Even after 20 years of study, it appears that innovation management is still in its infancy. Based on my experience, large companies are regressing in their ability to effectively innovate. Processes that people tend to think are critical for an effective, efficient, low cost competitive business tend to stifle innovation, especially the game changing moves. […]
Why is Innovation so Difficult?
Many times I have heard CEO’s and senior management lament that they are just not getting the return on their R&D investment that they expect. There are not enough breakthrough products or services that spawn significant new growth for the organization. The deficiency may not be with one’s R&D team or one’s Marketing team. The […]
How To Get Better Returns On Your R&D Investment
The Industrial Research Institute surveys its member companies each year about the biggest problems facing them. The results are surprisingly consistent year over year. The top biggest problems are: 1. Growing the business through Innovation 2. Accelerating innovation 3. Attracting & retaining R&D Talent 4. Balancing the short-term and long-term objectives. Innovation is the lifeblood […]
Data Overload – Information Deprivation
Large and small organizations are overwhelmed with tremendous amounts of data generated and stored on their internal networks. It often seems that the computer network and servers are bogged down by the sheer volume of the data flow. What can be done to translate this plethora of data into sensible and actionable information that can […]
To Grow You MUST Innovate
Recently, I read an article entitled “Innovation Nation” by Robert Atkinson. It can be located at www.democracyjournal.org/innovation-nation Atkinson talks about the difference between neo classical economics and Innovation Economics. The article claims that neo-economics view of the world is dead. What seemed to be an effective model since the Great Depression, actually does not well […]
Managing Radical Innovation
Drs Sethi and Iqbal published a very interesting article recently in the Journal of Marketing (vol. 72; January 2008; pgs 118-134) entitled “Stage-Gate Controls, Learning, Failure, and Adverse Effects on Novel New Products”. I led R&D groups and studied radical innovation for many years and this is one of the few studies that examines the […]
What Is Technology Road Mapping?
It is a process to visually and somewhat quantitatively examine the possible paths for development of a technology, a platform, a process, or a product. It helps you systematically determine the technical challenges, ask the last questions first and determine the most efficient and economic approach to advancing the technology or platform for a process […]