When an entrepreneur creates a new product or company, the result usually is borne by spotting an emerging trend, conceptualizing an innovation, or seizing an opportunity unmet or consumer behavior emerging in the marketplace.
Posts Tagged ‘innovation’
Innovation Trend Spotting: Shepherding a Team of Opportunists
Monday, February 22nd, 2010Experimentation + Risk (+ Failure) = Improved Environment for Innovation
Thursday, February 18th, 2010Thomas Alva Edison was a failure. It has been said that he “went back to the drawing board” more than 6,000 times before finding the right plant to produce a carbonized filament for his incandescent light bulb.
Six thousand times. Do you have that kind of innovative stamina?
Reward Tips
Monday, February 8th, 2010The fruits of your team’s labor benefit all. These successes must be rewarded – and in the appropriate manner:
- Innovation and ROI: true Innovation results in value creation for all stakeholders – in terms of financial return, increased market share and enhanced profitability; this is the ultimate goal of your sustainable Innovation program.
- The Right Rewards: rewards and recognition systems can take many forms, from a bonus percentage based upon new product sales to peer acknowledgment and awards.
- Recognition: Pride…a thorny problem solved…the personal satisfaction of a job well-done – these are some of the intrinsic motivators that make creative people tick.
Why Results Require Rewards: Encouraging Action With Incentive
Monday, February 8th, 2010Imagine a company that has taken the time to consider the role of Innovation in the corporate mission. Employees were encouraged to be part of the innovation process but their reward was compensation linked strictly to output.
Does that encourage value-added thought process? In my mind, it encourages work, which should need no encouragement at all.
RROI # 9: Observe and Measure
Monday, January 25th, 2010Observation and measurement – in terms of the performance of the program implementation needs to be built-in as a recurring element :
- What’s Measured, Is Treasured: And that’s just human nature, so be sure to check and recheck performance – monthly. No exceptions, no excuses. What gets measured gets done.
- What to Look For?: the key performance indicators and metrics include:
- 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
For a recent survey on Innovation Measurements see: http://www.innovationcoach.com/resources/survey/ “What do you measure?”
For more Tips see “Robert’s Rules of Innovation” by Wiley, March , 2010
Observe & Measure: When Validating Innovation, ‘What’s Measured Is Treasured’
Monday, January 25th, 2010Innovation may be vital to creating competitive advantage.
But how costly is ineffective innovation? That is, if a company sets out on a new product or service development initiative – and that effort fails along the way for whatever reason – what has been lost? Investments in time, effort, capital – even reputation? (more…)
The Paradox of Innovation from the 30,000-Foot Perspective: It’s About the Journey, Not the Destination
Tuesday, December 8th, 2009In the C-suites of corporate America, “innovation” has become a mandate. Executives – from CEOs to marketing officers – believe that to innovate is to embrace the Holy Grail of 21st Century business.
But is innovation alone the answer? Is the end – innovation – capable of surviving solely as a mandate?
Or is innovation a process, journey that seeks a destination refined and polished along the way? “Total Innovation” is a sojourn that mandates a total approach philosophy.
However, to create the Culture, foster Ideation and sustain a focus on thoughtful New Product Development, innovation requires a complex combination of and continued adherence to imperatives that must be introduced, embraced and nurtured. Innovation imperatives must start at the top, the CEO. They must be written into the Mission Statements; “Innovation” must have the backing in the strategic plan.
To thrive, Innovation must have the support of long-term growth objectives and capital support. Beyond support, Innovation must gain Inspiration from leadership, who will create and foster a Culture of innovation and motivate the organization. Leadership must acknowledge the role of Risk, and understand the possibility and benefits of failure.
For without such inspiration and continued communication, Innovation will not survive. It will become little more than a once-promising concept left to wither on the vine of fanciful corporate initiatives that never quite took root.
Therein lies the paradox of innovation. Companies cannot succeed without innovation. Yet few executives understand how to introduce, nurture, or capitalize on the promise of innovation within the organization.
Planned well, the Imperative of Innovation can impact the New Product Development process. It can encourage fertile Ideation, welcoming input from associates to customers and users alike. It feeds the machine, providing methods of collecting, vetting, ranking and considering the Next Big Idea or future new products or processes.
The Innovation Imperative insists on Ownership and Accountability. It requires a Champions – and Chief Innovation Officer, if you will – be named to oversee teams Trained, coached and mentored to shepherd projects through the system, all the while adhering to each Imperative.
The Imperative requires Observation and Measurement of performance and results to ensure they deliver Net Result and Reward, and that they meet or remain focused upon an established set of objectives – and those involved are recognized accordingly.
Ultimately, innovation done well leads to Value Creation – for the organization, its stake holders and customers.
To learn more, visit see www.robertsrulesofinnovation.com or look for “”Robert’s Rules of Innovation ™” by Wiley, March, 2010
Robert F. Brands is President and founder of www.InnovationCoach.com
What Is Your Risk Appetite?
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009Well-considered risk taking is critical, not just for the success of individual companies but also to enable a properly functioning economy. Companies that are too cautious for too long sometimes discover that they’ve made a significant mistake. To avoid swinging between excessive caution and over-exuberance, set a disciplined target for your desired investment outcomes.
New Product Development Requires Fresh Perspective on ‘Creative’ and ‘Structure’
Tuesday, December 1st, 2009New product development can be a misunderstood concept.
Is the “product” actually a product? Or can it be a process? Is it a mandate from the C Suite? Or can it be a suggestion from the factory floor, the retail showroom, the Idea Box or a customer tip?
How wide is your idea funnel? And how do you treat ideas once they land in the organization’s “idea hopper”? (see the blog post on “Innovation and Idea Management” to discover how to handle in-bound ideas).
Innovation and Idea Management: From Ideation to Collaboration to Execution
Monday, November 16th, 2009Innovation thrives on a diet of news ideas. Alt: Innovation: What a great idea !
It needs new views, fresh thinking, a different perspective from across the organization.
We’ve noted that Innovation = Creative x Risk Taking. Setting aside risk for the moment, creativity is a central element to the innovation process. But it must continually be nourished with new ideas from a variety of sources.
