Heads-Up! on Organizational Innovation

Tom Peter's 5 P's of Innovation

Valarie Willis, principal with the Tom Peters Company tells us that Tom has come up with five P's of Innovation Success. She states, "As I read them, I thought about how I have believed for quite awhile
that innovation comes as a result of Pain, Passion or Need.  Usually one of the three will move us to do something new, different and creative.  Of course, Tom always has a different take on things so
here are his 5 P's:"

Pissed-offedness - Something that makes you so mad, that you decide enough is enough, let's fix this!  Dick Nettel of Bank of America tells the story of how people had to press a buzzer to get in and out of the mail room at the bank. The buzzer was 'important' for security reasons.  They figured out a way around that buzzer,Dick said, 'it was like a light bulb went off,fix the problem."

Passion - Passion drives most non-profit companies, so why not organizations?  Dyson who invented the first vacuum that wouldn't lose suction was passionate about his invention, even though it scared the other vacuum companies. The other vacuum companies couldn't imagine a bagless vacuum, after all, bags were worth millions in sales.  Dyson almost went broke bringing his vacuum to market. Passion prevailed.

Pals - Never go it alone. If you want to go out on the limb, be sure to have someone holding on to you so that you don't fall.  LeJeune from Fabcon manufacturing came up with an idea to make concrete panels for building lighter.  He had two other Fabcon employees in on the idea, who served as sounding boards. The company eventually created a new product called VersaCore, which according to Gallup helped the company to stay in business.

Politics - What is it that no one likes, it exists everywhere, and everyone is guilty of it but me? Politics would be the right answer.  Think of politics like gaining sponsorship, and as a way to get your idea 'sold' in the corporate marketplace. We all need influential people who can help market and sell a good idea.  Every project needs a project sponsor or champion

Persistence - Most ideas will get shot down before a person finish speaking, but those who prevail will not give up on an idea.  There were two sisters who invented a product called Ghostline, this is a poster board with faint lines so that you can write straight on the paper, but it looks as if no lines exist.  They invented this product after helping their young relative with a science project where they had to start over several times to get it right.  They stayed with their idea until they found a paper company that would produce it for them. Their persistence paid off, they now get royalty checks in the mail, from not only the company that is producing the paper, but from a competitor that tried to copy their idea!

If you want Tom's PowerPoint slides on innovation, you can download them from his site:
http://www.tompeters.com/slides/uploaded/TRY_It_072407.ppt

It's Never "Either/Or"

From Joyce Wycoff:

One of my favorite innovation quotes is that innovation is never "either/or;" it’s always "both/and" so it’s always interesting to see opposite ideas come into play.  This happened today as I read Amy Rowell’s thoughtful piece in Innovate Forum Daily (http://www.innovateforum.com/innovate/)  about the negative effects of process-focus at 3M and then participated in the first Ignite Innovation! web seminar featuring Carol Pletcher, former chief innovation officer at Cargill.  Amy discussed the effects of the Six Sigma program instituted by former 3M CEO James McNerney and a former 3Mer’s comment that the Post-It note would never have survived the new system.  The point of the article is that process can stifle creativity and innovation.  All too true.

However, Carol Pletcher in her presentation on innovation "bottle necks" states that companies have to look at where the bottlenecks are before developing a strategy for improving the flow of innovation.  Using an example where revenue is going up but margins are going down, she explained that the bottleneck might be efficiency and cost controls.  In that situation, the best innovation might be the implementation of a Six Sigma or lean manufacturing program.

So, the question isn’t process OR lack of process ... it’s about knowing what tools (or processes) to use when.  As Maslow said, "A man with a hammer in his hand sees every problem as a nail."  Unfortunately, it seems that McNerney tended to hit every issue with a Six Sigma-like approach rather than identifying the bottleneck that was impeding the flow of innovation and then developing an innovation approach that fits the specific situation.

The next Ignite Innovation! web seminar will be held July 17th at 1:00 pm Eastern.  "Developing an Innovative View" with JoAnn and Jim Carland, professors and experts on entrepreneurship, and Susie deVille Schiffli, founder of InnovationCompass.   Register at http://www.iirusa.com/convergence ... click on web seminars.  (Registration for this web seminar will open in a few days.)

Learning from Schools

From Joyce Wycoff:

Recently I've had the opportunity to work with a group of people who are planning a new high school in my area.  Their commitment is to create an "innovative and creative" learning environment so I've had a great time researching what's going on in the area of high school education ... and there is a lot.  If you're at all interested in this area, I've gathered a lot of information, articles and videos
into a New High Schools blog.

