TAKE ACTION!

Set up your innovation pipeline, ensure that’s it’s filled to capacity with sparks of innovation, and then rigorously measure your input, output, and process.

Here are some of the elements that you need to be able to check off your list:

            1.    An active and engaged innovation champion.

                       This person is responsible for the performance of the innovation pipeline. Just like in any other senior position, this individual must have responsibility, authority, and accountability. He or she must also have the appropriate resources to get the job done.

            2.    A robust structure.

                       Formalization promotes stability and reduces uncertainty. The operating rules of the spark generator process should be clear and communicated to all members of the organization, characterized by transparent decision-making accountability, and contain specific performance measures. It also needs to be flexible enough to handle disruptive ideas.

            3.    Efficient idea sorting and screening.

                       The organization needs one or more mechanisms to separate good ideas from bad ones, and evaluate ideas by means of both business and feasibility analysis. I’ll describe such a system in detail in the pages ahead.

            4.    Internal cooperation among functions and departments.

                       A new product or process concept must be able to endure scrutiny from different functional perspectives. This necessitates functional cooperation in the screening and evaluation of new ideas. Close coordination among functions and departments ensures preservation of value for a new concept and facilitates the subsequent development phase.