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Entrepreneurial Leaders

Today, many companies seek out the skills of entrepreneurs.  Leadership candidates are encouraged to demonstrate entrepreneurial experiences to get hired or promoted.  And while entrepreneurial characteristics are important for an innovation leader, traditional supervisors are better suited with conventional management skills.  Let’s look at three areas of differentiating leadership for innovation success.

Watch the 20-second summary and then read on!

Complete Ownership of a Problem

Entrepreneurial leaders are motivated by the finished product.  They are visionary and adaptable.  In order to achieve their goals, they are willing to take acceptable risks and are comfortable with uncertainty.  Because they are intensely vested in the final product, an entrepreneurial leader exerts power and control as a way to completely own the problem. 

On the other hand, traditional managers in operations, finance, or logistics might be ill-served by a total ownership perspective.  Functional managers need to work across organizational boundaries and with both internal and external stakeholders.  Predictability and meeting expectations enhance the cost-effectiveness and quality of operations.  Collaboration and cooperation are appropriate skills for accomplishing day-to-day work.

Motivated by Uncertainty

Entrepreneurial leaders are not necessarily more risk-seeking than traditional managers.  But, they are more comfortable with uncertainty, knowing that the path to the final product might not be straight or narrow.  Exploring different alternatives and accepting failure for its learning value characterize an entrepreneurial leader’s approach to uncertainty.

In contrast, functional managers have stringent performance objectives and rely on predictable, trouble-free operations to meet commitments.  While these leaders also appreciate learning, it is used to streamline and improve systems.  Learning is experiential and based on data analysis.  Planning and delivering on the plan are the metrics of success for conventional management tasks.

Persuasion

All of us can benefit from mastering skills of persuasion and negotiation.  But entrepreneurial leaders excel at selling their ideas to both their team members and sponsors.  They have an uncanny ability to demonstrate and convince others of the value in their concepts, obtaining funding to pursue these goals.  Entrepreneurial leaders are not hard-nosed salespeople, but use their passion, motivation, and charisma to convince others that their path of action is the right one.

Traditional managers in operations also need to use persuasion and negotiation skills, especially in budget battles.  However, their approach tends more to details.  Technical leaders, especially, find such negotiations painful and they are not optimistic in getting what they want.  Functional managers may convert the lack of a maintenance budget yet are not using their positive power or expert power to weave a compelling story.

Entrepreneurial Leaders Skills

Not every job needs to be staffed by an entrepreneurial leader.  Manufacturing, marketing, and accounting need conventional managers to lead these functions with a focus on operational excellence.  Quality, predictability, and cost-effectiveness are the focus.

Innovation programs do need entrepreneurial leaders.  New product development (NPD) projects are uncertain and involve inherent risks.  Entrepreneurial leaders are motivated to own the whole problem in order to generate a new solution.  Entrepreneurial leaders are adaptable and have a willingness to accept uncertainty, especially as a learning activity.  Finally, entrepreneurial leaders use persuasion to convince others that their ideas are valuable and beneficial.

How Do You Become an Entrepreneurial Leader?

Register now for a complimentary webinar on Innovation Leadership.  This interactive session is held Monday, 27 January 2020 at noon CST (1 pm EST, 10 am PST). 

You can also learn more about teams and leadership for innovation in our Innovation Best Practices and NPDP prep courses.  Check out the 1Q2020 schedule here.  You can also read more about innovation leadership and team development in Chapter 4 of  The Innovation ANSWER Book, available from Amazon here.  

About Me

I am inspired by writing, teaching, and coaching.  I tackle life with an infusion of rigor, zeal, and faith.   It brings me joy to help you build innovation leaders.  Teresa Jurgens-Kowal is an experienced innovation professional with a passion for lifelong learning with a PhD in Chemical Engineering and an MBA in Computer and Information Decision Making.  My credentials include PE (State of Louisiana), NPDP, PMP®, and CPEM, and I am a DiSC® certified facilitator.  Contact me at info@simple-pdh.com or area code 281 + phone 280-8717 for more information on coaching for entrepreneurs and innovators.

© Simple-PDH.com

A Division of Global NP Solutions, LLC  

Study.       Learn.       Earn.       Simple.

