its market share was underperforming compared to its competitors. So at a worldwide management conference in 1981, CEO Roberto Críspulo Goizueta decided to refocus the entire organization on putting value creation first.

The company refined its marketing investment, expanded into new markets, and acquired new bottling companies and the intellectual property and patents they held. The company created new products, including Diet Coke. It embraced a global vision; to wit, some market researchers say the company became the world’s best-known brand.

This transformation of company and IP doubled the company’s market share in 15 years, and Goizueta reportedly created more shareholder wealth than any other CEO in U.S. history.

Much has been written about innovation – the imperatives that drive the process and the results borne from the exercise. The purpose of innovation ostensibly is value creation that translates to enhanced stakeholder value. Process-driven organizational innovation drives value creation that transforms ideas into vital intellectual property, IP into revenues, and revenues into increased stakeholder value.

In any for- and not-for-profit organization, “value creation” can be translated in many ways. It is

• Improved, silo-busting, team-building collaboration
• Amassed IP and new product development, which gives the company or organization a competitive edge on the market or competition
• Strengthened fiscal performance, which lures additional investment

This is why organizations invest the time, energy, creativity, research, planning, refining, modeling and retesting that it hopes will pay off in terms of improved process, better teamwork, a new business model, a refined brand – and black-ink results. These are assets that add value to the company, which is why it is absolutely crucial to protect these ideas.

Yet Intellectual Property will drive the future. As we move past the Industrial Age and the Age of Technology, the future era will focus on process that drives IP – and the real value it delivers. As much as teams and share, it is imperative to build and protect IP through the use of patents. Patents protect and define the innovation so they are the key step to commercialization and enhancing value.

It is essential for every company to keep a patented Intellectual Property portfolio. The IP portfolio of Airspray doubled in value because of the patented technology that turned liquid hand soap into foam. Airspray realized – and its fiscal results proved – that the regular and persistent renewing, refreshing and updating of patents was well worth the cost.

To this day, IP remains arguably the most powerful driver in innovation’s Value Creation.

They install someone to manage new product development or innovation. They set up a litany of rules. And they select only the “best” ideas for further development.

Then they wonder why innovation falls fallow.

A recent study from The Nielsen Company. found that companies with acknowledged, successful innovation practices also have limited involvement from senior management. The teams are guided, but freed of stifling controls.

With the premise, “Manage Ideas Lightly, Manage Process Precisely,” the study of 30 top consumer and package goods companies found that ideation and new product development must be structured, but unconstrained. The companies enjoyed 80% more new product revenue when senior executives were less involved in managing innovation. The study also found that the companies realized 130% more new product revenue with less rigid “stage gates” or measurable reporting goals along the way.

In short, smart companies – Apple, Starbucks, Whole Foods and IBM, for example – have an innovation an environment that removes the constraints and welcomes a free flow of ideas, noted Tom Agan, the Nielsen SVP and managing director who presented “Renovating Innovation” at Nielsen’s Consumer 360 conference in June.

“One of the keys to successful new product innovation is to manage new ideas lightly,” Agan was quoted in DrugStore News. “While we don’t dispute senior management’s strengths and good intentions, they are often too quick to get involved in the creative process, especially when things are not going well, and their mere presence can stifle free-thinking and boundaryless ideas — which can doom the new product development process to failure.”

I agree – to an extent. This is much of what “Robert’s Rules of Innovation” espouses from its inception. To be sure, meddling leadership can stifle the process. But effective innovation thrives under the guidance of a CEO or Chief Innovation Officer , supported by the Board, with the authority to provide the air cover needed to protect unfettered (but deliberate) innovation, and the soft hand to foster creative, imaginative innovation.

Any and all ideas should be welcomed, Open Innovation from the inside as well as outside and fed into an innovation Idea Hopper , where they can be further developed, if not in the near-term, then when market conditions or forces allow for such development.

The limited involvement of management is the real gem in Nielsen’s findings. While the CEO is the best possible champion for any company’s innovation strategy (after all, support at the highest level generally helps ensure adherence to vision, mission, strategy and ultimately resources), such support also must encourage lower and mid-level management’s embracing of the concept the CEO or CIO is selling.

With objective and not to be forgotten reward systems and incentives aligned, pursuits have the highest chance of taking root.

Agan also noted the need for stage gates and scorecards to measure results. In fact, observation and measurement is essential to effective innovation. Such deliberate focus provides consistency and keeps teams on target and accountable .

