Innovation: The Who's Where's and How's

Ok, so now you have been in Innovation Management awhile my friend blurted out over dinner and wine…So, invent the killer product of the future, he posited. You know what the trends are and you now know how to build products and develop new business models... What is holding you back? My answer to this challenge is simply this. While I may have the desire, passion and intentions to build new products that address emerging trends, not everyone in the product planning cycle are of the same idea and neither are companies organized to truly utilize innovation management theories to their fullest. Most companies still have old product development tools based on gating systems and six sigma mandates that at times can kill product innovation. Innovation management, at least my version of it, is a super fast continuum with ideation at one end and product pilot testing at the other. The idea is to try new ideas and concepts and “fail them fast”, as it were, so as not to waste inordinate amoun...

Scientists say that we humans share approximately 98% of our DNA with Monkeys. If one analyzes every human feature one would also discover that the differences between us are very small and consists of hyper small variations on the same theme. We are very much alike; a little more length here, a little broader there, bigger eyes here, smaller eye lids there, a little darker, a little whiter, and on and on. Further, the differences in facial features are characterized by even smaller variations, really. And so it is in business. Excellence in service delivery is characterized by the very small things. I am of the opinion that if one really wants to make a difference in the innovation front one needs to make sure- first and foremost- that the basics are taking care of in the delivery of products and services for the simple reason that this is where the majority of service differentiators can happen. It is not enough to have an innovative service or product without innovative service deli...