All of this has reminded me of the commonality of certain principles of innovation in all arenas.  One example comes from the School of the Future, a new Philadelphia school developed with assistance from Microsoft.  Mary Cullinane was the head of the project for Microsoft and she maintained a blog throughout the process.  The following is her post just before the opening of the school where she lists six lessons learned, lessons that are applicable to any innovation project:

Chronicle 10 - The Calm Before the Storm -- 

And when people are inspired, amazing things can happen.

Well, it has been a while since I have written. However, in 5 days, this school is going to open and I couldn’t allow that to happen without some reflection. So, what have we learned?

1.  People first -- everything else later. As a result of this project, I’ve been interviewed by a fair share of reporters. I’ve given a few speeches, and have spoken with educators from around the world. And there is nothing that I am more certain about than this… -- The School of the Future will open on September 7th because we had the right PEOPLE on the project. They were passionate, focused on kids, willing to try new things and worked harder than ever. Finding the right people ... Getting them on board... and then helping them cross the finish line is how great things happen. And it is certainly what allowed this school to open.

2.  Politics and coalition building are necessary levers.  The past three years has brought many challenges. Some more significant than others. And most had to do with politics and bureaucracy. During those critical points, our ability to not only identify the person who could remove the obstacle, but also have a pre-existing relationship with them, was critical. I can’t imagine what I would have done without the support and responsiveness of district leaders.

3.  This is hard. It shouldn’t have been this hard. It shouldn’t take a miracle to build a great school in an urban community. It shouldn't be an exhausting experience, leaving participants tired and frustrated. It needs to be easier. We need more agile learning organizations. We need to figure out a better balance between control and creativity. We need to create an environment that is inspirational, not just functional. We need governance structures and public policy that set high standards, but also provide resource to achieve them.

4.  Hope matters. This school was willed into completion. As the months progressed, more and more individuals jumped on board. More were motivated by the thought of creating something that hadn’t been created before. People were inspired. And when people are inspired, amazing things can happen. We need more inspiration in our schools. We need to fill district offices, hallways, community centers, neighborhoods with a sense of hope, We need to communicate a message that we understand the challenges, but that we are ready to take them on.

5.  You have to ask the question. If you want to bring reform ... ask. If you want to try something new ... ask. If you want to change the status quo ... ask. This project would never have come to fruition if Paul Vallas hadn’t ask the question, "What if...?."  9 out of 10 times, the answer will probably be no. But if that one time the response returned is yes ... all the years of being turned down just became worth while.

6.  It’s the journey ... September 7th will be amazing. But it will pale in comparison to the moments experienced over the past three years. I’m pretty sure I will never have the opportunity to be part of something like this again. (I don’t think I’ll be up to it ...) However, the past three years have been the chance of a lifetime. I hope I have served it well.

More info about Mary Cullinane:  http://marycullinane.com

Organizing for Open Innovation

From Cheryl Perkins, former Chief Innovation Officer for Kimberly Clark:

Cheryl Perkins is a thought leader in innovation and a creative catalyst in brand-building initiatives that contribute to rewarding consumer experiences and improved business performance.  She was named one of Business Week's top 25 leaders in innovation.  She and Soren Kaplan will be presenting a web seminar sharing their experiences and insights on February 22nd.  More info here.

Do you have the in-house capabilities to deliver a pipeline of innovations that deliver new to your company and new to the world solutions?  Are you structured to leverage the capabilities and expertise of others outside your company to deliver innovations?  Many C-suite executives are answering “No” to these questions.  They are struggling with creating value for their shareholders while maximizing their speed to market with their existing traditional R&D and marketing organizational structures.

I think many of us will agree that it is becoming harder and harder to meet corporate growth objectives.  Organizational design is one lever you have that can enable you to deliver a pipeline of innovations for existing businesses and in new white spaces. The innovation processes, systems, and tools maybe in place but many lack critical competencies,  expertise in new and emerging products, technologies, solution designs, brands and channel access and have insufficient time to deliver the required top line growth.  There is often an inability to reallocate resources and dollars to build these competencies internally.  The answer is to develop the infrastructure to access these solutions externally. Dedicate a few talented resources to focusing on looking outside the boundaries of the company for ideas, intellectual property and solutions.

The cross functional team of collaborative resources can be chartered to think broadly about “what” a potential solution is, which is much more important than “where “ the solution came from.  The organizational structure should be designed to leverage the diverse expertise and deliver capabilities in the areas of in-licensing, out-licensing, joint developments, partnering/alliances, venture capital and brokering.  The team should be charged with identifying external sources of innovation and helping with the demise of “not invented here” that may exist within the company.   You will be amazed by the many successful win-win collaborations that will be created by an open innovation model.  The solutions delivered by the team will be truly differentiated and meaningful innovations with short cycle times.  Organizational design coupled with the open innovation model will fill internal capability gaps and increase business output.

