Think For A Change

PIPELINE 2012 IS ALMOST HERE!

2012-05-08T11:28:17Z

This is a quick reminder that PIPELINE 2012 is this week and we don't want you to miss out! On May 10th this free online conference brings together top industry leaders in product management and delivers the hottest topics and discussions in product innovation. Here are the top five reasons why you should register today:

Learn from dynamic and innovative experts. Our speakers include innovation thought leaders and practitioners, such as:
- Damian Killen, founder of thrive
- Jeff Dyer, author of The Innovator's DNA
- Jeff DeGraff, author of Innovation You
- Mona Maher, VP Marketing, Ghirardelli Chocolate Company
- Mohan Sawhney, Center for Research in Technology & Innovation, Kellogg School of Management
- Monica Alderson, Project Management Director for Consumer Solutions, Hallmark Cards
- And many more. View the full agenda.
Access the latest market research in the 3rd Product Portfolio Management Benchmark Study. Be among the first to find out what 300+ product executives said about the state of product portfolio management. Gather actionable take-aways to improve your innovation process when you attend the State of Product Portfolio Management General Session.
Network with innovation luminaries and product leaders. Join the presenters following each General Session for a Live Q&A and visit the Networking Lounge to participate in discussions with PIPELINE speakers, sponsors, and other attendees.
Access valuable information to drive your product development success. Visit the Expo Hall to browse the booths, chat with event sponsors, and gather relevant content. (And just because it's virtual don't think there aren't giveaways... you'll be able to enter to win prizes throughout the hall.)
No travel required and no cost to attend. This is a free online conference with the flexibility to meet the needs of your busy schedule. Join us and pop-in and out at your convenience.

We look forward to seeing you at PIPELINE 2012 on May 10th!

Join us for PIPELINE 2012 | May 10, 2012
The Online Conference for Innovative Product Development
Learn more & register
Follow us on Twitter: @pipeline_2012
Participate in the conversation using #PL12

P.S. Don't keep all this great, free information to yourself... introduce your colleagues to inspiring innovation experts. Invite them to attend on May 10th by sharing this blog or tweeting a link today.

Strategic Innovation via Scenario Planning

2012-04-20T10:57:00Z

Strategic planning determines where an organization is going over the next several years, how it’s going to get there and how it’ll know if it got there or not. This is a key management exercise, regardless of whether or not it is driven by innovation.

Scenario planning helps the organization visualize the future in an ordered way so that the strategic plan is valid and likely to occur as planned. Both strategic and scenario-based planning also allows an organization to prepare for unrealized futures. The futures explored, and the plans developed, can be used as a road map to the future, as contingency plans for unexpected events or as event triggers for potentially damaging strings of events.

In the innovation space, strategic and scenario planning helps define the “future state” of the organizations. It is the target to shoot at when developing new ideas for prototyping and further development activities.

Scenario planning itself revolves around a number of distinct phases:

Preparation

Define the key question/problem
Set the duration of the analysis
Set the in/out scope of the analysis
Identify stakeholders and secure

Research and Planning

Identify Trends
Identify Variables
Identify Current Forces

Scenario Development

Develop 3-5 Likely Scenarios
Develop 3-5 Unlikely Scenarios
Develop 3-5 Extreme Scenarios

Scenario Execution

Develop scenario progression plan
Develop test plan for assumptions
Conduct scenario exploration and mapping
Brainstorming
What If? Questioning
Use Trend, Variable & Current Force Data

Scenario Outputs

Response/Contingency Plan Development
Strategy Development
Issue Management
Risk Management
Early Alerting & Event Trigger Identification

With 2012 and beyond strategic, portfolio and project planning already underway in some organizations, hopefully this refresher on scenario planning will help your organization think beyond the incremental, beyond the norm and beyond the expected. Unexpected "Black Swan" events happen...just ask BP...and your organization needs to think through what potential futures may hold. You might just discover something new to bring to the marketplace!

Copyright 2010-2011 - American Institute for Innovation Excellence

Key Questions in Managing Innovation Projects

2012-04-19T10:57:00Z

Stakeholder Questions At Project Planning Launch:

What do we want to accomplish?
What…specifically…are we delivering at the end of this effort?
Who will take responsibility for what we are delivering once this effort is over?
What are the key deliverables that we need to accomplish to reach our end goal?
Who do we need to help us define and sequence the tasks needed to meet those key deliverables?
Who do we need to complete the tasks needed to meet those key deliverables?
How much time do we need to meet those key deliverables?
How much money do we need to meet those key deliverables?
What are the risks we can anticipate that might keep us from meeting those key deliverables?
How will we react to the aforementioned risks if they occur

Stakeholder Questions At Project Execution Launch:

What are we tracking to know we are on schedule?
What are we tracking to know we are on budget?
What are we tracking to know we are making progress on completing our key deliverables?
How will we identify risks and/or issues?
What will be our responses to the previously identified risks and/or issues?
Who else needs to know the answers to these questions and what is their preferred communication channel?
Do we have the appropriate amount of resources (human, budget, space, etc) necessary to execute the estimated work effort?
Do we have the appropriate amount of leadership commitment and oversight to ensure a quality project delivery?
Does our effort have any dependencies or conflicts with any other efforts currently being conducted within the organization?
Have we identified any other “part-time” or transient resources required for project delivery?

Stakeholder Questions At Regularly Scheduled Project Status Meetings:

Are we on schedule?
Are we on budget?
Are we making progress on completing our key deliverables?
Are we confident the key deliverables meet our quality standards?
Are there any risks and/or issues that have come up since the last time we met?
What is our response to the risks and/or issues
Do we still have enough time, money and resources to complete our key deliverables?
Are there any changes required to ensure we have enough time, money and resources to complete our key deliverables?
Is there any opportunity to speed up the schedule, reduce cost, free-up resources or deliver additional tasks without negative impact?
Are the right people being informed of our progress and status?

Stakeholder Questions at Project Closure:

Did we accomplish what we promised at the beginning of the project, plus or minus any changes handled via the approved change management process?
Did we successfully complete the key deliverables promised at the beginning of the project?
Did the person tasked with the responsibility for receiving of work product agree to accept the deliverables without the need for additional effort, time, money or other resources?
Did we deliver our effort on time (within acceptable variance)?
Did we deliver our effort on budget (within acceptable variance)?
Were the deliverables of acceptable quality?
Were there any significant risks and/or issues that caused us stray outside the acceptable variance limits set for the effort?
Were the right people communicated with regarding the completion of the effort and the results?
Have the resources (human, remaining budget, space, etc.) been released for other use?
What are the lessons learned from this effort that may benefit future project teams?

Innovation Leaders "Walk the Talk"

2012-04-18T10:56:00Z

Hopefully you’ll remember my four "Must Have's for a Healthy Innovation Climate":

Leadership Engagement
Business Discipline
Resource Availability & Mix
Process Depth

I list leadership engagement in the first spot on that list for a reason. It is certainly the most important factor for innovation success within an organization. Without true engagement by at least one executive leader (preferably all), innovation will never gain the traction it needs to be considered as a true business discipline, gain the resources it needs to succeed or develop the process depth required to make it effective, efficient and repeatable.

In my work with organizations of all sizes, some of the most frequently asked questions on this topic include:

I agree that a senior leader should be engaged…but how, exactly, does an executive leader get engaged?
Our executives are good at “talking the talk” but how do they show that they are also “walking the talk?”
What specific actions should an executive take to demonstrate “engagement?”