The removal of stage gates can help expedite and foster unfettered innovation, as long as the required steps are still incorporated. Yet this only works if such blossoming of ideas is followed by deliberate pruning and cultivating to ensure the best ideas are pursued at the best possible moment, which – in turn – ensures the best possible opportunity for commercialization or market exploitation.

The challenge for the CIO or Emperor, especially in larger companies, remains to encourage hearty pursuit of innovation – without meddling by VPs, who have full plates, unique silos or fiefdoms, and objectives and rewards that often are contradictory to the very premise of the innovation goals. Such mis-alignment can kill innovation.

Instead, an inspired Emperor must lead the charge. He or she must align agendas, and figure out and pull into line the objectives of fully engaged teams and leadership. Across the ranks, those involved in successful innovation are rewarded or bonused accordingly. Such uniformity builds consensus, helps remove conflicting agendas and can ensure.

In the end, the Emperor will find him- or herself ruling over an empire where ideas thrive, goals are met, and innovation blossoms.

Robert Brands is a keynote speaker, author of “Robert’s Rules of Innovation” and InnovationCoach with www.innovationcoach.com.

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The Stage-Gate innovation process has two key elements.

1. Stage. The “stage” refers to the critical activities that need to take place during a certain stage of product development. It is important that the New Product Development process be cross-business to give balanced ownership. So “stage” content should be divided amongst all business functions.
2. Gate. The process of “gating” involves ownership, decision makers, degree of flexibility, criteria and prioritization. This includes a selection of ideas and concepts from the hopper.

During the New Product Development process, build a system of metrics to monitor progress. Include input metrics, such as average time in each stage, as well as output metrics that measure the value of launched products, percentage of new product sales and other figures that provide valuable feedback. Important for an organization to have agreement of these criteria and metrics.

Even if an idea doesn’t turn into product, keep it in the hopper because it can prove to be a valuable asset for future products and a basis for learning and growth.

Remember that it is possible to nurture both creativity and structure! Here are some tips for how:

• Open Wide: Keep the idea funnels wide open, find and fill the product “white spaces” – untapped marketplace opportunities.

• Sharpen Those Teeth: Make sure your Go/No-Go decision checkpoints have “teeth.”

• Widen the Innovation Highway: Make the system lean, adaptive, flexible and scalable, in order that you can simultaneously process different types and risk levels of projects and increase sped to market.

Robert Brands is a professional Speaker, 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 in March, 2010 by Wiley.

Some of the most successful product development managers are often successful salespeople in the company, because their talent is building consensus around a brand new, untested idea and convincing others to wholeheartedly work towards that cause with an uncertain outcome. It is the champion’s job to empower and inspire the team towards Innovation.

That’s why it is essential to have a leader for every product development team – a powerful, respected champion for the cause, a passionate leading advocate and ultimate decision-maker.

Next, it is important to establish and maintain regular New Product Development meetings. Here are some key points for these meetings:

• Face to face (in person) is best.
• Keep a regular date, time and duration.
• Clearly state the meeting objectives in a written, predistributed agenda.
• Include cross-functional teams in the meeting: marketing, sourcing purchasing, sales, operations, quality assurance, etc.
• Review New Product Development by priority level (high/medium/low).
• Set next steps and a clear-cut action plan. Follow through and instill accountability.

Everyone on the team should feel like they are part of the process to get a sense of Ownership. To test Ownership, here are some questions you should ask:

• Who’s Driving This Thing?: Your program for sustainable Innovation must have a champion, a true driver of the process.
• Where’s the Passion?: Select associates who care and are truly passionate about the product and the effort.  Kick disbelievers off the bus – this is too important for naysayers to derail.
• Different Strokes for Different Folks: Assign a specific task to a dedicated “owner” – this is critical to unleashing the best performance out of each member of the project team.
• Is incentive compensation aligned? : Make sure the incentive and recognition programs are supporting and rewarding the results and those involved.

Ultimately, Ownership must extend beyond a single person to be embraced by the whole organization. The true test of Ownership is simple. Ask them, “Excuse me, is this yours?”

Robert Brands is a professional Speaker, 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 in March, 2010 by Wiley.

Every company culture needs accountability. Actually, for any company to succeed accountability is an imperative. Members of a corporate team need to feel responsible for their work – to meet deadlines and to deliver what was agreed upon. Holding others accountable begins with clear communication of what is expected of them and even getting the agreement in writing if necessary.

So to expect creativity in developing new products at your company, hold your team accountable. Schedule New Product Development meetings.  Set clear action items and expect follow-through to keep the program moving along. Team members need to feel responsible for delivery.

