To push an idea through the formal corporate structure, innovators are often met with insurmountable obstacles.
These obstacles are often disguised as proper operating procedures or formal processes. If the idea is complex or not fully developed, the innovator may not know what to do with it. Without stated company business objectives, most managers will not understand how the idea may benefit the company. Most corporate systems tend to frustrate innovators – as a result they tend to keep their ideas to themselves.
Problems such as these are not new nor are they unique. The stress of navigating ideas through the corporate maze is oftentimes inexpedient and inefficient, and potentially destructive to the innovator and the company. Instead of encouraging innovation and creative thinking, many corporate systems unintentionally discourage the practice.
Built on processes successfully used at 3M and Kodak, this article introduces a method to promote ideas within organizations. The process nourishes creativity by surfacing ideas from employees and cultivating innovative product development.
The two eyes
Invention and Innovation are often confused with each other. Some believe that they are synonymous, or at least close, but in fact they are very different. Invention is often a solitary, individual process. The inventor’s idea may have little value to anyone else in the world but to the creator. On the other hand, innovation is a social adventure where interaction with others is vital and economic rewards a strong motivator. Joel Mokyr believes “[w]ithout invention, innovation will eventually slow down and grind to a halt… [w]ithout innovation, inventors will lack focus and have little economic incentive to pursue new ideas.”
Ideas can come from anywhere. You will likely remember that some of your best ideas have emerged to you during sleep or in the shower. Researchers have suggested several reasons for this phenomenon:
- you were not thinking of the problem at the time
- you were relaxed
- you were in a different state of consciousness
Most agree that the brain had been ‘incubating’ the idea all along. Somewhere in the back of your mind the thoughts were churning away and eventually you experienced the “aha!” factor when unrelated thoughts collided to combine a creative brainstorm.
Realizing Ideas
The skills to transform creative ideas into tangible products are somewhat different from the right-brain skills to create novel ideas. Innovation is the process that follows the conception of a novel idea, often involving more people that bring different skill sets to the table. Rosenfeld and Servo[1] define innovation as:
Innovation = Conception + Invention + Exploitation
“In this context, the word ‘conception’ refers to an idea that is novel with respect to some frame of reference (individual, departmental, organizational, or all accumulated knowledge); the word ‘invention’ applies to any novel idea that is transformed into reality; and the word ‘exploitation’ refers to getting the most out of an invention.”
Thus, the challenge set before teams and companies is two-fold: 1) How to nurture original ideas within a bureaucracy and 2) how to be effective in the transformation of creative ideas into product.
Traditional Roles
The traditional innovator role at many companies has been the ‘champion.’ If you are not familiar with the term, champions are usually individuals that promote and support a mission usually on behalf of others. Product Managers are the closest example of champions. There are no formal pay grades or classifications for champions since they have no definition nor responsibility on the job classification chart. This is not to belittle the potential effectiveness of champions as they often legitimize an idea by serving as a bridge between the idea creator and the traditional company organization.
As mentioned above, ideas can come from anywhere. It is important to note that ideas, and the innovations that materialize from them, do not necessarily have to be directly associated with the current product line to be significant. For instance, prototyping is a process that enables teams to test out ideas quickly. While not a product, prototyping enables teams to quickly test ideas potentially saving many months of work.
The importance of innovation is considerable for survival and undisputed in highly-charged technical worlds. It follows, then, that the cultivation of an environment that encourages and facilitates innovation is the predominant objective to attain and sustain strategic visions. Companies must officially create, develop, implement and support new processes that allow employees to freely propose new ideas. Processes that guarantee employees the opportunity to be actively involved in the development of their ideas is also a critical step to establish an environment where innovation can flourish.
Empowered Innovation
A dilemma within any organization is what to do with ideas and innovations that do not fit under the current corporate strategic umbrella. Often potentially profitable ideas are discarded unconsciously originator because the innovation appeared to be a misfit with the company’s core competency. Oftentimes, new technological ideas will not be developed because existing technology development prevents their introduction. One reason why young companies do so well at introducing new technology is because they are more adept at performing the entrepreneurial function.
This proposal assumes that a company can maintain two different strategic processes simultaneously: the current strategy designed by senior management called: induced strategy; and a more entrepreneurially spirited concept called autonomous strategy[4]. Both combine to produce the concept of the company’s strategic direction. Tee autonomous strategy offers entrepreneurs the official independence of developing their idea concurrently with projects sanctioned by the company. This widens the company’s strategic breadth and enables the benefit from both the company’s planned strategic intent and fortuitous entrepreneurial ventures.
The official groundwork of this proposal was done at the Office of Innovation first adopted by Kodak and additional ideas initiated by 3M. Kudos and humble thanks to those at Kodak and 3M for their leadership in the arena. Here is the foundation for Empowered Innovation:
- All ideas are fragile and valuable and deserve an environment that allows growth to blossom naturally
- The idea originator needs assistance in enhancing and promoting the idea.
- The idea originator is responsible for the development of an idea and should be actively involved in this development
- Idea originators are essential for company growth.
The Process
Idea Team
Empowered Innovation is promoted and implemented by a “Facilitator” in each area within the company. The Facilitator, often a person in management, functions as an advocate for the Idea Originator and as a helmsman to help steer the Idea Originator and the Innovation Team through corporate waters. First, the Idea Originator meets with the appropriate Facilitator to discuss the idea. The Facilitator’s role is to ask probing questions about the idea; for instance: how is it innovative? what are the benefits to the company? how will it be implemented? After the meeting, if the Idea Originator would like to proceed, he or she must then complete a short description of the idea. The paper generated is called the Idea Proposal.