These are all excellent questions! First, let’s define what we mean by “engagement.”

Engaged means involved, committed, dedicated, active, participatory and passionate about ideas, innovation and growth
Engaged means getting your hands dirty in the work that needs to be done
Engaged means making the tough decisions
Engaged means setting direction and priority
Engaged means being a leader

Okay…we get it…engaged means “walking the talk.” So what, specifically, can executives and senior leaders do to demonstrate their engagement? Here are a few examples:

Communicate:

A commitment to ideas, innovation and growth
The strategic linkage of innovation/growth and the organization’s future
The need for everyone in the organization to contribute
An “open door policy” and/or a direct line to senior leaders and executives
The roadmap, milestones and stepping stones required to move from the current culture to the new idea/innovation culture
The big issues, problems, weaknesses and opportunities that the organization faces

Demonstrate:

Placing the innovation initiative on an equal footing with other business disciplines within the organization
A commitment to the initiative via the creation of a leadership team of coaches, facilitators, guides, trainers and other human resources to lead, organize and assist the effort
A commitment to the initiative by securing sufficient financial resources to manage the process…collect, select and develop ideas…invest in the future
A commitment to the initiative by supporting and providing “cover” for dedicated blocks of time where employees can develop their ideas and passions, along with a dedicated space to expand their thinking, collaborate with others and develop prototypes of their ideas
A willingness to accept a determined amount of risk through the establishment of a portfolio of progressively “risky” development projects, properly balanced and in line with the overall organizational strategy
A celebration of “smart failures” as a learning experience and proof that the organization won’t punish people for trying new things
A commitment to true leadership by establishing metrics and holding people and systems accountable

Participate:

In developing a set of problems or challenges for people to solve
Directly in idea generation sessions
By sitting on or chairing idea selection committees
Via the concept of “management by walking around”:

Review works-in-progress
Play with prototypes
Read ideas and comments on whiteboards around the organization
Sit in on department/staff meetings
Talk to people
By spending some time job shadowing employees…especially customer-facing positions
By personally congratulating someone, leaving a voicemail or drafting a hand-written note for a great idea, a learned failure or simply for trying to make the organization better
In the development of training programs and other curriculum for personal creativity enhancement, idea generation, innovation, personal accountability, leadership, prototyping, business acumen and other key growth areas
In the development of a flexible process set, tools, techniques, standards and best practices to give people direction and assistance

These are but a few examples of direct actions a leader can take TODAY to demonstrate his or her commitment to growth via an innovation management strategy. The one thing I really hope that you do take away from this article is…ACTION! You cannot communicate, demonstrate or participate without deciding to take ACTION! Leaders take ACTION…be a LEADER!

Copyright 2010-2011 - American Institute for Innovation Excellence

Fundamental Requirements for Innovation Success

2012-04-17T10:55:00Z

Not long ago, I was presenting some research to a group of new product development professionals regarding effective innovation process. During the question and answer period at the end of the session, the question was asked, “What are the core set of requirements to ensure an innovation management program will be successful…that ‘bare bones’ list of things?” The question caught me slightly off-guard, as I had never really taken the time to boil down my “must-have” short list for innovation success.

In reality, there are numerous factors that contribute to the overall success or failure of an innovation management approach within an organization. But, after thinking on the topic for some time, I was able to work the list down to a set of four fundamental requirements.

1. Leadership Engagement

Leadership engagement goes far beyond just commitment, awareness, approval or buy-in. True engagement means involvement and participation in the process. It means making sure new ideas are solicited from all potential sources and time is allowed for individual or collaborative problem solving. It means demonstrating a willingness to experiment and having the patience to await the outcome. Leadership engagement requires action and courage.

2. Business Discipline

Innovation management, to be truly effective in driving new growth, must be treated as an equal business discipline within the organization. Equal with such functions as Sales & Marketing, Human Resources, Information Technology or Finance. The strategic and tactical operations of resolving business problems, developing new products and services, engaging existing customers and new prospects, making business processes more cost effective and developing new potential profit sources demand the attention and discipline of a dedicated business unit. Where innovation or idea management is simply treated as a singular event, launched only when the organization needs new product ideas or to simply gather “voice of the customer,” it will not garner the required respect or impetus needed for continual success.

3. Resources

It almost goes without saying (although I have learned the painful lesson of blind assumption) that an adequate amount of resources be allocated to the innovation management effort. These required resources, however, will come in many forms. “Human” resources will include executive leaders, key stakeholders, innovation management subject matter experts, process analysts, facilitators, training professionals, finance gurus and risk analysts. “Financial” resources will be needed in the form of capital investments, external costs and internal labor commitments devoted to the operation of the innovation management functional center. Additionally, a budget account will need to be dedicated for research, development, prototyping and testing. Some organizations even require Profit & Loss responsibility to their innovation management functions. “Time” resources are among the most difficult to budget and manage. Time is required in order to think, play, collaborate, design, develop, prototype, test, research, market and sell new ideas and concepts. Time is a very scarce resource. Finally, “Spatial” resources should be dedicated to the effort. Whether the space requirements dictate a separate creative inspiration pod, project center, Oobeya room or just a simple meeting room, dedicating some space to think, work and collaborate will produce favorable results.

4. Process

The final “must-have,” and another that seems self-evident, is the availability and usage of efficient and effective processes for idea and innovation management. There are great process sets available for problem management, idea management, innovation management, project management, portfolio management, financial management and just about any other kind of “management” you can imagine. You may have some processes that work only for your specific line of business or you may be using some generic “best practices” that add efficiency or effectiveness to a process. Find ways to continuously improve your processes, develop “next practices” that allow others to benefit from your trailblazing and tailor any process for the best fit to the particular circumstance.

Innovation management “centers of excellence,” built on the foundation of these four fundamentals are, in our opinion, bound for immediate success.

Copyright 2010-2011 - American Institute for Innovation Excellence

Join Us At Pipeline 2012 - The Online Conference for Innovative Product Development!

2012-04-16T11:00:00Z

Are you ready to start great things -- for yourself and for your company? PIPELINE 2012 is the place to get inspired!

The American Institute for Innovation Excellence is proud to be a media sponsor for PIPELINE 2012!

Join other product leaders in this 3rd PIPELINE event that brings together thought leaders and expert innovators who will share their experience and knowledge through presentations, chats and on-demand breakout sessions.

Attended PIPELINE before? Last time you were among 1700+ other registrants who learned how to drive more effective, productive, and profitable product development in their organizations. So, you won’t be surprised by the level of excellence achieved by the variety of experts joining this year’s event! Check out the Agenda, Speakers and Resources for the latest updates. Be sure to register today to reserve your space!

New to PIPELINE? Here’s a quick overview:

What is PIPELINE 2012? A virtual meeting ground for experts and colleagues to promote the knowledge and practices of innovation, product development, and product portfolio management.
What will you get out of PIPELINE 2012? Hard-hitting content about turning great ideas into revenue-driving products from expert practitioners, industry analysts, and best-selling authors.
Why is PIPELINE 2012 different? It's no cost to you and it's all online -- no travel, no time out of the office. Choose your sessions: you're not locked into an all-day event.
Who should attend PIPELINE 2012? If you're ready to start great things in R&D, Innovation, or Product Development in your company, PIPELINE 2012 was created for you.