Innovation Leaders are NOT Teachers

I’m a disaster in the kitchen.  Beyond microwave popcorn, you are probably taking serious risks to eat something I have cooked.  Curiously, my mother was considered a good cook, so I don’t think there is a gene or DNA sequence that I missed to make me a terrible cook.  Instead, I blame my mother’s leadership style in the kitchen.  Leaders are not teachers. 

Every night, one of my chores was to set the table for dinner.  As my mother prepared dinner, she would tell me to watch her cook and she often told me to read the recipe.  Occasionally, she would have me help to gather ingredients and hand them to her.  “When you are older,” she would say, “then you can try cooking.” 

Leaders Mentor, Not Teach

Good leaders are mentors.  This means that after a short period of observation (and learning the safety rules), a leader lets the team member try out the tasks.  Starting small to minimize risk, leaders switch from doing and explaining (teaching) to watching and counseling.  A good mentor allows people to make a few mistakes so they can learn because tactile learning (learning by doing) is the most valuable lesson. 

Leaders as mentors can offer advice and share their own stories as learning tools.  Yet lecturing and teaching often falls short.  Innovation leaders, in particular, need to set boundaries for the team but then let creativity flow.  Flexibility is a hallmark of a strong leader. 

Too Much Coaching Fails Leadership

Today’s workers are lucky that coaching is a standard practice in most organizations.  Many leaders have been trained in the basics of coaching.  Unfortunately, many managers tend to overdo it.  Constant coaching is more like micromanaging and also hurts the innovation process. 

In certain situations, managers have learned that coaching is important but have not necessarily been given the right tools.  While coaching involves asking “why” a new product development (NPD) team made certain decisions or “what” the design pathway is, a constant barrage of questions destroys trust and autonomy.  Successful innovation leaders understand that a few well-placed why, what , and how questions can better guide and direct the team, ultimately increasing customer satisfaction. 

Innovation Leaders Acknowledge Failure

Failure is a part of learning.  Teaching – by itself – does not allow someone to learn failure.  Watching my mother cook and add a pinch of salt or test baked goods with a toothpick only allowed me to observe her skills.  Without adding too much or too little salt to a stew and not finding out for myself what a “clean” toothpick means for bread, I never failed. 

Successful innovation leaders tolerate failure as an element of the learning process.  Of course, boundaries and constraints must limit the risk and cost of failure, yet mistakes and errors provide hands-on learning that is invaluable for a team.  Innovation should be expected to leave a trail of lessons learned to build the inevitable successes. 

Innovation Teachers

While I’m still not a good cook by any stretch of the imagination, I cautiously and continually try recipes and new tools to improve my cooking skills.  I understand the cost of failing in the kitchen is learning – and pizza delivery for dinner.  Without trying my own hand at adding spices to a soup or baking a birthday cake, I could never improve and learn new skills.

Likewise, great innovation leaders go beyond teaching and learning.  Being a mentor to serve as a guide and to govern the NPD process makes innovation leaders approachable and builds team skills internally.  Coaching your team includes a few well-intentioned “what” and “why” questions, but not peppering them with advice (pun intended).

Build Your Innovation Leadership Skills

To be a successful innovation leader, you must allow your team members to learn by doing and accept failure.  Join me for 20 Days of Innovation in 2020 to grow and develop as an innovation leader.  Starting on 6 January 2020, you will receive a short daily email tip, tool, or technique for 20 days.  You’ll learn about applying strategy for more success with time-to-market and how to improve your NPD processes.  It’s free!  Register here for 20 Days of Innovation in 2020. 

About Me

I am passionate about innovation and inspired by writing, teaching, and coaching.  I tackle life with an infusion of rigor, zeal, and faith.   It brings me great joy to help you build innovation leadership.  I am an experienced innovation professional with a thirst for lifelong learning.  My degrees are in Chemical Engineering (BS and PhD) and in Computer and Information Decision Making (MBA).  My credentials include PE (State of Louisiana), NPDP, PMP®, and CPEM, and I am a DiSC® certified facilitator.  Contact Teresa Jurgens-Kowal at info@simple-pdh.com or area code 281 + phone 280-8717 for more information on coaching for entrepreneurs and innovators.

Winning with Incremental Innovation

Innovation always involves risk.  Sales revenues might not balance the investment cost.  Customers might not like the design or features of the new product.  Competitors might not perceive a product advantage. 

