Category: Innovation Perspectives
This is the second of several ‘Innovation Perspectives’ articles we will publish this week from multiple authors to get different perspectives on “Where should innovation reside?” On the heels of Steven Todd’s kickoff, here is another perspective:by Jeffrey PhillipsBraden Kelley has asked a number of us to respond to the question “Who owns innovation and where does it live in an organization?” This is actually a question we are asked quite frequently by our clients. The answers are based on the strategic goals of the firm.First, let’s consider who “owns” innovation. Many firms will argue that the CEO “owns” innovation, and they are correct, to a point. Anyone with any amount of experience working on innovation will tell you that an engaged, involved executive team is vital to success when innovating. However, a CEO simply doesn’t have the time or bandwidth to get involved in every decision and manage all … Continue reading
This is the first of several ‘Innovation Perspectives’ articles we will publish this week from multiple authors to get different perspectives on the following question:”Where should innovation reside in an organization, and who should ‘own’ or manage innovation?”To kick it off, here is ‘Trench Innovation’:by Steve ToddWhere should innovation reside in an organization?For many decades the answers have ranged from ‘dedicated research facilities’ to ‘globally distributed research teams’. Hewlett-Packard has HP-Labs in Palo Alto. IBM has eight distributed research teams.The highest executive levels within a corporation have looked to these teams and asked “where do we go next?”These research teams often ‘hand off’ the latest innovative ideas to dedicated development organizations.A recent article in the NY Times is questioning the efficiency of dedicated corporate R&D labs. The truth of the matter is that innovation cannot solely reside in these organizations any more.Innovation should reside in the corporate trenches.Innovation by PainConsider … Continue reading
September’s opportunity to contribute your Innovation Perspectives is now here. This monthly feature presents our loyal readers with different perspectives on a single topic all in one place – from several different authors. It gives our innovation community the opportunity to compare, contrast and discuss them in the comments here on Blogging Innovation and in the Continuous Innovation group on LinkedIn.If you missed August’s Innovation Perspectives, you can find them here.Here is this month’s topic for publishing the week of September 21-27, 2009:”Where should innovation reside in an organization, and who should ‘own’ or manage innovation?”Thank you to Jeffrey Phillips for submitting this month’s topicSeveral contributing authors will be writing articles on this topic, but you are also welcome to submit an article by the end of September 18, 2009.I’ll publish all of the accepted articles during the week of September 21-27, 2009 for discussion. If you would like to … Continue reading
Innovation Perspectives is a new monthly feature to present our loyal readers with different perspectives on a single topic all in one place along with the ability to compare, contrast and discuss them in the comments here on Blogging Innovation and in the Continuous Innovation group on LinkedIn. This month’s topic was: “Describe the importance of innovation strategy to the success of an organization’s innovation efforts.”Do companies need an innovation strategy?What role does it play?What are best practices in setting innovation strategy?How should organizations integrate their innovation strategy into their corporate strategy?Here is a list of all of the authors that participate this month and links to their articles on this topic.Rowan Gibson – What exactly is an innovation strategy?Dan Keldsen – Strategy From Above?Drew Boyd – What/Why/When/How/Where/WhoMike Brown – Yes, No, and Everything In BetweenSteve Todd – Leveraging IntrapreneursHutch Carpenter – Making Your Own LuckJeffrey Phillips – Do you … Continue reading
This is the sixth of several ‘Innovation Perspectives’ articles we will publish this week from multiple authors to get different perspectives on The Importance of Innovation Strategy:by Jeffrey PhillipsI’ve thought for a while that it would be great to get a number of bloggers to write about the same topic, which would allow readers to have different perspectives about an innovation topic from noted (well, at least some of us are) experts in the field of innovation. Braden Kelley asked us to write about the need or importance of innovation strategy, so here’s my response to his request.First, let’s set out that there is really no such thing as innovation strategy. Strategy is about setting out the vision and goals for your company, and what your long term objectives are. Most firms set out some vaguely worded strategy which does not lock them in too much, and which they ignore … Continue reading
This a bonus eighth ‘Innovation Perspectives’ article to give one extra perspectives on The Importance of Innovation Strategy:Describe the importance of innovation strategy to the success of an organization’s innovation efforts.Braden Kelley of Blogging Innovation asked a number of people to contribute their perspectives on the question above. This is our response.Popular culture associates innovation with one or both of these qualities:Out-of-the-blue “a-ha!” momentsHigh individual creativity When those characteristics guide your thinking, the notion that there can be an innovation “strategy” seems…quaint. Like saying Van Gogh needed a “painting strategy.”And if you subscribe to those notions, there must be a fait accompli aspect to your view on innovation inside companies. It will happen, or it won’t. Throw your hands up, hope you’ve got the right creative people.As Gary Hamel said recently, “There is this ‘creative apartheid’ ingrained in the world. Some people are really creative, some aren’t. That’s BS.” A … Continue reading
