"Maturity is achieved when a person postpones immediate pleasures for long-term values" - Joshua Loth Liebman

In the quote above, replace immediate pleasure with cost cutting and long-term values with innovation and you'll understand the fight that is occurring in every executive suite in the world.

As the United States economy appears to be in a recession, albeit a mild one for now, many organizations are turning to their out-dated and knee-jerk reactionary "disaster" plans which usually consist of a checklist with very few items:

• Cut costs
• Layoff workers
• Stop, delay, slow down and otherwise obfuscate projects
• Kill any effort that is future focused (eg. beyond the next quarter)

The smart organizations however, especially those who are higher up on the Innovation Maturity Model, are doing the exact opposite.  Their checklist consists of the following:

• Increasing innovation portfolio budgets, but perhaps re-aligning the incremental to radical risk ratios
  
• Picking up the creative and entrepreneurial cast-offs from their competitors
• Horizon Scanning, Trend Analysis, Customer/Consumer Observation and other future-focused activities
• Thinking, brainstorming, challenging assumptions, taking risks and otherwise kicking butt

These organizations know that economic downturns are how David slays Goliath and where the Fortune 500 "turns over." 

Business is picking up...two clients in the last week...looking for ways to organize, define and leverage a formal innovation maturity management plan.  These two companies are both just outside of the Fortune 500...for now.

Don't forget that I am still giving away free copies of our Introduction to IM2-Innovation Maturity Model eBook until March 31st, 2008.  Download your copy today!