Registration is NOW open! Use this link to register today...http://bit.ly/GPeuXF

For you Twitter Users...the official Twitter page of Pipeline 2012 is @Pipeline_2012 and the hashtag is #PL12

As One Door Closes, Another Is Sure To Open...

2012-03-29T14:12:29Z

The failing global economy has finally caught up with me. As many of you who follow this blog and the American Institute for Innovation Excellence may know, the AIIE only provides a small portion of my income. Its truly a labor of love that feeds my passion for innovation management and operational excellence. The vast majority of the income needed to support myself and my family has always come from the other skill set I'm known for...project and portfolio management.

Most recently, I helped a local fire truck manufacturer build a Project Management Office from the ground up, directly manage critical projects and provide advice for a fledgling innovation management team. Unfortunately, with the global economy still struggling to recover, along with the negative sentiment for local government spending and the sometimes necessary tax increases that come with that spending, municipalities just aren't ordering a lot of fire trucks. This firm is also known as being the "Cadillac" of fire trucks, which means that many of the fire districts who are buying trucks are going to less customized and cheaper apparatus. When you start running short of capital as the sales fall off, you slow or stop projects. When you stop projects, you don't really have a need for Program Managers anymore. Put simply...business is bad, not getting much better and I got laid off yesterday.

They were very apologetic and very classy about the release. They were also generous in giving me a small severance to keep things "normal" for a couple of months. Honestly, it stings...but I don't blame them or hold any negative feelings. Its business, plain and simple. I've been on the other side of this equation other times in the past. Its the first time on this side however, and it certainly humbles a guy. I'm a big believer that things in life happen for a reason. That there is a larger plan for all of us. That God never puts anything in our path that we can't handle. So, I'm looking at this as a blessing in disguise. Something I will look back on as a positive pivotal point in my life.

If anything, it has shaken me out of a "cruise control" mode I've been in lately. I've been resting too much on my laurels and not pushing myself. Its re-kindled my fire and passion for combining innovation and project/portfolio management. I have a clean slate in front of me now and I'm not going to waste it. My renewed focus is to find a role that feeds my passion and provides new challenges and opportunities. I've reached a point in my career where the "What" matters so much more than the "Where." I am blessed that I have a supportive family who immediately said that they are ready to go anywhere we might need to go so I can find that next opportunity.

Some of you who regularly read and subscribe to this blog may be in a position where you have an opportunity that might be a great fit. Others might know of someone who is looking to fill a role that might match my skills and passion. If you do, I humbly ask that you take a moment to pass my contact info forward. Below, I've included my email along with links to my resume, my professional accomplishments and the AIIE website which includes actual work samples that demonstrates what I am capable of delivering.

Thank you!

Email: paul.williams@thinkforachange.com

Resume: http://tinyurl.com/7ug47y9

Professional Accomplishments Summary: http://tinyurl.com/7yetc56

AIIE Website: www.AIIEOnline.org

Copyright 2010-2011 - American Institute for Innovation Excellence

An Executive Checklist for Innovation

2012-03-23T12:00:00Z

Why do Executives need Innovation Coaching? The answer is quite simple...to be blunt, they are the critical linchpin to any successful Innovation Management Program within an organization. Without executive-level support, guidance, strategic direction and culture establishment, innovation doesn't take hold. Research shows it to be a proven fact...and that's why its so important for business executives to truly understand innovation management concepts and how the decisions they make affect the organization's innovative direction.

To help executives better understand their key responsibilities for innovation, we've developed this handy "checklist" so they can validate their behaviors and decisions against factors that support a robust innovation culture:

Copyright 2010-2011 - American Institute for Innovation Excellence

Is It Time For An Innovation Coach?

2012-03-22T12:46:45Z

It's a strategy. It's a process. It's the buzzword du jour. It's the one thing "everyone" says you need to survive. It's innovation...and it's everywhere you look nowadays!

Innovation. The folks in R&D and IT have been pestering you about it for some time now. Sales & Marketing want to be able to use the word with some honesty. Finance keeps whispering in your ear that its expensive, with an ROI that's hard to pin down, but "The Street" likes it when it gets mentioned in the Annual Report. Even HR wants to know your innovation strategy so they can start lining up "creative" candidates.

Your organization (okay...maybe even you) have questions about this whole "innovation" thing. We know...it's okay. In fact, you'd be surprised at the number of business executives we coach on this stuff. It's really not your fault! They didn't teach you much about it during your MBA years. On your climb up the corporate ladder, you've probably been focused more on hitting production targets and driving costs down to worry about chasing down new ideas. Sadly, your first exposure to it may have even come via an idea management initiative that left behind a depleted budget and a bunch of ideas that your organization can't really implement.

But now you're in charge, and all of those smart, dedicated people who report to you wouldn't be talking about innovation unless it was important. Right? One of the first questions you are likely to ask yourself about innovation is, "Why should I worry about this?"

Look, let's be honest, you wouldn't be here, reading this page, if you didn't already realize that you and your organization need some help driving more top-line growth on the Profit side of the P&L Statement. Your organization has done its due diligence in driving out waste in your operations and business processes. You've may have even overseen the implementation of Lean initiatives that have thinned your organization to the breaking point. And now, on top of all that, your shareholders, partners, employees, customers and/or investors are looking to your organization for something new. Something to lead your organization forward instead of just treading water and maintaining the status quo. Deep down, you already know the answer to your question. The more important question is...are you ready to do something about it?

We'll assume that you're already vaguely familiar with the concept of Executive Coaching. In the past, people in your same position either went the route of "self-help" or surrounded themselves with a trusted advisory team. Smart executives have always counted on smart people to help reach their organizational and personal development goals. Sometimes these people were called mentors or counselors. Today, building on the same concept, coaches help individuals and teams reach their peak performance. Coaches instruct, counsel, advise and ask the tough questions. Coaches are demanding, because they know you haven't yet reached your full talent potential.

Now think about the coaching concept with respect to new skill development. If you are a novice at exercise programs, you might seek out the help of a fitness coach. If you want to get better at tennis, you'll seek out the services of a professional tennis coach. Even the best athletes in the world have coaches helping them move toward ever higher levels of performance...just ask Tiger Woods' swing coach!

So you're a little weak in the innovation knowledge area. Or maybe, you get it...but don't know where to start. Why not tap the experience of people who know how this whole "innovation thing" works. Not just at the strategic level, but down deep in the weeds. People who have built innovation management systems from the ground up for leading organizations. People who have not only set best practice, but continue to develop "next practice." We want to help you reduce the learning curve. We want to help your organization provide the world with something new!

Here's what to expect once we engage in an Executive Innovation Coaching relationship:

Most importantly, we'll keep this whole thing under wraps. Your confidentiality and privacy is the most cherished and important aspect of our coach/coachee relationship.
Your Innovation Coach will sit down with you and simply listen. Seriously, that's pretty much it for the first session. We want to know everything about your business, what keeps you up at night, where you think you excel, where your weaknesses are, who your competitors are, who your customers are, who you want as new customers, details around previous innovation management efforts (either personally or at your organization) and anything and everything about what you know and where you want to go.
Next, we'll help you identify and document a set of measurable goals specific to your situation and desired end result. Based on those goals, we'll jointly develop a Personal Development Plan (PDP) that will serve as our road map for the remainder of the engagement.
Expect some homework! That's right, based on your unique goals, we'll suggest some readings and exercises that will broaden your innovation management knowledge-base and help you learn how to start integrating all of this back into your organization.
We'll continue, one digestible chunk at a time, building your skill set, understanding, strategic mind-set, operational approach and confidence via regularly scheduled coaching conference calls.
Finally, as the end of the engagement nears, we'll compare your current state of knowledge and understanding against the baseline from where we started. You'll see the tangible, quantifiable results of your investment!