Now there’s the left brain/ right brain argument that creative people cannot be organized – that creation loves chaos and therefore creatives are not able to deliver on a set schedule. But for a group of creatives who feel responsible for the outcome of their project and accountability for what happens within the company, Robert Brands assures you that in his years of experience leading project development teams that he has seen plenty of people who are creative and competent in delivering work on schedule. If you struggle with accountability, monitor and have your team report on smaller, interim steps in between monthly meetings. These tips should be helpful in encouraging accountability in your organization…

-  Give Them Enough Rope To…: The natural tendency is to dictate terms – deadlines, methodologies, etc.  Let the team members decide upon the “how it’s going to get done” elements.  Should they go a bit off the track, you can always fine-tune.  Or, better yet, lead a discussion on how they can fine-tune.

-  It’s Expected: State clearly, from the outset, that the team members will be expected to develop the answers to work-related issues – it will be their responsibility.

For more tips, visit Robert’s Rules of Innovation’s Accountability page and click on “Tips“.

Ultimately, it’s about people knowing their roles and that there are limitless possibilities and positive rewards for jobs performed in an organization that insists on Accountability.

Then, competition arrived, and the simple pizza pie simply wasn’t enough.

Delivery companies began a string of innovations. Hand-tossed, thin-crust, “Chicago-style,” stuffed crust and “Meat Lovers” were among the pies du jour. Then one chain rolled out cheesy sticks. Another offered various desserts. Then, a line of pasta – in plain tin pans, or in bread bowls.

Most recently, the New Product Development team at Domino’s posed a remarkable innovation: It created what it called a “better” pizza. Aggressive marketing hyped its culinary research into its new taste, and the company rolled out its new pie – seemingly same as the old pie, only tastier.

Innovation in the delivery pizza category is as circular a process as pizzas are round. This doesn’t include sit-down pizza restaurants, like California Pizza Kitchen or the string of “coal-fired” pizza chains.

Innovation, in pizza or Corporate America, is a double-edged sword. Pizza companies invest immense time, energy and brain power conjuring up the next innovation. With industry sales softening and competition razor sharp, a simple innovation can turn the tables. Yet, innovation done “Just Because” can fail miserably.

Innovation extends beyond mere product. A broad approach to innovation based on consumer needs or habits can invite loyalty and deliver long-term returns. Look at brick-and-mortar companies that have introduced online innovations – beyond the du rigeur services like online ordering – like the ability to list and keep lists and favorites. This brings customers back, and boosts the relationship between company and customer.

Domino’s recent move toward taste is a noteworthy innovation for a number of reasons. Essentially, the company went back to the foundation of its business: “Build a better pizza, and they will come.” Domino’s – even the entire $22 billion pizza delivery category – needed something. At a time when sales across the category were as soft as unbaked dough, the market responded. The company recently reported a 14.3% rise in comp sales among stores open at least one year – a remarkable, almost unheralded feat in the fast-food business. Christopher Muller, a professor of hospitality the University of Central Florida in Orlando, told USAToday, “No one in the industry thought it was going to be this successful.”

But innovation trends continue. One of the most recent “innovations” revolved around pricing. Five-dollar pies, or $5.55, or three for $15. Buy one, get a bottle of soda. Toss in some bread sticks with the latest dipping sauce. But pricing alone isn’t innovation. In fact, pricing doesn’t drive long-term loyalty or differentiation. Pricing just begets lower pricing from the competition, which drives down margins and profitability.

Alas, price and taste alone aren’t long-term fixes, either, especially when a company is public and answers to Wall Street as much as it does its Main Street. Though its stock had been up 70% over the past year, Domino’s stock dipped almost 13% soon after news of its double-digit sales growth. It seems some had projected even stronger growth following the chain’s marketing and discounting.

Then there’s the issue of the original brand or concept promise delivery pizza heralded: Speed and service. Domino’s was built on a 30-minutes-or-free mantra. The idea was, it’s hot, or it’s free. Over time, it seems they’ve strayed from this commitment. Although this is historically has been an imperative in many delivery chains’ success, they must stay focused on this.

So does the customer really want a $5 pie? Or a tastier pie? Or meat, pasta or cheesy sticks?
Or does the customer want a hot pizza fast? (Hint to pizza delivery companies: That might be the next game-changing innovation).

Between the recession and innovations in the frozen pizza business, forces have been brutal on delivered pizza companies. This makes Domino’s taste “innovation” all the more noteworthy.

Will this sort of innovation continue. Given market competition, it will have to. These companies will have to find new lures to hook customers. But few innovations seem to deliver long-term allure. As Doyle conceded to USAToday, “If we did this every quarter for seven years, we’d be bigger than U.S gross domestic product.”

