Citation
Kipp, M. (2001), "Assessing your business innovation process", Strategy & Leadership, Vol. 29 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/sl.2001.26129dab.004
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2001, MCB UP Limited
Assessing your business innovation process
Michael Kipp
The Tips on Tools column in this issue maps the business innovation process, a key strategic competency in the new millennium. The accompanying assessment tool can be used to "calibrate" an organization's approach to innovation. It provides a first step in ramping up internal innovation capabilities to meet this competitive challenge.
Before using the assessment tool with a group, it is best to begin with a clear-eyed, fact-based review of the organization's current innovation results. What does the record show on such things as new product launches, process improvements, customer generation protocols, talent retention programs or novel business concepts? After these results have been shared and discussed within the team, administer the questionnaire.
Each item calls for making a judgment. Respondents should indicate their personal sense of the company's current practice on each point by placing an X in the appropriate box. Aggregate all the responses on a scattergram and display the results, so everyone can see clusters, interesting outlying answers and opportunities for improvement.
Do not overlook the relationship between various elements. Some companies are bereft of ideas, while others have many, but somehow never focus down because of improper "scaffolding" – cultural forces, the absence of a well-understood strategic context or a leadership issue. Other firms rush from a prototype directly to market without generating the proof-of-concept that can emerge from a well-constructed pilot. Still others waste money for lack of a compelling business case – a process that must begin with a commitment to focus and then extend through rollout, instead of being simply a PowerPoint presentation that is put together at budget time.
Finally, note the relationship between success in the core process and the strength of the cultural and instrumental scaffolding that supports or limits innovation. Above all, approach the exercise with a spirit of discovery rather than faultfinding. If used thoughtfully, this tool can help your firm successfully innovate both product and process at speeds never before contemplated.