We know its a tough decision! But, you've taken the most important first step in challenging yourself to better understand innovation and innovation management by landing here and reading this far. Now, the next step is to take action! But, we don't want you to jump right into the deep end right away. We'd love to have the opportunity to just chat with you about what you're hoping to get out a potential coaching engagement. In fact, we think it is critical to "test drive" your Innovation Coach in order to see if he or she is the right person from whom you can best share, learn and grow. We're willing to invest up to one hour of our time if you're willing to match only the time commitment to discuss how we may be able to help.

Please take the time to review the following informational resources we have developed to further explain what we can offer and what to expect out of your Executive Innovation Coaching engagement:

Once you've made the decision to move ahead, then CONTACT US...we'll be ready to help!

Copyright 2010-2011 - American Institute for Innovation Excellence

A Personal and Professional Innovation Management Manifesto

2012-03-12T16:29:32Z

It has been a tough year. Not tough as in, “I got laid off and am trying to save my repossessed house.” But tough as in, “I thought my career would be different…more meaningful and fun…less bureaucratic and constrained.”

In this past year I have had my passion for innovation management, product management and project/portfolio management battered and bruised, then re-discovered and re-committed, only to be torn down again. Again, I honestly can’t complain too much. I have a steady paycheck, which is better than 8.5% of the U.S. population can say right now. I make enough at one job to pursue my love for innovation management via my own non-profit research organization in my spare time. But the passion has recently started to waver, and here’s why…

I have worked tirelessly to secure some kind of traction for an innovation management research-based think tank. I love research work. I enjoy tearing apart old models and methodologies and re-combining the bits and pieces into new, more effective and efficient approaches. I have met a number of fantastic individuals and organizations who have supported and critiqued my work for the betterment of the innovation management discipline. But all of this work and effort still hasn’t developed into anything more than a professional hobby. Thank goodness the work is considered a non-profit entity so that the nagging demand of profitability hasn’t detracted from the work or the results. It seems there is little consensus, demand or interest, even among academic circles, for this type of research. Despite the lack of traction, I will likely continue this work, because it does fulfill an internal desire to give something back to a profession that feeds my passion.

Unfortunately, there have been five unique instances this past year where I have had my intellectual property outright stolen, “borrowed” and/or resold by unscrupulous innovation management “consultants” and "authors." I have had whole paragraphs of my blog, snippets of my tweets and concepts from my books appear, verbatim, in the published works of other innovation management practitioners…one of whom have actually had the gall to ask me to publish a review of “his” work.

In the past year, I have made numerous contacts with fellow innovation and product management practitioners who claim to seek a mutually beneficial partnership, only to later discover that material we have jointly developed is being used for their exclusive financial benefit.

Additionally, I have been introduced to business professionals, including C-level executives, who talk a fabulous game about innovation but have absolutely no intention of ever actually taking action to implement anything beyond a well-scripted press-release for the exclusive benefit of employees, board members and investors.

In the past year, I have been contacted by four potential “clients” to discuss opportunities for the development of innovation management processes and methodologies based on my proprietary work developing Innovation Management Maturity, Innovation Portfolio Management and Innovation Center of Excellence concepts. These potential engagements included discovery Q&A calls and even one formal “Request for Proposal” (RFP). It didn’t take long to realize that these engagements were nothing more than fishing expeditions where I was being “milked” for free advice, consultation and sharing of business processes.

It has been a year in which I have been recruited by well-known “head hunting” firms and other HR professionals for promising leadership roles within organizations, only to discover that my inclusion in the applicant pool was to provide an “outlier” for the hiring organization should they wish to stretch themselves beyond their current comfort zone which, of course, they didn’t.

The project and portfolio management side of my career hasn’t been any more kind. In my current role, I have been working to introduce agile and other alternative methodologies, where appropriate, to better deliver key project-based initiatives, only to be reprimanded for not following “the process” and have been cautioned that the organization just isn’t “mature enough” for new project management concepts. I have also been assigned to lead a task force to create a robust Project Portfolio Management process and organizational structure, only to discover that the organization’s executive leadership cannot even make the most basic of decisions without being bogged down in crippling consensus decision-making models.

Okay, enough ranting about the “hardships” of the past year. I know that there are many individuals who would gladly endure these situations to gain steady employment or advance beyond their current position. However, I share these experiences to provide some necessary background and insight into why I have developed this manifesto.

Despite the challenges and disappointments of the past twelve months, it hasn’t been all doom and gloom…on the contrary. The past year has provided some incredible opportunities and extensive professional exposure including:

Authoring the Forward to an innovation book geared toward executive leadership and created by a consortium of product management professionals
Being featured in three industry-based periodicals with broad, world-wide reach and readership
Delivering a closing keynote address for continuing education professionals on the value of innovation as a key to professional success
Leading educational webinars on key innovation and product management topics
Being named a subject matter expert for a well-known industry professional organization

This “yin and yang” of recent experiences and professional introspection has led to an exploration of where my career stands today along with a determination of where I want my career to take me into the future. Thus…the manifesto:

As part of my Personal and Professional Innovation Management Manifesto, I declare the following:

I intend to continue my non-profit innovation management research think tank for my own personal knowledge growth and for the enhancement of the innovation management profession, regardless of the number of members, partners, sponsors or external support that may come.

I will re-start my blog writing, including sharing the results of my research and personal/professional experiences. However, the re-focused blog will also be a platform to call out “poseurs” of innovation management, project/portfolio management and product management, as well as exposing those who do not meet even the most liberal interpretations of professional demeanor or ethics. It will also share next/best practices alongside examples of worst practices. Through the new blog, I will be challenging the innovation management community to collaborate on increasing awareness and education for innovation management, sharing success stories and lessons learned, along with moving the profession into everyday business practice and operations.

I understand that my career is of my own making and I will no longer “settle” for any role, job or career track. I will actively seek and consider leadership roles within the disciplines of innovation, organizational creativity, project/portfolio and product management among organizations of all sizes and in all industry categories. Additionally, I will no longer subject myself only to the criteria and demands of the role defined by prospective employers/partners, but will instead verify that they also meet my own professional criteria as follows:

View innovation management as a true business discipline
View continuous learning as a requirement, not a benefit
Provide adequate amount of committed and engaged resources to innovation and project execution
Leverage portfolio management principles, not rigid processes
Open access to the Executive Leadership Team
Define “work” as delivery of expertise, not based on location
Believes “work” includes “fun,” “challenge,” “exploration” and “teamwork”
Appreciates risk-taking, learned failure and a “try it” mind-set
Rejects singular processes or methodologies as THE answer to every problem
Consider new hires based on their passion and breadth of experience vs. vertical knowledge within an industry

If you are a potential employer or partner who can demonstrate commitment to these principles, I can guarantee you the following benefits resulting from my employment/partnership:

Visionary and strategic thinking for future concepts, approaches and products/services
Relentless execution focus on existing strategic direction and project initiatives
Open and honest collaboration, knowledge sharing and idea generation
Challenge to the status quo thinking
Demand accountability
Leadership based on relationships and results
Continuous push to discover “next practices”
Encourage an open, fun and collaborative working environment
Encourage and support an exploratory, risk tolerant and prototype driven culture
A continuous search for a “better way”

If you would like to learn more about me and my career/experiences, please see my Professional Resume and my Summary of Professional Accomplishments.