The Peril of Ignoring Stakeholders

From: Jonathan Vehar

On January 4, 2007 theWall Street Journal reported that Robert Nardelli resigned as chairman and chief executive officer of Home Depot.  While he is credited with more than doubling sales during his six years in charge, he was criticized for not providing a return to shareholders and for receiving an expensive compensation package.  In an interview, he noted that he had gotten "too focused on the idea that you do your job, you take care of your numbers and the rest will take care of itself."

The WSJ analysis was that he hadn’t paid attention to all of the stakeholders that are now important for CEOs to respond to.  Stakeholders such as "shareholder advocates, hedgefunds, probate-equity deal makers, legislators, regulators, attorneys general, non-governmental organizations and countless others..."  Mr. Nardelli says that this is an attack on the capitalist system, that "the things that got us to where we are are under attack."  This may be true, yet these are the stakeholders to which CEOs at P&G, GE and Wal-Mart pay close attention, and for which they receive praise.

Nardelli’s departure points out the reality of an increasingly linked, smaller/flatter world, in which it’s easier to find out what is happening anywhere, and where more people have a bully pulpit and a voice that cannot be stifled.

My point is not whether or not this is a good thing, but rather that the importance of listening to stakeholders is critical for success and -- here’s the key --  innovation. (The "Think 360" InnovationIgniter module is all about how identify stakeholders and bring them into the innovation process.)  Whether or not you’re the CEO, a junior analyst, the Ops Director, an assistant brand manager, or a fry cook, ignoring the people with influence is perilous.  Not only do you ignore the weaknesses in and threats to your position, projects and company, but you also miss out on fresh perspectives on leverageable strengths and opportunities.   And that is where innovation lives.

More information about Jonathan Vehar and New & Improved at
http://newandimproved.com/about/vehar.php

More information about InnovationIgniter at
http://innovationigniter.com

Google Notion of Innovation

From Joyce Wycoff:

Everyone wants innovation; few want to allow the thinking time required to make it happen.  Google is an exception ... no wonder it's earnings are in the stratosphere.  Try this notion on for size:  Employees get a "free" day a week. Sound radical?  Google states that half of all new launches come from this "20% time."  This is one notion of the 9 developed by Marissa Mayer.  See the rest here.

BusinessWeek Online states: Marissa Mayer helps run one of the world's most innovative companies by being an amazing talent finder. As Google's vice-president for search products and user experience, she is the last stop before founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin on the way to final approval of any new feature that appears on the Web's most valuable real estate.

Four Directions of Innovation

From Soren Kaplan:

Despite the 122,000,000 hits you’ll get from a Google search on the term “innovation”, the field is relatively fresh – No one has “the answer” and, one could argue, no company has really gotten it “right” – if they did, we’d all just emulate the model and that would be that.

As the world changes, so does the field of innovation. It used to be that products and processes consumed the vast majority of the innovation air-time within most companies. Today, we’re seeing four directions that are starting to yield strategic fruit for the early innovation adopters. To the extent that these directions provide new avenues of insight, exploration and opportunity, they represent emerging innovations within the field of innovation:

Open Innovation – Whereas the old model of R&D-focused innovation assumed that new ideas, technologies, products and services needed to be developed in-house, open innovation turns this assumption on its head. With open innovation, creating approaches to scan for, uncover, source, and leverage outside ideas is the key to sustained growth. Henry Chesbrough, a professor at UC Berkeley, and author of Open Innovation coined the term, and has recently extended the concept to include open business models. In today’s networked global economy, firms that embrace the principles of open innovation will clearly have a leg up on those that believe all the smart people work inside their corporate campus.

Design Innovation – You know that industrial design has found its place when Fortune 500 companies like Samsung, Ford, HP, P&G and others instill Chief Creative Officers and Chief Design Officers to lead their innovation efforts. Business schools like Stanford have created design programs. And this year’s Davos gathering featured a special workshop series on the topic. Whereas “design” used to be equivalent with “industrial design”, its scope has expanded to include “experience design” which can include anything from designing user interfaces to defining service and support offerings to orchestrating value-added experiences that surprise and delight customers (http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/jan2005/nf2005013_8303.htm).

You Innovation – When Time Magazine named “You” as the person of the year, we all achieved our 15 minutes of fame, together.  And that’s what it’s all about – collective innovation.  From Flickr to YouTube, we’ve seen the role of social networking and user-generated content in value creation.  Companies that find ways to harness word-of-mouth marketing, social networks, and “You” will create new forms of value in our networked economy (OK, maybe THEY’RE not creating it, but at least they’re benefiting from it).

