Idea management

• Survey results for SMEs show priority concerns

  SME’s  – what is working and what it not when it come to an environment for innovation!

  We have broken out our survey results by size of organization and compiled the results for all respondents reporting to have 100 or fewer employess; thus more related to the size of SMEs than the  overall survey results.

  What we have found

  1.  The biggest concerns lie with two factors which come under the heading of ‘idea management’; reward mechanisms for innovators  (F14), and the general availability of resources  (F19).

  2. Of least concern are  risk tolerance in the planning process (F9), use of independent work groups (F11), the formality of the decision process (F13), tolerance for mavericks (F3), R&D budgets (F23), attitudes to mergers etc. (F16), and the role of employee organizations (F25).

  3. For the balance of Factors, SMEs noted a significant difference between their ‘Ideal’ for each Factor and their own ‘Reality’, In terms of Factors , 3 of 4  Factors come under leadership,  4 of 8 Factors are under day-to-day management, and 4 of 6 Factors come under idea management practices.  Thus gaps in innovative performance surface in all 3 major topics covered by the survey. 

  Most of the gaps are addressable by management by  carefully choosing the appropriate – not just one - enabling mechanisms.

  If you would like further background information on the survey results for SMEs just follow the link above (survey results) and download the 4 pages. 

  Posted on Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012 at 9:26 pm in Best Management Practices, Cultural Aspects of Innovation, Idea management, Leadership, Rewards for Innovators.

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  Tags: innovative, management practices, SMEs

• RIM’s (Research in Motion) Innovative Capacity in Reponse to a Crisis

  Co-Authors Paul White, P.Eng., FCMC, and Peter Farwell, F.C.A., CFA, examine RIM’s strategy and management practices in light of recent product development and management issues impacting RIM. Our conclusion, set out in a 36-page report, highlights the changes in strategy and the changes in management structure and performance that we believe will be essential to RIM’s future success. Download an Overview of Full Report. The full report is available, for fee, at: http/www.corporateinnovationonline.com under Profiles and Papers/Corporate Profiles – Innovation.

  Overall, we are not optimistic that RIM can survive in the current environment unless the real issues are addressed and quickly. So far there is little information from the company that the issues we have identified are being addressed and almost no information that the issues are understood let alone acted upon at this critical time. Stakeholders, particularly shareholders, deserve more than a ‘have-faith’ platitude.

  Posted on Friday, August 19th, 2011 at 2:44 pm in Best Management Practices, Cultural Aspects of Innovation, Idea management, Leadership, News, Rewards for Innovators, The role and place of R&D in innovation..

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  Tags: innovation, management practices, research in motion, strategy, tolerance, turnaround

• Starbucks, the role of innovation

  Howard Schultz’s book, Onward, provides rare insight into the role innovation in the corporate world and the thinking of a founder. A short, 17-page, profile on this site, under Profiles and Papers/Profiles-Innovation, parses innovation at this inventive company. Starbucks Download. Comments are welcome.

  A brief – 2-page – document  Download Starbucks Innovation Profile Only provides an outline of the range of innovation at Starbucks. Use this example to profile your own ‘spectrum of innovation’.

  Posted on Thursday, May 12th, 2011 at 9:04 pm in Best Management Practices, Book Reviews, Cultural Aspects of Innovation, Idea management, Leadership, The role and place of R&D in innovation..

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  Tags: global business, research and development, Retail industry, Starbucks

• Idea management software! European success.

  Should you be interested in a very comprehensive approach to idea management, you will want to check out ‘CRITflow’, a recent release of new system software which has gained traction in Europe (ROCHE, Danone and Zurich are examples of users). ‘CRIT’ stands for Create. Reinvent, Innovate, and Transform. Built on a platform of Microsoft SharePoint 2010, it offers a flexible – you can customize the system – to your own needs. For contact information visit ‘Partners/Contributors’ on this web site under About.

  Posted on Tuesday, May 3rd, 2011 at 9:05 pm in Best Management Practices, Idea management, Reviews.

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