Innovation Quick Hits - Challenge the Rules

I am no 60's radical although I grew up in the 60's and am more of a conformist but innovation demands challenging the accepted norms. The British Government in a recent AP news story released its "Guidelines to Teachers". A true innovation was the recommendation to stop teaching the time-honored "i" before "e" except after "c" rule. Citing words such as "their", "sufficient" and "veil", the government challenged the accuracy of the "golden rule". Just like innovation, the 2% that breaks the rules may be your sweet spot for an innovative approach.

Open Innovation- Pros and Cons

With the availability and increase of open innovation web sites (Idea Connection , InnoCentive , Innovation Marketplace , Bulbstorm , NineSigma , Ideas4all ), it will be interesting to observe the outcomes from this leveling of the playing field for new ideas, new products and new technologies. Admittedly, the sites have some different functions. Some are simply idea post and respond for no to low cost to gather input from the web community of creative folks who enjoy reviewing ideas. Other sites are well-funded with a broker model (and associated fees) to make the desired connections. There is really something for everyone from the small inventor wanting feedback to the Fortune 500 company where open innovation is a key business strategy for new product/service development (Proctor and Gamble's own Connect and Develop is a great example). Here are some pro's and cons that you may feel free to comment and agree/disagree with. My perspective for these are related to the small enterprise clients I serve and not necessarily the large corporation where these may not apply. I am admittedly a little biased with what I call the "post and hope" model where innovation responsibility is abdicated to the web response received.

Pro's:

• Provides a lower hurdle to gather ideas from outside the organization
• Becomes easier to do with the availability of Internet sites and search techniques
• Taps into the collective creativity of others providing stimulus from others outside our field of expertise or biases.

Con's:

• Too much reliance on the web or others to drive your creativity
• May ignore lack of an internal process for gathering "low fruit" innovative ideas within your organization (i.e. product extensions, new markets for existing products, better articulated marketing messages)
• Creates an expectancy of "post it and they will come" mentality of thinking that the Internet "post" is the innovation and not just a tool in the toolbox for your internal process.
  

What is your Innovation Process?

Innovation has become a buzzword and "cause". Yet it can be like a movie set that looks great from the front until you see it from the rear as a propped up fascade.

As Deming like to say 94% of the problems encountered are due to lack of good process, 6% involve the people. So much recently is centered around how to get our people energized to innovate. Encouragement, motivation, stimulus etc. All of these are incredibly important but let's take a closer look at process which you could argue is also heavily based on what the company culture is like. All talk and no process is indicative of the culture the leadership promotes.

So what is your innovation process? How physically are ideas generated, evaluated and put through the motions and prioritized for possible action that leads hopefully to revenue generation and profit. If you are small, start with a growth pipeline. Create an Excel sheet of ideas with a column for the probability of success and most importantly a column for the person who is responsible to investigate. Several other columns may involve scale ranking 1-10 for areas such as risk to development, investment required, time to develop, how strategic is it, profit potential etc.

The pipeline should be reviewed regularly. The simple rankings you come up with upon investigation may kill the idea from progressing to a formal product development cycle. Your pipeline realistically will have less than 5 ideas with activity if you are an organization under a few hundred people. The key is that there is activity on something and that you are meeting to discuss movement of ideas (kill it or develop some more).

The key is that when asked the question, "How do you innovate?", that you have an answer that goes back to some "process". Whatever that answer is, whether it's a simple Excel sheet or a more formalized approach is your process- good, bad or indifferent. If you can't answer the question, you know where to begin.

Innovation Quick Hits - Frozen in Fear

Are you the deer in the headlights? Frozen by fear, you stop and stare at the oncoming lights of change. The headlights keep coming and a collision is unavoidable.

If change is the headlights and we are the deer, what keeps us mesmerized on staring at the inevitiable? Get moving, get going, start looking at what your business does differently, more agressively. The headlights are moving in a direction. Where are they going? Can I move with them?

Too often we focus on the reasons not to innovate or look at our small companies from what we haven't done or can't do (the typical "we don't have the time/money"). Well guess what? No one else does either yet successes abound. To look change in the eye is a stare contest that you will lose. We need a call to action with our company cultures to lead or follow. Getting out of the way is no option either as that is avoiding the inevitable headlights on the next road we cross.

Roadkill has no capacity to make a decision and the landscape is littered with companies that have left their mark on the road of a once living and thriving organization. Graphic but true.

Any good examples out there of what has gotten you off dead center??