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.

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.

If someone asked members of your Innovation Team about “ownership” of a current initiative, would individuals reply, “Yes”?

Or would the people involved point to the team leader, the CEO or someone else – someone other than themselves? Would they reply, “No, that’s his”?

I spoke recently with a CEO of a consumer products company who expressed disappointment that an idea for an exciting new wrinkle in sunglasses technology had faltered. In doing so, others had beaten the company to market.

Why did this happen? The “Leader” admitted he’d failed to sell the idea. “Others just didn’t get it,” he said. “Their hearts weren’t in it. They were moving forward out of duty, not out of passion. And we dropped the ball.”

In the world of Innovation, it’s the Chief Innovation Officer’s job to marshal forces, to empower, to inspire, and to transform team members into stakeholders of the process or project. In short, it’s to create and encourage a spirit of Ownership.

As one of the 10 key Innovation Imperatives “Ownership” ranks up there in importance (http://www.robertsrulesofinnovation.com/category/blogs ) with Ideation, Risk, Results, Idea Management and all the others.

Put as a business equation, Ownership Equals Accountability Equals the Foundation of Innovation. Without accountability, ideas stall. Progress dies on the vine of best intentions. Any real chance at success is lost.

Without ownership, positive results are almost impossible to achieve. A team member cannot point to the Chief Innovation Officer or team leader as a project’s or initiative’s owner. Every participant along the innovation process’s chain must embrace accountability as a champion of the idea, the development process, the success – and the failure – that may come in tow.

To be sure, Champions at the highest level – like a CIO – have the authority and (and should have the passion) to garner organizational respect needed to push Innovation from the idea stage to development and ultimately to fruition. Champions build consensus, convince others to take calculated risks and to work outside their comfort zone,

But Ownership must extend beyond one single Champion. To be sure, a champion at the highest level ultimately drives projects forward. But “ownership” must be claimed by all involved, encouraged by the senior project manager, but wholeheartedly embraced across the organization.

How will you know a project has been welcomed into the hearts of its team? Ask one question:

“Excuse me, is this yours?”

The response will give you your answer.

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 and which will be published in March by Wiley (www.robertsrulesofinnovation.com).