KEY ASSERTIONS...

Today there is more focus on implementation rather than generating new ideas.

CEOs tell us that they have lots of ideas, but the challenge is bringing those ideas to market.

Companies need to focus their innovation skills to nurture new ideas through the development stages of incubation and implementation.

New ideas need to be supported by the teams that created them and not turned over to people with no commitment to the idea or its development or ultimate implementation.

We need to be careful not to kill our ideas before they are fully developed, by applying too stringent a process or measurement of potential return.

The shift in focus to the impact of the innovative process on the incubation and implementation stages should result in a significantly improved return on investments. And significantly more innovations making it into the market.

Individuals and teams no longer have the time to devote to significant “special projects” due to the increase of technology, of information and communications flowing into them night and day.

We cannot simply stop innovation projects; they are essential to the long-term success of the business. It is essential that projects be run in as short a time frame as possible.

There is a limit to how much it can be reduced, but through extensive pre-planning and design, we can minimize the amount of time that the team needs to be involved and really ensure that every minute is used productively.

Decision making has become more consensus based, with the increase of the CEOs want to share that responsibility. Not because they cannot make the decisions but because they feel that by the team making the decisions there is more commitment to execution.

Sharing the decision making makes everybody feel more valued as a member of the team. Further, sharing the decision making provides more input and allows better decisions. Collaboration... rather then Cooperation!!!

But they are not necessarily great for innovation.

Group decision making is almost always going to coalesce around safer, conventional solutions. People want to work within their comfort zone, work with what they are familiar. The willingness to step outside your comfort zone and select an idea that seems very intriguing. CEOs can make those selections, groups rarely will.