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By Craig Vogel,
Professor,
University of
Cincinnati, Jonathan Cagan,
Ph.D., Professor,
Carnegie-Mellon
University,and Peter Boatwright,
Ph.D., Associate
Professor, Carnegie-
Mellon University
In our first book, Creating Breakthrough
Products, we addressed the issues of
managing the “fuzzy front end” of new
product development. In our new book,
The Design of Things to Come, we address
the larger issue of managing innovation,
which has replaced quality as the number
one priority for Fortune 500s, and is
the goal of most medium and small
companies.We found that the understanding
of innovation is just as vague
and inconsistent as the perception of
early product development. Our goal
was to bring some clarity to the topic
and try to support CEOs, VPs, and directors
in developing strategies for innovation.
The key challenge is that today
management is “drinking through a fire
hose.” The sheer volume and force of
information is oppressive, and speed to
market is overwhelming.We set out to
see if we could redirect the “fire hose”
into manageable streams of information,
making it possible to plan and direct
innovative strategies for new services and
product development.
Most executives today are poorly prepared
to manage the innovation process.
One individual that we interviewed uses
an approach he refers to as pragmatic
innovation—an ability to use both the
left and right brain in planning, management,
and execution. This approach
requires balancing an eye for new ideas
that stretch convention and set new
trends, as well as managing the goals of
the bottom line. As if that was not
enough, it also requires managing, evolving,
reinvigorating, or creating brand
equity.
As authors, we represent design, business,
and engineering, and we sought to develop insights from case studies of
successful leaders that would be of benefit
to all three areas.We discovered that
executives and entrepreneurs that are
thriving in this era of innovation have
some common key attributes. They are
educated in one area of thinking—either
qualitative or quantitative—and have a
complementary background that provides
them the other perspective. True
innovation requires a balance of both
quantitative and qualitative processes.
The concept of “suits and creatives” is
no longer viable. One cannot afford to
be a pure statistically-based hands-off
decision maker. Creative insights must
be connected to customer value and not
simply the result of “talent” operating in
isolation and throwing concepts over the
wall to marketing and engineering.
Leaders must learn that maintaining
brand relationships between companies
and customers is dynamically connected
to innovation strategies.
The last subtle key dimensions of
successful innovation are love of complexity,
and ability to maintain poise
under pressure. Some managers thrive
on hitting anything that is thrown at
them—fast balls, curves, even the occasional
knuckle ball. Managing innovation
in the current global economy
requires flexibility, balance, ability to
mediate complexity, and reacting to constant
changes. This requires a new dialogue
between practice and education to
help individuals understand their full
potential and the value of teamwork.
The new breed of executives is analogous
to kayakers that enjoy shooting the
rapids. They are prepared for the challenge,
enjoy the speed, make split-second decisions, and can turn upside down
underwater and then right themselves on
the run.
This article originally appeared in the Spring 2005 issue of DMI News & Views. |
