Innovative Issues
Innovation Focus Inc.
March 2007
Hi,
Finally, we're able to dig ourselves out of the snow and ice. (Any new innovations for snow removal out there?) Now the sun is shining, the temperature is heating up, and the new edition of Innovative Issues is waiting in your Inbox. Is there any better indicator that Spring is on the way and life is grand? We think not...
- New Board Members at Innovation Focus!
- Retrospective on the Front End of Innovation
- Article Links
- Speeches and Conferences
- Quote of the Month
- Responses from Jan/Feb's Quote of the Month
- Innovative Exercise of the Month
The New Year brought a rare and exciting event to Innovation Focus. Anne Orban and Bree Gillespie have been appointed to the Innovation Focus Executive Board. This achievement recognizes the visionary leadership, strategic thinking and extraordinary motivation that Anne and Bree contribute in keeping Innovation Focus at the forefront of new product development. The addition of new Members to the Innovation Focus Executive Board marks an outstanding accomplishment indeed. We hope you will take the time to congratulate Anne and Bree on their new adventures on the Innovation Focus Executive Board as they continue to excel in meeting the needs of our clients and helping to guide Innovation Focus into the future.
To read Anne's bio on our website, click here or to send a note of congratulations, email Anne.
To send Bree a note of congratulations, email her, or read her bio on our website by clicking here.
By Anne Orban M.Ed., NPDP
In this month’s feature article, Anne Orban talks about how the Front End of Innovation has evolved over the past 20 years and the techniques Innovation Focus uses to bring clarity to the ‘fuzzy’ front end. To read Anne's article, click here.
Here are some links we recommend:
- Considering Six Sigma vs. Innovation – This article explains how Six Sigma and Innovation are different methods that beget different types of results. It shows how companies don't have to choose between the two -- innovation and Six Sigma can coexist. One way to do this is to develop an ‘ambidextrous organization” (see HBR, April 2004). Innovation Focus experienced this with WD40 when we helped its Team Tomorrow develop 3 very successful new products. (contact dheckel@innovationfocus.com for WD40 case study)
- Open Innovation Blueprint - Ten Commandments of Change Management for an organization looking to implement Open Innovation.
- Roofs Paved with Green – Installing plants as part of your roof? Sounds crazy doesn’t it? This article explains how “green roofs” can improve the environment around a building and lessen the burden on sewer systems.
- Top 10 Retail Ideas of 2006 – Springwise.com, a website that scans the globe for the most promising business ventures, ideas and concepts ready for regional or international adaptation, expansion, partnering, investments or cooperation, lists their 10 most innovative ideas from 2006 in the retail sector.
Growth Strategies Seminar
LAST CHANCE TO SIGN UP!!!
When: March 16, 2007
Where: The Barn at Overlook Golf Course - Lancaster, PA
Growth Strategies is our annual seminar focused on innovation. This year’s topic is “Your Customer’s Role in Innovation – Then and Now”. We invite you to come celebrate and join our roundtable discussion on Current Issues for Innovation as well as networking with other minds from the New Product Development field. Please click here for speaker and content information.
If you would like to reserve a space, Email or call Debbie Heckel at (717) 394-2500.
Christopher Miller, Ph.D. at Elizabethtown College
Chris Miller will be speaking at Elizabethtown College in Elizabethtown, PA on Thursday, March 15th.
Front End of Innovation Conference
May 8th-11th | Boston, MA
Innovation Focus will have a booth at the 5th annual Front End of Innovation Conference at the Sheraton Boston in Boston, MA. Details about our booth to follow. For more information on the conference or to register, please visit www.frontendofinnovation.com.
"Innovation is not the product of logical thought, although the result is tied to logical structure." - Albert Einstein
What is your reaction to this quote? How does this month's quote affect you? Email your comments and reactions to us and your response may be published in next month's issue.
Responses From Last Month’s Quote of the Month
A lot of you had something to say about last month's Quote of the Month from Bill Gates: “Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.” Here are a few responses:
"...provided there's feedback. One person tells a friend, who tells two others and they tell two others, as the saying goes. Companies, whether product or service, need a clear and direct mechanism for consumers to lodge their unhappiness - quickly. It may be an army of phone wielding customer service reps, an Internet link or personal visit that's employed. All using a clever boilerplate of questions to better narrow down the (customer)." - Russ Pollman, Product Developer for Industrial Trademark
"Re. the quote, how about unhappy potential customers. The business press, CNBC, the WSJ, etc. are often critical of organizations that are behind in innovation. "They don't have enough in the pipeline" is one common concern. Top management can't be happy and may be ripe for a pitch by a proven new products organization." - Al Carlson
Think of a problem or task that needs to be addressed. Now think of your favorite movie or TV show, it doesn't matter which. List descriptive words for it. Why is it a favorite? What aspects of it do you enjoy the most? If this movie or show were an illustration of how to solve your task, what would the ideas be?
Did this excursion help you with a problem? Let us know about it! Email your success stories to us and you may get published in the next Innovative Issues.
Article Links
Speeches and Conferences