I was talking recently with a C-level R&D leader in a larger public company. By all external measures this company is quite successful, yet they were asking what it takes to build an innovation culture that has sustained momentum. By momentum, he was asking what steps he might take to have more consistent output from the investments they are making. Like many firms, they have had solid breakout projects, but they are infrequent enough that each one feels like a cold start, with little institutional memory to fall back on.
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To have sustainable momentum, each program needs to have three elements – the right project, the right team and the right plan – that is exactly right for the firm’s unique placement in the ecosystem. Specifically, the solution to this comes from the Right Project portion of the Right Project, Right Team, Right Plan approach, with the root cause of lack of momentum usually stemming from one of two mindsets:
- An overdeveloped planning function that demands risk be lowered to zero before moving ahead or
- A dependence on heroic leadership and “swing for the fences” mega projects that only come by once or twice a decade.
Since both of these issues make innovation a “one off” activity, both ends of this continuum are unhealthy for a firm and can lead to uneven returns for stakeholders and investors.
Having a portfolio of projects that are well formed is the key to keeping the momentum in your organization’s ongoing effort to create and implement new and rewarding products and services. The usually unspoken truth is that the market will tell you if the new product or service is a breakout, or simply sustaining innovation – and it is nearly impossible to forecast.
Momentum building projects are:
- Specific – Great projects are quite specific in who they serve and do it in a way the customer can easily understand. The “job” the customer hires this product or service to do is clear and well understood. The economics are clean and make sense. These projects are also built in a way that minimizes the cost of risk discovery and isolation. For example, the first minivan was a very simply formed pedestrian looking vehicle built from off the shelf parts, but it met a large demographic’s needs perfectly.
- Worked into your existing customer base – There is great power in having trusted relationships with the individuals who will be served by this product or service. A couple of examples from the outdoor power space are the “mini” tiller for smaller gardens and the very profitable “professional grade” lawn tractor for farm equipment dealers. For more on this, see my Growth Zone ebook.
- Grounded in your firm’s DNA – To build shareholder value, the project or program needs to make effective use of some elements of your firm’s know how – either in producing or delivering the service. Usually this means taking advantage of an existing manufacturing competency or a distribution channel. In the case of the minivan, the Dodge team used an existing chassis. In the examples of the outdoor power products, the existing dealers could easily pick up these new product lines.
- Designed with crisp outcomes and landing zones – Projects that have clear deliverables and a line of sight to who will be the internal business leaders are better at building momentum. It’s hard enough to invent a new product or service without the additional burden of building a new business unit to operate it. For example, when I worked client side, one of the programs I did was a set of fixed wireless services for intersection communications, which had an internal business landing zone that served the state and local government space. By having the in business landing zone identified beforehand, it was much easier to transition the project to the in place leadership team once the beta projects were successful and deals were emerging.
The leadership of the firm needs to encourage and challenge the group to regularly bring forward insights and ideas for breakout products and programs, and show commitment by regularly funding programs to build momentum. By making positive decisions and outcomes visible, and rewarding the leaders who guide their implementation, those who have had ideas, but have stayed on the sidelines, will be encouraged to step forward.
If you’d like to talk about what the right project looks like for you and your team, I do reserve a few slots in my schedule for private, executive coaching relationships. To learn more about how I can help you guide your organization to clarity, action and growth, please call me at 847-651-1014.