I will seek out new ways to collaborate with fellow innovation, organizational creativity, project/portfolio and product management practitioners through membership in various associations, groups and communities of practice. I will seek out volunteer action and leadership roles in those organizations to expand my professional network and to expand my professional knowledge-base and skill set.

I dedicate and re-commit myself to following wherever my passion leads me, rather than doing what is expected of me or what may be required to live a certain life-style. I have confirmed that my family supports me in this manifesto and that my future is only limited by my imagination.

Admittedly, this blog posting is pretty self-serving. But, the declaration of intent via the manifesto method has been a cathartic experience. It has been a long time since I have really taken a self-inventory of my experience, skills, wants and needs. Imagining what my desired future might entail and setting forth guiding principles feels good to get down on paper, as does developing a roadmap that re-establishes my personal and professional direction. If you happen to stumble across this blog, find yourself agreeing with my view of innovation management and are interested in talking about a professional opportunity (or may know of someone who does), please email me at paul DOT williams AT thinkforachange DOT com.

Copyright 2010-2011 - American Institute for Innovation Excellence

Making The Tough Decisions in Innovation Management...

2012-01-31T11:00:00Z

"Decide what you want and decide what you are willing to exchange for it. Establish your priorities and go to work." - H.L. Hunt

I am willing to bet that many of you work in an organization that currently has at least one failed project, product or service that still exists. Like an albatross around the organization's neck, the failure languishes on the portfolio, consuming resources and attention. Day after day, additional time, money and effort are thrown at the failure in the hope that it can be turned around and made a success. Forget the fact that the ROI went negative six months ago and will likely never tread positive territory. Its a pet project or an "all in" bet from some executive. Doesn't matter...its a loser!

Many of you have seen this...but for those who haven't...pick out the "sad but true" examples from your organization:

Tribal wisdom of the Dakota Indians (so legend has it), passed on from generation to generation, says that, "When you discover that you are riding a dead horse, the best strategy is to dismount."

However, in government, education and the corporate world, more advanced strategies are often employed, such as:

Buying a stronger whip
Changing riders
Giving horse and rider a good beating
Re-structuring the dead horse's reward scale to contain a performance-related element
Suspending the horse's access to the executive grassy meadow until performance targets are met
Making the horse work late shifts and weekends
Scrutinizing and clawing back a percentage of the horse's past 12 months expenses payments
Appointing a committee to study the horse
Arranging to visit other countries to see how other cultures ride horses
Convening a dead horse productivity improvement workshop
Lowering the standards so that dead horses can be included
Reclassifying the dead horse as living-impaired
Hiring outside contractors to ride the dead horse
Outsourcing the management of the dead horse
Harnessing several dead horses together to increase speed
Providing additional funding and/or training to increase dead horse's performance
Doing a productivity study to see if lighter riders would improve the dead horse's performance
Declaring that as the dead horse does not have to be fed, it is less costly, carries lower overhead and therefore contributes substantially more to the bottom line of the economy than do some other horses
Rewriting the expected performance requirements for all horses
Promoting the dead horse to a supervisory position

The amount of money that gets wasted on the aforementioned resuscitation efforts is staggering! Imagine what you could do with the dollars, time, effort that get thrown down the abyss!

And that's the point of this blog entry...you don't have to imagine! You simply need to have the courage to kill the crap and deal with the fact that "sunk cost" cannot be retrieved, saved or salvaged. Put your big money, your dedicated time, your best resources into the winning ideas. Make the tough decisions and kill what needs to be killed!

Easier said than done...right?!? Here are some tips on how to make the tough decisions:

Form an innovation council, whose entire role is to constantly review the idea/innovation project portfolio and cull poor performing initiatives in favor of ideas that show true promise
Create a balanced scorecard, dashboard, metrics or other systems of measurement so you can quickly identify project issues
Separate the idea generation portion of your innovation management system from the prototyping/project execution portion. This will protect the ideas that are still developing from the critical review that mature concepts should constantly face
Be certain of your strategy and goals. If you understand what you want/need, it will make the decisions about what you should keep vs. kill pretty straightforward
My Favorite: Establish a mandate that each department, area, project portfolio, etc. select one or two things to kill each quarter. This forces product sunsets, legacy decommissions, flushing out waste and killing good ideas that just didn't seem to catch on in the marketplace.

These are tough decisions. Someone is going to get their "nose bent out of joint" because you just killed the thing they worked on for the past three years. Too damned bad! Business isn't about nostalgia...its about profit! If you can't make money on it...fix it or kill it! This goes for ideas as well as products or services.

Know what works and why. Know what doesn't work and why. Know where your investments in the future are paying off. Know where your "money pits" are located. Demand accountability. Demand excellence. Be a decision maker. Be a leader.

Copyright 2010-2011 - American Institute for Innovation Excellence

Ten Things Walt Disney Taught Me About Innovation

2012-01-24T11:00:00Z

"All the adversity I've had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened me...You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you." - Walt Disney

It's really no secret that I absolutely love everything Disney. To me, the greatest example of solving problems, following dreams and pursuing ideas can be found either at Disneyland, Disney World, watching just about any Disney movie or by studying the life of Walt Disney.

While the company may have lost its way in the past few years, the core fundamentals that the organization was founded upon have again resurfaced through its recent management change, merger with Pixar and returned attention to creativity. As I was recently booking our annual trip to Disney World, I reflected upon some of things that Walt, even from beyond the grave, has taught me about innovation.

"When we consider a project, we really study it--not just the surface idea, but everything about it. And when we go into that new project, we believe in it all the way. We have confidence in our ability to do it right. And we work hard to do the best possible job."

1. Pay fantastic attention to detail

Problems and ideas have an amazing amount of detail associated with them. Sometimes, it can be easy to miss some of the details that help to further define the problem or help follow ideas in new directions

"Whenever I go on a ride, I'm always thinking of what's wrong with the thing and how it can be improved.

2. Challenge the status quo

The status quo is your ultimate enemy. By definition, innovation is something new that provides a benefit to someone. The mere exploration of something new challenges the status quo...and it is simply amazing how many organizations are afraid to do just that.

"It's kind of fun to do the impossible."

3. Don't forget about the quality

Walt Disney once said, "I want people to walk into a $5 million dollar restaurant to buy a $0.05 cent hamburger." Walt always believed in "plussing" or giving his guest extra value. Ideas can be viewed the same way. Make sure the idea you are working on brings someone benefit and then drive that benefit as far as you can.

"We are not trying to entertain the critics. I'll take my chances with the public."

4. People expect you to fail, prove them wrong

There are a lot of skeptics around the concepts of creative problem solving and innovation. The non-believers think that the only benefits that a company can achieve are the one's that can be measured. People who believe in ideas are often expected to fail. Many times...they will be right. But sometimes...they will be wrong...and jealous.

"You can design and create, and build the most wonderful place in the world. But it takes people to make the dream a reality."

5. People make innovation a success, not the management

Innovation, creative problem solving and ideation are fruits of individual thought and effort. In many cases today, management theory and behavior suppress that thought and effort. If you are an individual contributor, be willing to think creatively and have the courage to drive your ideas forward. If you are in the management ranks, be willing to listen to the ideas of your employees and have the courage to promote creative thought in your organization.

"The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing."