The Idea Proposal is distributed to a group of Consultants[5-10] that are experts in the area of the innovation and dedicated to furthering innovation at the company. At least one member of the group of Consultants should be a representative from a peripheral discipline. The Idea Proposal will also be accompanied by a questionnaire (generated by the Idea Originator in cooperation with the Facilitator) requesting comments from the Consultants. The questions will range from technological feasibility, market responses, to areas of improvement, potential off-shoots and answers to question posed by the Facilitator.
The Consultant’s written contributions are then reviewed and critiqued at the next meeting of the Idea Originator and the Facilitator. The goal of the meeting is to decide a preliminary plan of action or possible scenarios of developing the idea further. This process can be repeated. The decision to proceed is always made by the Idea Originator.
Innovation Team
IF the decision is made to investigate the idea further, a meeting (or series of meetings) is arranged with the Idea Originator, the Facilitator and the group of Consultants. This team is referred as the Innovation Team. Before the meeting, the Idea Originator will have incorporated the relevant suggestions from the Consultants into the Idea Proposal. The meeting(s) will grant permission to gather more information on the subject and also allow some assistance of resources from the group of Consultants. If the meeting goes well, the next step may include prototype development or other types of experimentation to further research. Note that any time invested by all to this point is purely on voluntary basis. The Idea Proposal becomes enhanced over time as more information is gathered.
When all information is gathered an Implementation Plan is developed. The Implementation Plan consists of the initial Idea Proposal plus all relevant findings from the preceding activities of the Innovation Team. The objective of the Innovation Team at this stage is to find sponsorship for the idea. The innovation should be mature enough to be officially sanctioned by personnel with the company that can endorse the venture with money for the innovation. At this point, the voluntary basis of the idea has run out of steam. Transition of the idea from the information Innovation Team to official sponsor or champions is exercised.
Official Company Support
If sponsorship or a champion is found, the idea now becomes an official project of the company. At this point, the process of developing the product is determined by the project team, champion or department that has accepted the project. Figure 1 illustrates the entire process.
Keep ‘Em Comin’
It is important to realize that to be successful you must create a complete process at your company where innovations can become real product and be exploited throughout the marketplace. It is not enough to create a process for innovation without the processes to develop a plan for its exploitation.
Innovate and Augment
Market Augmentors are ones who take existing product and enhance, augment, or repackage the product in a new way. The interactive entertainment industry must consistently replenish product line with fresh creative software in a timely manner. I propose that 75% of all new entertainment product must contain a significant amount of innovation since consumers are so darn picky.
Market Innovators are ones who produce new products that spin new markets. To further new innovative products and markets I recommend 20% of each divisional sales within a 5-year period be derived from new products (not augmented products.) This requirement will hold Divisions accountable to actively pursue new product development by meeting their 20% quota.
Of course, you can define your own thresholds and limits for your specific company.
If You Don’t Succeed…
Sometimes ideas don’t appear to add value to the company. Many potential good and profitable ideas are tossed aside for various reasons. Perhaps the Idea Originator has not received the support from others that he feels the idea deserves. If an idea is not picked up by a sponsor, and the Idea Originator feels that it is a valuable enterprise to develop, the Idea Originator may spend 10% of his or her own time on the idea. There is no time limit. It is feasible that at a later date the idea can be resubmitted to a Facilitator for further consideration. (Important note: this method is derived from 3M, where PosIt Notes is the most famous product attributed to this rule.)
Incentives
An Incentive Plan is one way to demonstrate to employees that your company recognizes innovation is significant for success. Bonuses could be awarded to Idea Originators for an idea that makes it to the stage of seeking sponsorship. The idea does not have to be an official project for bonuses to be awarded.
Summary
Processes that encourage corporate innovations demands a new type of arrangement between the employee and the company. The new method that results will most likely produce new organizational structures that capitalize on the combination of the entrepreneurial spirit of creative individuals and the power and resources of the established organization. This is only possible if management understands the current systemic implications inherent in change and commit themselves to overcome these obstacles.
It is important to encourage idea creators to think and act like entrepreneurs and even strategists with company confines. It is meaningful for the company to support a new process that allows the freedom to pursue new ideas. The Empowered Innovation process will give employees this privilege and a process to maintain ownership of the idea throughout the life of the endeavor.
“Our plan is to lead the public with new products rather than ask them what kind of products they want. The public does not know what is possible, but we do. So instead of doing a lot of market research, we refine our thinking on a product and its use and try to create a market for it by educating and communicating with the public.”
Akio Morita, Sony Corporation[6]
References
[1] Rosenfeld, R. and Servo, Jl, Innovation and Creativity at Work (John Wiley & Son Ltd. 1990)
[2] Fuller, B. and Moncrief, R., Process and Technology Presentation (1994 Atari Games)
[3] Drucker, P., Harvard Business Review (May-June 1985)
[4] Burgelman R., Managing Corporate Entrepreneurship
[5] Fuller, B.,McCarthy. P., Moncrief, R., A New Spirit (1992 Atari Games)
[6]Morita, A., with Reingold E., Shimomura, M., Made In Japan (1986)
business processes, product management 