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| Innovation Strategy | | |
3 Key Questions (and Answers!)
Nearly three-quarters of those firms that are the most successful with NPD (measured by sales and profits, for example) initiate product development efforts with specific strategic planning activities.
Yet strategy is complex and there is no magic formula to design and implement a successful innovation strategy. Many companies today face a dual challenge to incorporate new product development efforts for future growth while holding budgets at minimum expense levels just to survive poor economic conditions.
However, an overarching vector in any business is the strategic thrust. Approximately one-third of products that are commercialized fail to meet objectives. It is imperative that an innovation culture is supported by business and innovation strategies striving for top-line growth.
In this article, we will probe three key questions regarding the innovation strategy.
- Who is responsible for strategy?
- What tools are used to implement strategy?
- What do I do if there's no guidance?
Download the full white paper for just $8.95 (tax included).
GNPS Premier Members can access the full paper here. |
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Greetings!
Welcome 2012!
As we welcome in a new year, I wish you all the best in both your professional and personal lives. This issue of The Village will help you focus on core strategic capabilities for the new year (see the featured article below).
 2011 was a great year for Global NP Solutions and we are celebrating the start of our 3rd year of this information-packed newsletter. Yet, we want to continue to improve and deliver the best services to you. Please take a moment to complete a survey on what you like best (and what we can do to improve) The Village, your monthly newsletter for the global NPD community. It will only take 90 seconds - I promise! Access the survey now.
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Innovation Fun Fact | |
How is Money Made?
As we enter a new year, many businesses set their financial goals. But do you really know how money is made? In the United  States, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing has two facilities (Washington D.C. and Fort Worth, Texas) that produce all paper currency for the 12 Federal Reserve banks. Once printed, stacks of 100 sheets are cut into one-unit notes which are packaged into bricks of 40 units (or 40,000 notes!). Click on the image of money above for a short video to see money is made. (A short 2-minute video.) |
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Recommended Reading | | |
The Innovator's DNA (Dyer, Gregersen, and Christensen)
Co-authored by the best-selling Harvard Business Professor, Clayton Christensen, The Innovator's DNA looks at what behavioral characteristics make individuals more successful at innovation.
 The study demonstrates that 2/3 of creativity for innovation comes from behaviors and can be enhanced by focusing on associating, questioning, observing, networking, and experimenting.
Based on the personal exercises in this book, I've started doing the Word Jumble in the morning newspaper to help boost my own creativity through new word associations. I bet you'll find a great tip in this book, too!
Incidentally, The Innovator's DNA is our current selection at The Innovator's Book Club, a Linked In group for innovators. Come on over and join the conversation! |
| 5 Steps to Identify... | | |
...Your Strategic Capabilities
Innovation doesn't happen by accident.The very best innovators, like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Michael Dell, have followed systematic processes to improve their own creative thinking and to enhance their corporate sustainability. That is, understanding their core competencies. Core capabilities are considered to be fundamental to the business if they strategically differentiate a firm against its competitors.
What made Microsoft, Apple, and Dell successful? A clear understanding of their strategic competencies led these firms to concentrate on specific technologies with delivery to clearly defined markets with a value that allowed them an advantage over any other existing competitor.
While the path to success is never easy, the systematic process itself is simple. By identifying your organization's strategic core competencies, you can focus on more efficient New Product Development (NPD) for a motivated customer base. An effective innovation strategy starts from what the company is good at, not from what it would like to be good at. Innovation revitalizes the core strengths of the business. Five steps to identify your core capabilities are:
- Articulating the Passion (or Mission),
- Observing and Connecting,
- Assessing Technology,
- Utilizing Unique Business Processes, and
- Executing with Superiority.
Download the full white paper for just $8.95 (tax included). Download Now
GNPS Premier Members can access this thought leadership paper in pdf format. |
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