Volume 3 Number 7
August 2007
3 Ways to Ensure Healthy Innovation
by Mike Maddock of 3-2-1Launch!
http://www.md321launch.com
"What is the biggest opportunity most companies face in innovation?" We hear this question more often than any other so it seems to make a good topic for an article.
Remember the game "telephone"? A message is whispered from ear to ear and then everyone laughs at how much it has changed when it reaches the end of the line. This game has become the perfect metaphor for how many companies manage their innovation process. Or more importantly, how they poorly manage their process.
Surprisingly, in most companies, multiple departments and multiple vendors inconsistently check-in and out of their innovation projects. There's zero upside to this and every lucky step forward comes with the requisite four steps back. So, here are three reasons this hurts your chances of launching industry-changing ideas:
- Insights are lost or modified along the way, making concepts less evocative
- Off-strategy ideas are not identified and eliminated early in the process
- The project loses momentum as multiple departments, factions and levels of management are brought up to speed.
Unfortunately, this often results in the safest, most easy-to-agree-upon concepts making the cut. Not surprisingly, these ideas will not be enthusiastically supported into the market nor will they have the head-turning power it takes to get consumers' attention. At best, you get small, incremental innovation. On the other end of the spectrum, the launch falls completely flat.
Three simple ways to solve this challenge
- Empower a small, 4-6 person, cross-functional group to manage each innovation initiative. This group needs a single leader with the power and influence to make courageous choices - the proverbial "fearless leader," as it were. Ideally, this group should live above the brand groups.
- Employ innovation partners who have the ability to help manage the process from conceptualization to commercialization of the best ideas. You can't afford to risk losing momentum or insights in the hand-off.
- Make sure BOTH teams are fully engaged in the entire process. Everyone should agree on success criteria and should know immediately when a concept is off strategy or communicated incorrectly.
In my opinion, these three simple steps will help solve the most prevalent innovation challenges. Now, while nothing can guarantee a home-run, they will help you create a happier, more cohesive team with the enviable challenge of prioritizing a powerful pipeline of new products set-up for market success. And really, who doesn't want that?
About OVO Innovation and 3-2-1 Launch!
3-2-1 Launch! is a leading new product development firm that has been engaged by over 20% of the Fortune 100. They have literally done hundreds of projects and have the benefit of more than a decade's worth of data on virtually every aspect of bringing new products to market. http://www.md321launch.com
OVO Innovation is people putting ideas into valuable action. http://www.ovoinnovation.com
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