As Corporate Innovation Evolves, Past Lessons Are Being Ignored
This article provides a personal perspective to the ongoing evolution of corporate innovation efforts, along with an overview of how some past mistakes are being repeated.
This article provides a personal perspective to the ongoing evolution of corporate innovation efforts, along with an overview of how some past mistakes are being repeated.
Ambitious and impractical business schemes can often lack the fundamental elements needed to make them a reality, leaving huge expense and casualties of the blame game in their wake. The business world is littered with the remnants of unrealised programs and unsuccessful plans for development, several of them so high profile as to have attracted national notoriety.
Many product organizations have some type of Project Management Office (PMO), even if they refer to it by a different name. The PMO is a critical component to a successful product delivery, yet it often carries a reputation for being heavy-handed policy enforcers. When focused on the right things, the PMO plays a pivotal role in driving innovation process excellence and ensuring profitability.
While many people believe that process and structure stifle creativity - the center of gravity for sourcing and inspiring innovation – this couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, planning ahead streamlines the process and surfaces any potential bottlenecks ahead of time, resulting in a program that is more apt to produce meaningful outcomes and return on investment for organizations.