Socially Responsible Innovation - With global warming, the looming healthcare crisis, rampant childhood obesity, and other social ills, we’ve finally seen the light (or at least the glimmer of a candle) – business should be able to make money while at the same time providing a broader benefit to people, the community and the environment.  Wal-Mart’s pushing it.  Business schools are teaching it (www.worldinquiry.org). Business ventures and social responsibility are not paradoxical and don’t have to be at odds.  In fact, finding ways to creatively integrate the two can create compelling strategic differentiation in the market – just ask Ben & Jerry’s, Patagonia, the Body Shop, and especially Interface http://www.fastcompany.com/online/14/sustaing.html).  Given that scientists just discovered a substantial breakaway crack in the perennial sea ice of the North Pole, we’re sure to see more socially responsible innovation in the future.

Just like the world, innovation is complex.  While new products, services and technologies are always important, the field of innovation is about much more.  Sustained value creation relies on innovating how we innovate.  That’s what real innovation is all about.

Repackaged Value

Even on our remote island off the coast of Belize, we saw innovation at work.  One shelf of the dining room had a small offering of common drug store remedies.  My ear was clogged after diving so I went looking for relief and found the two items shown.  The contents are exactly the same but the packaging is different ... and the price differential is radically different.  Admittedly, Swim Ear is a little easier to get into your ear, but is it worth paying 10-20 times the price?  Something to think about.

Perfection and Innovation

From Joyce Wycoff:  I've just returned from a trip that prompted a lot of thought about perfection.  For several years, Richard and I talked about kayaking in Belize but never quite got around to it so I wanted to complete that loop.  The thought of warm water, beautiful fish and long, slow days seemed to be perfect.  Fortunately, my long-time friend, Lynne Snead (co-author of "To Do ... Doing ... Done!") is a kayaker and open to new adventures so we quickly signed up for 9 days on Long Caye island in Glover's Reef atoll off the southern coast of Belize.

Long Caye is in the midst of a marine preserve so the resort is very "low-impact" conscious.  Perfect ... but it also means that electricity is limited,  showers are delivered by rainwater in large barrels, the two composting toilets are a trek away and ice cubes are not an option.  The thatched roof cabins sit right at the water's edge, perfectly positioned for glorious sunrises ... but also drafty and noisy as the squalls blew through almost every night.    The perfect, remote location two and a half hours off the coast of Belize meant that we practically had our paradise world to ourselves ... it also meant we couldn't get off the island to do something else when the weather dictated something other than kayaking, snorkeling or diving.

So, while we both agreed that this was a perfect vacation, we also thought a lot about what "perfect" really means and how the definition of perfect changes.  It often means a rather precarious balancing point on a spectrum between two opposites.   Long Caye is a perfect, unspoiled retreat from civilization and offers an escape from television, phones, email, news and the information tsunami that washes over us every day.  And, yet, after awhile perfection begins to look like warm beds, hot showers, indoor plumbing and even the mindless advent of the new season of Americon Idol.

Perhaps we're just fickle -- today I want remote, rustic and pristine; tomorrow I want bright lights, bustling street corners and the grit of too many people living too close together.  It's something to keep in mind as we thread our way through the innovation maze.  Sometimes we want a cell phone that's also a camera, a television, an internet access, a music box and a status symbol.  Sometimes we just want a cell phone where we can see the numbers to dial.

It's all about PEOPLE

From: Jonathan Vehar

I was just at the Chicago PDMA’s excellent conference on innovation.  I enjoyed a presentation by Guy Merritt from Tellabs, who is their Broadband Products Division Director of Engineering.  Here’s a man who clearly loves their fiber-optic telecom product, revels in the engineering process, and can talk about the intricacies of VOIP, SIP VDSL, VDSL2, MoCA, and many other things I don’t pretend to understand. 

What I loved about his presentation, and which was wholeheartedly echoed by Roger Jellicoe the "father" of the brilliant Motorola RAZR wireless phone, was that after 18 years or managing engineering projects in the high-tech arena, he realized the most important thing in developing new products was the people, not the process.  In other words, people are the most important tool available to bring forth innovation.  "All the product development books are bunk," said Jellicoe.  My provocative reflection: the books and processes tend to focus on the lowest common denominator of people and try to manage them.  Instead I say, let the individual greatness of people shine through to bring forth innovation.

I realized at the Innovation Immersion this year that there are too many people focusing on Innovation as the end, not a means to an end.  After all, innovation is an enabler for business growth, and should be regarded that way.  We’ve been working deliberately with our clients to figure out what innovation means to them and why they want to spend resources to make it happen.  With a medical device company that we’re working with, we’re sitting down with a team leader to deliberately plan the following: 1) what’s the desired outcome? 2) how will you know when you’ve achieved it?  3) what are the measurements along the way, and 4) how will you share this with everybody? 

Cutting edge?  No, but it’s missing in the innovation efforts of too many companies with which we come into contact.  It seems that there is a fear of drawing a line in the sand to which people will be held accountable.  Is it risky?  Yes.  But remember: what gets measured gets done.  Your people deserve nothing less.