6. Make meetings more productive

Most meetings in Corporate America are mind-numbing, unproductive and a waste of time. They can, however, be opportunities for idea generation, problem solving, prototyping or discussing innovation strategy. Make meetings a time that employees look forward to rather than opportunities to come up with excuses not to attend.

"Disneyland will never be completed. It will continue to grow as long as there imagination left in the world."

7. Promote and champion change

New ideas bring change. Innovative products and services bring change. Problem solving brings change. You can either be a champion of change and lead the way or you can be left behind. What path are you going to take?

"When you're curious, you find lots of interesting things to do. And one thing it takes to accomplish something is courage."

8. Plan to defend your ideas

Ideas are always under attack. Some will try to take credit. Some will try to kill them before they even have a chance to grow wings. Some will try to steal them outright. Some may even try to slowly shrink your ideas into nothing. Be courageous and strong enough to keep your ideas alive and well protected.

"Why do we have to grow up? I know more adults who have the children's approach to life. They're people who don't give a hang what the Joneses do. You see them at Disneyland every time you go there. They are not afraid to be delighted with simple pleasures, and they have a degree of contentment with what life has brought - sometimes it isn't much, either."

9. Employees are the greatest source of inspiration

Listen to the ideas of every employee. That's right...every employee. The CEO has some great ideas. The VP of Finance has great ideas. The Manager of IT Shared Services has great ideas. The Mainframe Technician has great ideas. The Administrative Assistant has great ideas. The lady that pushes the mail cart has great ideas. The guy who cleans the bathrooms has great ideas. Find the ideas...regardless of the source.

"You know, one day when a little boy asked, ‘Do you draw Mickey Mouse?’ I had to admit I do not draw anymore. ‘Well, then you think up all the jokes and ideas,’ he said. ‘No,’ I said, ‘I don’t do that anymore either.’ Finally he looked at me and said, ‘Mr. Disney, just what do you do?’ ‘Well,’ I said, ‘sometimes I think of myself as a little bee. I go from one area of the studio to another, and gather pollen, and sort of stimulate everybody.’ I guess that’s the job I do."

10. Know when to manage, and when to lead

One of the biggest mistakes I see in innovation management is the inability to know when to lead and when to manage. My general rule of thumb is to lead by example through the demonstration of innovation-seeking behaviors. Then, manage the ideas, the available free time, the idea pipeline process, and anything but the people. Let the people do their jobs and prove their ideas.

Walt Disney was an amazing example of the "Intelligent Innovator". He knew his customers better than they knew themselves. He knew when to take chances and when to wait. He was never satisfied with the status quo. While the world lost a great leader in Walt Disney in 1966, we can still see the fruits of his dreams, ideas and courage just about everywhere we look.

If you would like to read more about Walt Disney and his amazing pursuit of dreams, I would recommend the amazing How To Be Like Walt: Capturing the Disney Magic Every Day of Your Life by Pat Williams

Copyright 2010-2011 - American Institute for Innovation Excellence

Thoughts on Innovation "Best Practices"

2012-01-19T11:00:00Z

Does your company follow "best practices?" What comes to mind when you hear that statement..."We follow best practices." If you are like most, you key in on the words "best practices" and equate the company with industry leadership. Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth. You see, I key in on the word "follow" instead, which is the true limiting factor of those who pursue the holy grail of best practices.

The pursuit of best practices means just that, you are pursuing the technique, method, process, activity, incentive or reward that is more effective at delivering a particular outcome than any other technique, method, process, etc., as defined by others, who you see as leaders in the specific area of effort. This puts you in a constant "maintenance mode" of trying to keep up with the pack. In essence, you are playing the game of "follow the leader."

Innovators, by contrast, don't follow best practices...They set them. Did Apple capture the market by following the best practices of other MP3 player manufacturers? Did Southwest Airlines experience explosive growth by following the best practices of other airlines? Did Walt Disney create a completely new concept in family entertainment by following the best practices of other amusement parks? Best practice leaders are the one's constantly erasing their business models and starting over. They push the envelope, accept risk, support a creative culture and harvest ideas from anywhere and everywhere.

Best practices do, however, have benefit for those companies who have fallen behind in maintaining good techniques and processes for streamlining their operations and developing an innovation culture. These companies need a path to follow in order to catch up with the competition. Be cautious, though, when setting which best practice standards you decide to follow. Just because Motorola's Six Sigma program works for Motorola's operations, it does not ensure they will produce the same benefits for your organization.
Remember, following best practices will only help you to catch up and maintain, it will not allow you to pass unless you take a fresh, new approach. Learn to lead. Learn to innovate. Learn to set your own best practices that others will want to follow. Then, and only then, will you lead by example and be considered an innovative market leader.

Copyright 2010-2011 - American Institute for Innovation Excellence

Measuring Ideas

2012-01-12T11:00:00Z

You’ve taken that first step of establishing a creative and innovative culture within your organization. Congratulations! You’ve also started to capture the ideas that are percolating up from your employees and customers. Great job! That new idea/innovation management system is allowing you to convert those great ideas into profitable new products/services for your customers. Again, kudos!

So where do you go from here? The next challenge is to measure the success and/or failure of the ideas you have decided to pursue, quantify the financial impact of your innovation program and finally, report on the overall health of your creativity/innovation system. Although this is often easier said than done, it can be quite simple if you choose to measure the right parameters.

First of all, why capture this information at all? In most organizational cultures…money talks. If you cannot clearly quantify how your innovation program is affecting the bottom line, then you likely will not have an innovation system to manage much longer. Here are a few other reasons to establish an innovation metrics system:

Ensure upper management support
Demonstrate that the system is generating the expected benefits
Ensure that the correct resources are being applied
Motivate the innovation managers, teams and employees
Kill or alter unsuccessful idea-based projects

With the need for metrics now established, the “what to measure” question should be next. Let’s review some of the more common and popular innovation-related metrics:

Financial-Based Metrics

Percentage of capital invested in innovation
Number of new products/services launched
Percentage of revenue from new products/services
Change in company’s market value or share

Process-Based Metrics

Percentage of work time committed to innovation/new concepts
Ratio of successful ideas to total ideas submitted
Average time from idea submission to product/service launch

Culture-Based Metrics

Ratio of senior executive time spent on innovation efforts versus day-to-day operations
Number of managers receiving creativity/innovation management training
Number of ideas submitted by customers

Employee-Based Metrics

Percentage of employees with an innovation-based performance goal
Number of employees receiving creativity/innovation training
Number of ideas submitted by employees

As you can see, it is important to establish only a few metrics across broad categories in order to keep the data collection manageable, while ensuring you have a good snapshot on the health of your innovation system.

Finally, the establishment of a few metric-related guidelines will make certain that you are not tempted to go “overboard” in your quest for measuring the impact of your innovation management pursuits. These guidelines should also ensure that any changes in your business model will also be reflected in your idea management structure.

Evaluate your existing metrics and determine if you can modify them to include creativity and innovation concepts
Include a minimum amount of customer-centric metrics
Avoid complex or formulaic metrics
Avoid tracking every conceivable metric available
Build a metric portfolio that crosses every area of your organization at a summary or “rolled up” level

By establishing what you are defining as a successful innovation program within your organization and measuring a few key indicators to demonstrate the effectiveness of the program, you will be able to provide a reasoned and educated status of your efforts to senior leadership. There is no doubt that money talks. With that being said, having the ability to prove that your efforts are producing positive, bottom line-based results serves to only further enhance the senior executive commitment that makes any innovation system successful.

