Creativity in the form of fresh ideas, whether from executives, salespeople or customers, is an invaluable resource to any organization. But these ideas need guidance and structure in order to achieve the key goal of Innovation: profitable growth. To successfully channel ideas into a profitable result, it is necessary to establish a formalized New Product Development Process, from concept to launch.
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Posts Tagged ‘new product development’
Fostering Creativity with Structure
Sunday, June 20th, 2010Ownership: Are You Taking Responsibility?
Sunday, June 13th, 2010In order to achieve Innovation, a champion within an organization must take Ownership – one of Robert’s Rules of Innovation imperatives. The champion, whether an officer or executive manager within the company, has the responsibility of convincing others to work outside their comfort zone, even if they are resistant to change.
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Accountability: The Foundation of Sustainable Innovation
Friday, May 21st, 2010In Robert’s Rules of Innovation: a 10-Step Program for Corporate Survival, author and Innovation Speaker Robert Brands shares his 10 imperatives to nourish Innovation – the lifeblood of any company. Of Robert’s 10 imperatives, one of the most important and the most difficult to achieve is Accountability.
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Building a better Pizza: How much can Innovation sell Pizza?
Wednesday, May 19th, 2010First, there was pizza – round dough, with cheese, sauce, and toppings.
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. (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
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).
