One Research Scientist at the Hewlett-Packard (HP) Imaging Systems laboratory said Carly Fiorina was a marketing person put in change of engineers who cared nothing about the art and beauty of technology. She just wanted saleable stock to bring to market. He exhorts that when she walked into the HP Labs for the first time, she said that their new company slogan was "Invent." Then, she told them that the technology industry would never again be as exciting and profitable as it was in the '90s. That they'd all need to grow up now and face that fact.
This was not the first time; a CEO had preferred cash to innovation. Carly's pitfall was taken care of, anyway. She has a point, though, while saying innovators need to have business sense. Especially when time is not that right for long-term R&D projects. Here is a list of five things innovators need to be sure that they are in place in order to make innovation worthwhile.
1. Innovation needs to reflect the company's macro and micro visions. Every company has one macro vision. Microsoft wants every computer's operating system to be running their software. Cisco says every network needs to be based on Internet Protocol and running over their products. It is not difficult to grasp that one sentence that defines why that company exists. Micro vision is a lot more difficult to get as it is a sophisticated message delivered to the market. Depending on innovator's access to the product marketing team, it may lead you to the right answer or to a dead end. No matter how organic and difficult the micro vision is; important move would be to look at the core values micro vision stands for. The question innovators need to answer is what are the trends that are unlikely to change over 5 years and build their dream over it.
2. Innovation is needed for competitive advantage, not for fun purposes. This is hard to get most times but innovation has a meaning for the company. Definitely that meaning is not fun or to show how geek of an R&D team the company has. The real meaning is; innovation puts company ahead of its competition. Innovator may not be excited with what s/he has at the end of the day because of the level of his/ her involvement with the project. However, as long as strategic value is delivered for the company, the job will be considered fully done. Innovation is to forge you ahead, not to excite its innovator where it will only be appealing to his/ her equivalents.
3. Innovation has two ends. Number 1 is innovating for the next-generation needs with an edge. Number 2 is making existing technology cheaper and/ or simpler. It is not so clever to follow sophistication over simplicity, because the winner is always the latter. Delivering sophisticated technology in a simple way is the greatest thing, an R&D team can deliver; if strategy is set as number 2. The truth is, Number 1 is enticing to an innovator but needs more time to deliver, while number 2 is boring but more effective for strategic purposes. Companies with R&D labs need to have a nice mixture of both to keep the excitement level at acceptable rates.
4. Every innovation has a time. The important thing is to flesh it out at the right time. If it is delivered early, it is called pupa. Company needs to hold onto the technology until it is the right time. 18 months early release is good enough for a pupa technology to be announced. If innovation delivered to the market is too late, it will be called a tardy so integration to the solutions without any big announcements is necessary. Innovators are supposed to read the time well.
5. Innovation's core source is evolving. For a long time, North America has been considered as the HQ of innovation. However, both Europe and Asia are striving to be more involved in the process. Understanding where the idea bulbs are is extremely important to an innovator.
Today's corporate world is asking innovators to make the connection between innovation and business on their mind. No matter how hard it is; they need to assume this new role to move their company to the next stage.
Burak Fenercioglu is a freelance writer. He is working for a computer network security company for over 4 years. His articles are about ideas, innovation, strategy and can be found at http://burakfenerci.blogspot.com
post construction cleaning Deerfield ..Imagine an office without a desk, or lights, a computer,... Read More
I'm not talking about posting the HBO schedule on your... Read More
Many companies are reluctant to dive into outsourcing ocean because... Read More
You might be thinking to yourself, "Why should I waste... Read More
The boom of the dot-com era in 1999 brought the... Read More
Microsoft Great Plains fits multiple services market niche and healthcare... Read More
With a heightened awareness of opportunity, ideas can often be... Read More
The format of a Business Plan is something that has... Read More
Canada's lean leaders need to look beyond the horizon and... Read More
It doesn't take a Terrorist Act, Tsunami or Earthquake to... Read More
Human beings are rational agents. Rationality endorses one to take... Read More
A well known, national chain of restaurants discovered that certain... Read More
Is there really anything as a problem? Does chaos or... Read More
The foundation of any business transaction is the promise of... Read More
Every business experiences slower periods. For some, they sell more... Read More
So you've decided to write your own business plan because... Read More
Microsoft Great Plains, former Great Plains Dynamics is excellent fit... Read More
Here is an abstract thought on studying nature and the... Read More
There are no "rules of thumb" in the pursuit of... Read More
Remember Chux? The disposable diaper that took the market by... Read More
Part 1A few weeks ago I attended a seminar sponsored... Read More
If you own a mobile car wash business or auto... Read More
You have heard that there is extra money on the... Read More
No "meme" isn't a typo and Got Milk, the more... Read More
If you're a solo professional like I am, you know... Read More
Airbnb cleaning service Bannockburn ..Storytelling and writing a business plan actually go hand in... Read More
Regroup?is this a new management trend? Not a chance! Regroup... Read More
There is a story, about a business owner who wasn't... Read More
( * - the word 'product' can be substituted to... Read More
You know you need a business plan. You probably realize... Read More
Cassy was an employee of a nonprofit who had been... Read More
This week I coached a wonderfully lovely woman I'll call... Read More
Here's a really simple way to make sure your plans... Read More
Canada's lean leaders need to look beyond the horizon and... Read More
When looking at Akron carefully one cannot help but notice... Read More
Is your business growing as fast and effectively as it... Read More
Strategic alliances are increasing at a rapid rate. It is... Read More
There's nothing automatic about corporate growth, particularly in the information... Read More
If you are a successful franchise of a large franchise... Read More
Do you work in or own a business that's affected... Read More
One of the most powerful driving forces in human nature... Read More
These may sound like no brainers, but you'd be surprised.... Read More
Strategic planning and consulting is the strategy roadmap to manage... Read More
Most companies that are worthy of raising venture capital have... Read More
When developing the competition section of your business plan, companies... Read More
Part 1A few weeks ago I attended a seminar sponsored... Read More
"Begin with the end in mind," says Stephen Covey in... Read More
"Bozo" ? A clown with a forlorn look, always finding... Read More
Writing a business plan to help you direct and manage... Read More
The boom of the dot-com era in 1999 brought the... Read More
Strategic Planning |