Copyright 2010-2011 - American Institute for Innovation Excellence

What Comes Before "Open Innovation?"

2012-01-05T11:00:00Z

Open Innovation...or expanding the pool of brains thinking about your business problems outside of your organization...is a concept that has gained significant and recent traction. The concept is very sound:

From Wikipedia...Open innovation is a paradigm that assumes that firms can and should use external ideas as well as internal ideas, and internal and external paths to market, as the firms look to advance their technology”. The boundaries between a firm and its environment have become more permeable; innovations can easily transfer inward and outward. The central idea behind open innovation is that in a world of widely distributed knowledge, companies cannot afford to rely entirely on their own research, but should instead buy or license processes or inventions (e.g. patents) from other companies. In addition, internal inventions not being used in a firm's business should be taken outside the company (e.g., through licensing, joint ventures, spin-offs)

It used to be that innovation was something that happened deep in the bowels of corporate R&D departments. Secretive folks lurked there and lived by the code of NIH or "Not Invented Here". A motto that held that if R&D didn't think of it, then it didn't exist or wouldn't work or should be ignored. Except a funny thing happened...the ideas started drying up. Game changing ideas became few and far between. More of the same survived and less of the unexpected was developed.

And then another funny thing happened...organizations started asking people in other parts of the company for their ideas and some of them were good! So they tried asking their suppliers and vendors for some ideas...and some of those were good too! So they asked local universities and civic groups for some ideas...and a few of those ideas worked! These organizations learned that the larger the pool of "thinkers," the better their odds of success. Open innovation, as defined above, took off.

But, as corporate exuberance tends to breed carelessness, some organizations began to grab for "brass ring" of open innovation. They were led astray by management consultants that reckoned that you can't get too much of a good thing. Open innovation was cheap...and easy...and the next big thing! Snake Oil Salesmen! They convinced executives to gut their internal R&D functions and launch "Idea Markets" to the world. Give us your ideas...whatever they are...we want them all! And idea campaign after idea campaign began to become flooded with ideas. More ideas than you could possibly imagine. More ideas than people within the organization could properly consider or keep up with. They found themselves sifting through thousands upon thousands of ideas. Wonderful!

And yet...a strange pattern began to emerge...they also noticed hundreds upon hundreds of duplicate or similarly themed ideas. They found hundreds upon hundreds of ideas that were just bizarre...useless. But even more curious were the ideas that just might do some good. But there were hundreds upon hundreds of them. How to choose the most promising? They were all promising. They had no way to filter them, compare them against others, develop them, find markets for them. And so, after much fanfare and money, the "Idea Markets" slowly, one after another, began to fade away. But now, these organizations had a bigger problem...their R&D functions were gone...and their idea pipeline was plugged at the front-end with no one able to free the clog.

Then one day, some very smart innovation management consultants showed these organizations that there is no such thing as an "all or nothing" approach to innovation. Open innovation is but one branch of a well-rounded and comprehensive innovation management program. And for open innovation to truly work, you need to have your internal house in order first as it relates to idea and innovation management. You must have a solid and well managed internal innovation capability before seeking ideas from the outside world. That means:

Having a strong executive sponsor engaged in the innovation strategy of the organization
Having a proven set of processes, tools, techniques and training for moving ideas into prototypes and, eventually, products
Having enough resources (human, financial, time, space and capability) to adequately support the idea and innovation management system you are putting into place
Treating innovation and idea management, not as some singular event, but as a true business discipline and strategy for growth
Developing a list of problems and/or opportunities that the organization wants to invest money and effort into finding solutions
Developing a strategy for seeking ideas from inside and outside of the organization
Developing a clear and communicated set of selection and filtering criteria for idea submission and consideration to ensure the idea pool is manageable
Determining the utilization of the closed innovation system for the research, development, prototyping, portfolio management and launch planning that you don't want your competitors finding out about
Developing a workable system for protecting the intellectual property rights of all parties in the process

This is only a representative handful of key capabilities for a successful innovation management program, whether focused internally or externally. To be a truly successful innovation-focused organization, you'll recognize the need to excel internally and externally. You'll begin to learn that the outside world can help to solve your organizational problems. You'll begin to learn that you'll need some very talented internal people to manage those ideas, and the relationships with the idea generators, to fully realize the benefits. You'll start to recognize properly focused problem statements that serve as pre-built filters against many of the more useless ideas. You'll recognize areas of weakness in your internal development areas and growth strategy that can be "covered" using outside help. You'll carefully move the most promising ideas back within the secrecy of the R&D areas so that further development can continue free of your competitors "spying eyes." You'll begin to see global trends faster.

You'll appreciate the uniqueness that your talented team brings to the ideas that are developed.
In the end, you'll avoid opening yourself up to innovation failure. You'll have an open strategy, a closed strategy and an strategy in between. It won't matter anymore where the ideas come from, it will only matter how to you exploit them. You'll become a true "innovator." So, get your internal house in order first, then figure out what you want the world to help you solve, and then become educated on how best to leverage those billions of fertile minds! Good luck!

Copyright 2010-2011 - American Institute for Innovation Excellence

Your 2012 Monthly Schedule for Executing on Innovation

2012-01-03T11:00:00Z

Since we are starting a brand new year, let's focus on some key execution factors that can make the difference between just talking about innovation and actually doing something to promote innovation and growth. Sometimes it can be hard to get past the point of "thinking about solving the problem" or "trying to solve the problem" and actually "solving the problem." So, I've put together twelve concepts that will get you to take action, once and for all, on creating and executing upon an innovation management approach for your organization.

    January - Stop taking orders and start finding solutions. Ask "How do you do things now and how can we do those things better?" Become a partner in solving the real problem vs. just blindly producing what the customer thinks they need.

    February - Innovation is hard work. Stop pretending that it is the result of a few geniuses in your organization. Set up appropriate resource assignments. Break the work down into manageable pieces. Challenge everyone, from the CEO to the Receptionist, on finding problems to solve and coming up with the ideas that solve them.

    March - Don't "forecast the future." Understand that you invent and create the future. You have more control over the future than you know. You need to be thinking beyond this quarter and into the next, and the next, and the next. You need to create the "next big thing" before your competitor does. "Imagine the future...Make it happen"

    April - Create effective and efficient processes, but be flexible. Create a process for challenging people to come up with ideas. Create a process for gathering and considering the ideas. Create a process for testing the ideas. Create a process for figuring out if the idea will make money. You get the idea. But be flexible...rigidity kills innovation.

    May - Be clear on what innovation means to you and your customers. Innovation is one of those terms that can take on multiple meanings. For me, it means anything new that provides value to someone. New can mean "new to you" or "new to your customers" vs. "new to the world." The idea here is to define and document it so there is no confusion.

    June - Focus on your internal structures. What is the make up of your innovation team? Would you be better served by an Innovation Center of Excellence model instead? What about process, governance, resources and leadership engagement? Are you helping people or getting in the way?

    July - Think about a portfolio approach to managing your innovation pipeline. Each idea you decide to invest in should be carefully considered for risk and "audacity." Spread your idea funding budget across safe bets, probable wins, maybe wins and long shots within your portfolio of development projects. Use these "levers" to adjust overall direction based on risk tolerance, economic reality, etc.

    August - Lead, don't follow. The pursuit of "best practices" is important when you are playing catch-up to your competitors. But once you've caught the pack, take the lead with "next practices." This requires a lot of courage, so be prepared to fight the risk-averse within your organization. Let your competitors pursue your "best practices." Be a leader!