If you’re an innovation officer or employee charged with new product development, there’s much to learn from the pizza industry’s example.

If you’re a pizza lover, you can only hope the industry’s pursuit of innovation continues.

By Robert Brands with Jeff Zbar

Robert Brands, expert Speaker on Innovation and the author of “Robert’s Rules of Innovation”: A 10-Step Program for Corporate Survival, with Martin Kleinman, published March, 2010 by Wiley.

Boards of Directors guide overall strategy and direction. Appointed Audit Committees pore over corporate financials and performance. HR / Compensation Committees ensure the organization’s on track with hiring and benefits that keep it competitive. Each has been formed to inform, advice and support the CEO in his or her the ethical- and policy-backed pursuit of protecting shareholder / stakeholder interests.

Yet in the Age of Sarbanes Oxley-like governance across the organization, why doesn’t innovation have such oversight?

While attending the CEDEP  “Innovation-In -Action“  this April at the Insead Business School’s Europe Campus in Fontainebleau, France, business leaders and top minds in innovation mulled the importance of creativity and new thinking in the organization. We discussed how innovation “tournaments” can drive critical thought, how capability-building drives ROI amid investable propositions, and how to create and nurture innovation champions from the bottom up who overcome organizational resistance.

At the CEDEP event, I spoke with Andrew Sleigh, the former group Managing Director and Chief Technology Officer with robotics and defense contractor QinetiQ, and an adjunct professor at London’s Imperial College. Andrew is a strong advocate of innovation governance. His beliefs in many ways mirror the 10 Imperatives in Robert’s Rules of Innovation  that are required from a Governance perspective. Andrew espouses – among eight concepts, the value of innovation, skills assessments, and creating incentives to reward effective efforts.

Innovation Governance would require appropriate audit capabilities to measure outcomes, a board-level framework to ensure input and involvement, and explicit engagement with executives across the organization – just like any company or organization faces with SOX-type governance. A Chief Innovation Officer and or CEO would be getting board mental and policy backing.

Without this framework – and governance oversight, many innovation initiatives fail to take deep-seeded root within the organization.

The real issue boils down to the well-being of the organization – and the board’s willingness to create an environment that fosters sustainable health and continued growth. Governance with regard to innovation is more than just another committee. Competitive forces – especially in organizations that have been leaned-down, streamlined and fat-trimmed to the bone – beg the wise, thoughtful implementation of innovation. Assuming board members and executive leadership agree that we’ve lived through the decade of growth through Mergers & Acquisitions, and maxed out the value gained from lean manufacturing and operations, profitable growth drivers will have to be derived someplace else.

I would argue that well-considered innovation and related intellectual property will be the growth driver in the 21^st Century. To make that happen, you need to elevate innovation higher than just the CEO or a C-level innovation exec. Beyond his or her required inspiration. It will have to encompass the entire C-Suite, the board – and the governance policies that guide them.

By Robert Brands with Jeff Zbar

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 March, 2010 by Wiley.

But you’re stymied by barriers to innovation that get in the way. They bog down your team, repel creativity and leave the organization wanting for more. Projects can’t get started. Initiatives don’t leave the gate. There’s a general failure to launch.

For some organizations, innovation is the much sought-after Holy Grail of thoughtful, productive creativity. Yet for those where innovation ceases to exist, the organization itself often is at a loss to identify the culprit.

In reality, the barriers to innovation often are the same barriers that prevent other progressive initiatives from taking root. In a recent survey, innovation blogger Braden Kelley asked readers, “What is your organization’s biggest barrier to innovation?”

Tops among the 550 (and counting) responses, some 32 percent of respondents said “organizational psychology” – as Kelley put it, “the way people think in the organization, the culture – fear of failure, risk aversion, etc.

Next, 26 percent of respondents said an absence of an innovative strategy.

The rest, in order, were Organizational Structure (15 percent), Level of Trust and Respect (13), and Information Sharing (11).

Yet in all my years, I’ve found one essential barrier not mentioned by respondents here but which supersedes them all, and if well placed and respected, can eliminate most if not all the barriers mentioned:

Leadership – thoughtful, progressive, inclusive leadership. A CEO who sets the vision for the company, establishes policies for innovation, and encourages his team to embrace all in kind.

Leaders of innovation embrace corporate entrepreneurship. They encourage people to step out of their cubes and beyond the safety of just “doing their day jobs.” They expect workers – from the executive ranks to the reception desk – to push back and explore beyond the boundaries of their comfort zones.

They define innovation; after all, it can mean different things to different people. Let people retain their respective, personal definitions. But for purposes of the organization, innovation and the goals sought must be defined from the top. They then must be encouraged to welcome the challenge and inspired to rise to the occasion.

