Your organization realizes that innovation is critical to its survival. Your senior leaders are talking about it, and it appears 11 times in the introduction of your last annual report. Unfortunately, an unofficial poll of your colleagues reveals:
- Many feel like we are already doing that
- Many feel like this too shall pass
- Some see it as their ticket to the executive suite, and are planning a pre-emptive strike
And, to make matters worse, there may be an unflattering “history” to this topic, consisting of the scattered remains of pricey false starts:
- Ideation sessions with a creativity whiz or hip design firm
- Glitzy presentations by an innovation guru
- A seemingly intuitive idea management tool that no one really uses
- Hundreds of employee or “open innovation” suggestions waiting to be evaluated
- Marketing types trumpeting blue ocean opportunities, sales types trumpeting customer needs, and R&D/IT types trumpeting next gen technologies
These days, organizations can’t afford the ramifications associated with poorly conceived programs, misaligned objectives, and high rates of new product / service failure. Fortunately, research about innovation is starting to mature, and the key components of program success are becoming more evident:
- Innovation initiatives must be situational, reflecting who you are and what you are trying to accomplish
- Innovation initiatives need to adopt a systems perspective, addressing ensuring the alignment of eight critical elements
- Innovation initiatives must take a page from the change management body of knowledge, leveraging the principles of results-based program introduction
Over the coming weeks, stay tuned to this space for strategies, tips, and examples to get your innovation program singing – along with free tools you can apply for an immediate impact.
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