    September - Data lies. Don't forget this very, very valuable point. Data can be constructed to tell you whatever you want to hear. Use "quantitative data"...as it tells one part of the overall story. But don't fall down and genuflect to it. Give equal weight to "qualitative data." It tells another, just as important, part of the overall story. Bottom line = Consider the facts, trust your intuition.

    October - Become a trend hunter. Scan your surroundings. Pick up on the soft signals of momentum. What is hot at the fringe? What is potentially cyclical that may be ready for a come-back? What are the geeks excited about and working on? What is coming and what has already moved on?

    November - Demand executive leadership engagement, not just support. Innovation Management should be treated as a business discipline...no different than Marketing, HR, IT, Finance or Legal. Innovation is not a one-time event at some posh off-site. Executive leaders should be challenged to walk the talk. They should be part of idea gen sessions. They should sit on Idea Boards to hear and decide on the fate of new ideas. They should be engaged in setting the appropriate mix of development projects in the project portfolio.

    December - Be an effective resource manager. That means you are making sure you have enough people in the right places doing the right things that they are passionate about...human resources. It also means you have adequate amounts of funding to run the program, provide seed money to promising ideas and launch larger projects for idea execution...financial resources. It means making sure that you carve out time for people to think, to come up with ideas, to search for problems to solve...time resources. Finally, it means setting up places to think, to get away from the constant rush of "right now" work, to be challenged creatively, to use tools designed to help solve problems...location resources.

Remember, you want to manage the work vs. the work managing you. Use these tips to gain control of the idea and innovation management system in your organization. Take control and make it work for you!

Copyright 2010-2011 - American Institute for Innovation Excellence

Year 1 Of The American Institute for Innovation Excellence - A Year In Review

2011-12-30T14:00:00Z

Sometimes it is easy to get so wrapped up in the minutia of daily work, problems, schedules and tasks, that we lose sight of why we are working so hard, what we are working towards or where our ultimate strategic vision is taking us. That is why it is always important to take time at the end of every year to reflect on what has been accomplished, learn lessons from our failures or shortcomings and list out our goals as we look forward into the new year.

Looking back at the first year of the AIIE, I am most proud of our foundational and public service accomplishments:

Achieved official 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status from the United States Internal Revenue Service which allows our Members and volunteers to focus on providing quality innovation management practices and solutions that benefit the "greater good."
Released three (3) high-quality, well-received research reports that truly added to the "next practices" of innovation management
Produced over five (5) hours of online webinar content, including foundational and advanced training, as part of our 2011 Social Innovation Initiative to provide free or low cost innovation and idea management training for disadvantaged entrepreneurs/innovators and the general public
Presented an additional three (3) webinars on best/next practices in Innovation Management through our partnership with Accept Corporation and their 2011 Product Innovation Management Solutions Webinar Series
Featured in a number of publications including the Project Management Institute's "PM Network" magazine, Frost & Sullivan's "Global Community of Growth, Innovation and Leadership" eBulletin and InnovationManagement's eMagazine
Forged a number of valuable partnerships including the American Society for Quality, Accept Corporation, the Innovation Cities Program and the Canadian Innovation Centre
Created a number of key interaction touch points with our Members and the larger Innovation Practitioner Stakeholder Community via Twitter, Facebook, our Blog, LinkedIn, Skype and via the Web
Ended the 2011 Fiscal Year with a positive net cash balance!

While its great to look back and recognize the great work we have done, we still have much work to do! With our 2012 Research Calendar now set, my main focus will be on improving our Membership count, creating an innovation education curriculum, exploring opportunities for innovation collaboration via forum, panel discussion or "Unconference" format and developing a suite of products/services to supplement our membership-based funding stream.

To our Members and loyal followers, we cannot thank you enough for your support, participation and engagement. We hope to increase our collaboration with you in the new year!

Don't Waste Time...Dream Big!

2011-12-27T11:00:00Z

We used to have big dreams. I mean REALLY big dreams. For example, back in the 50’s, they used to dream BIG about the future. There were dreams of cities under the ocean and in space. Dreams of rocket travel being routine and fully automated kitchens run by our robot servants. There were World’s Fairs that showcased the best of bold, innovative thinking. There were utopian dreams like the building of Disneyland. What happened?

Where is the bold, innovative thinking now? Sure, we are building on the old and making what is “now” better. But where is the far-off look to the future? Where is the bold and crazy imagination? Where is the “science-fiction” of today that doesn’t include gratuitous violence? Where did the World’s Fairs go? Where can we go to view the latest thinking in design, construction, transportation, entertainment and education…all in the same place? TED is a good start, but there needs to be more of this, and more inclusive of the "average guy's" ideas.

Let’s challenge ourselves to think a little deeper this week. Let’s allow our imaginations to wander just a little bit further. Let’s force together two completely different trains of thought and see what comes out the other end. Make a conscious decision to move past the first “right” answer when searching for solutions to problems. Let’s dream big.

Copyright 2010-2011 - American Institute for Innovation Excellence

Our Annual Holiday Innovation and Creativity Reflection

2011-12-22T11:00:00Z

Walt Disney wrote in Reader's Digest (December 1941) that "One reason the Christmas season appeals to me is that it makes us suspend business-as-usual routine and let our minds soar for a while. It is a time when the imagination is more sprightly than at other periods of the year; Christmas seems to release even the most solemn of us from the Scrooge realism that occasionally besets all of us. It is natural, of course, that I should think of Christmas in terms of imagination, for imagination is my business."

Walt's quote above reminds us that we must all find some quiet moments from time to time. These quiet moments allow our subconscious with the time needed to catch up with our busy, busy conscious mind. The subconscious probably has some ideas it has been working on, but hasn't been able to get through to us during our busy lives.

So how do we take advantage of the power of reflection?

Think on a scale larger than what you are used to thinking

See the forest for the trees
Look for patterns
Look at how nature solves “problems”
Do something you typically don't do
Try to generalize everything you encounter

Ask questions

What if...?
How about...?
How can we...?
Why not...?

Create Time

If you can't find time in your busy day for reflective thought, make time:

Get up one hour early
Go to bed one hour late
Go to the park for lunch
Listen to music instead of the news
Take a long shower or bath
Take the dog for a walk

In today's hectic rat-race, it can be very difficult to find time for reflective thought and getting in contact with our sub-conscious. New ideas typically don't present themselves when we are too busy to think. In order to truly tap into your great, but yet unknown, ideas, make time to get away, think deeply, and truly reflect on your problems, potential solutions and other great thoughts.

Have a Merry Christmas, Happy Holiday Season and a Prosperous New Year!!!

Copyright 2010-2011 - American Institute for Innovation Excellence

Goal Setting For Innovation & Creativity...

2011-12-20T11:00:00Z

Goals for Corporate Leaders:

Create a culture that fosters creativity
Grant freedom to employees to take risks
Remove barriers to communication across the company
Reward fast failure
Reward idea generators
Give employees time to think or work on new ideas
Build innovation into your financial goals
Develop a system for measuring innovation-related metrics
Set up a fund to finance promising new ideas

Goals for improving personal creativity:

Challenge the status quo
Be curious
Imagine
Become more self-motivated
Find your passion
Take risks
Pay attention to detail
Do not fear failure
Dream
Wish
Be confident
Go looking for new ideas
Feed your subconscious with fresh, new observations