Research around “Most Innovative Companies” (Being updated April 26, 2010 Edition) from BusinessWeek and Boston Consulting Group backed up this intuition.

When asked “Who is the biggest force driving innovation at your company?” some 44.5 percent of respondents said it was the CEO (see slide No. 9). Interestingly, only 3 percent answered the vice president of innovation.

http://images.businessweek.com/ss/06/04/in_bigpicture/index_01.htm

In order to blow through the myriad obstacles that thwart innovation – whether a lack of innovative strategy, structure, trust and respect, sharing of information, or even organizational psychology – the impetus starts in the C-Suite. To be sure, the structure has to be in place, and the organization – and its people – have to know who they are and what their mission is.

Only with the right leader, will the environment and enablers be in place, the resources be made available, and the roadblocks be dismantled. The barriers will be removed. Innovation, in the end, will have the fertile grounds to launch and take flight.

By Robert Brands with Jeff Zbar

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 March 15, 2010 by Wiley.

Look around your company. Are you surrounded by “entrepreneurs”? Is your team comprised of people who take ownership of any project or task that comes across their desk or inbox? Do they embrace challenges, possess the process, and take responsibility – for successes and failures alike?

Some may come away thinking that “corporate entrepreneur” and “employee” are contradictory. They believe that “entrepreneurs” take the ultimate risk – ditching the security of the day-job, as it were, and facing the personal, financial and psychological challenges of business ownership.

That’s one definition. Another would be “corporate entrepreneurship.” This realm is inhabited by people who – though they receive a paycheck signed by someone else – see the organization (or at least their small domain within it) as their turf. This is the most valued of employee.

Innovation and corporate entrepreneurship are inextricably intertwined and fuel well-reasoned risk taking. Especially in large organizations traditionally risk averse, innovation drives leaders and teams to become more corporate enterprising. This process encourages growth from within, which helps set the stage for leadership continuity.

As a business leader, you must build an environment that tolerates such entrepreneurial thinking. It’s the leader’s job to encourage such entrepreneurial thinking – to exude and build trust, to embrace the risk to fail, and to inspire people to take well-reasoned chances.

In the book, “Grow From Within: Mastering Corporate Entrepreneurship,” co-author Robert Wolcott discusses how companies can enable and support “internal entrepreneurs” to achieve innovation-led growth. Such entrepreneurial thinking drove IBM to realize some $15 billion in new annual revenues from 22 Emerging Business Opportunities, and Whirlpool to realize $4 billion in revenues from companywide innovation efforts – “despite global recession and the steep drop in housing markets,” notes one review.

The authors reveal four models of corporate entrepreneurship laid out on an axis of organizational ownership (on the horizontal) and Resource Authority (on the vertical). Each possesses unique and specific characteristics. The Opportunist (bottom left), takes no deliberate approach to entrepreneurship; the Advocate (bottom right) evangelizes for it; the Enabler (upper left) provides funding and executive attention, and the Producer (upper right) establishes full service groups with mandates for corporate entrepreneurship

Applying Robert’s Rules of Innovation , the Advocate, Enabler and Producer can thrive in this environment for each has corporate support. They have executive support, from Inspiration  to Net Reward, needed for innovation borne of corporate entrepreneurship to thrive.

Yet for corporate entrepreneurship to thrive, it needs more. It requires the structure and culture. Assuming the right people are in place, leadership must provide divisional and business unit autonomy. How can you lead your organization to a climate of corporate entrepreneurship?

-          Like Innovation, Define what “entrepreneurship” means. The phrase “Corporate Entrepreneurship” must mean the same thing organization-wide. Moreover, leadership must delineate objectives and point the way as part of its vision and mission.

-          Incubate and nurture. Corporate entrepreneurship doesn’t flourish without guidance. It starts small – and grows through encouragement. Begin with small projects heavily supported by leadership. Those success stories should be heavily communicated as such. They then will become the lead project to pull the rest of the group or other entrepreneurial-minded teams along.

-          Create a reward system. Risk and reward, when properly aligned, can foster accountability. Rewards – whether in the form of praise from immediate managers, attention from leadership, or the chance to lead future projects or task forces – are powerful motivators. They also can help solidify the creation of stronger corporate entrepreneurs.

So look around your organization. Are you surrounded by employees – or entrepreneurs? The difference may be not only the way they think, but they way they’re being nurtured.

By Robert Brands with Jeff Zbar

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 March, 2010 by Wiley (www.robertsrulesofinnovation.com).