There are several strategies to address innovation risk.  Of course, following a well-established new product development (NPD) process increases the odds of repeatable success within a firm.  Likewise, ensuring productive innovation leaders build successful product and service development through effective and efficient decision-making requires training.  However, the type of innovation is often overlooked by firms as managers try to balance risk with market share. 

Get the quick summary in the video (less than 1 minute) and then learn how you Incremental Innovation Wins!

Sexy Gets the Press

Social media and the press, in general, tend to promote sexy, new ideas.  Yet these radical innovations fail more often than incremental innovations.  Sexy innovations often do not live up to customer or corporate expectations.  The vast majority of new products and services launched by firms include small improvements in features and functionality.  Enhancements are more predictable and stable innovations. 

Sexy new product ideas grab our attention but rarely live up to the hype.  Think about laser discs, the Segway, Google Glass, and the Apple Newton.  All of these were great ideas hailed as technology marvels.  Yet these inventions were expensive to design and difficult to use for customers creating losses instead of profits for the developers. 

Benefits of Incremental Innovations

There are several benefits to incremental innovation innovations.  First, you know the market.  Second, you know the competition.  Third, you know the technology.  And finally, you know the product. 

The Market

Knowing the market is incredibly valuable for successful innovation.  New markets require a lot of investment to educate customers and to explain product advantages.  Existing markets are easier and cheaper to test with prototypes and to gauge feature attractiveness for new, incremental product development. 

The Competition

incremental innovations are successful because you know the competition.  Customers have brand loyalty based on past experiences.  Knowing the competition allows a firm to innovate for differentiation as well as to take advantage of inexpensive, incremental new product development.  For example, packaging changes make a difference to consumers yet are simple, incremental innovations. 

The Technology

R&D and technology development are long-term investments that involve substantial risk.  Fundamental research may or may not apply to multiple product lines.  And it can take years to work out the bugs of a new chemistry or other technology while simultaneously working on regulatory approvals.  Knowing the technology and advancing it just a little allows incremental innovations to cost less than radical product development efforts.  Lower cost means higher profit for the business. 

The Product

Radical innovations are sexy and newsworthy.  Yet, they fail because the product does not solve a consumer’s real problems.  Building incremental innovations from existing product lines brings depth and richness to the solution.  Creating ancillary services and complementary products enriches the brand and supports the core product.  Consider Gatorade™.  With a core product and a number of spinoffs designed for various market segments, an aging and established brand has maintained and grown market share in a highly competitive market through incremental innovation. 

Winning with Incremental Innovation

While much of social media and the press focus on sexy new ideas, companies that sustain focus on core products can win at innovation.  Incremental innovations offer advantages in cost-saving and development time since the firm knows the markets, understands the competition, and can leverage the technology.  Moreover, building complementary incremental innovations around a core product family differentiates the brand and strengthens consumer loyalty. 

Do You Want to Win at Innovation?

Learn how to apply tools and techniques for innovation success in 20 Days of Innovation in 2020.  Register here for free.

About Me

I am inspired by writing, teaching, and coaching.    I tackle life with an infusion of rigor, zeal, and faith.    It brings me joy to help you build innovation leaders.    I am an experienced professional with a passion for lifelong learning with a PhD in Chemical Engineering and an MBA in Computer and Information Decision Making.    My credentials include PE (State of Louisiana), NPDP, PMP®, and CPEM, and I am a DiSC® certified facilitator.    Contact me at info@simple-pdh.com or area code 281 + phone 280-8717 for more information on coaching for entrepreneurs and innovators.

© Simple-PDH.com

A Division of Global NP Solutions, LLC  

Study.            Learn.            Earn.            Simple.

Authentic Innovation

Some words are overused and are part of fads in the media.  Some words are slang, and some are part of our technical jargon.  Other words become a part of our day-to-day language but have multiple, deeper meanings. 

Innovation is exactly one of those words.  There are multiple means to innovation depending on the context.  Often, people use innovation to simply mean new and creative.  For example, a company’s tagline might say “We are innovative”.

For about ten years, I have helped individuals and companies think big in launching new products and services.  During this time, I have generated my own definition of innovation:  to transform an idea into a commercial product or service that generates profit for the company.  Innovations must bring value to consumers as well as the producer. 

Watch the short video summary and read on for details of how you can become more authentic with innovation.

Characteristics of Authentic Innovation

So, the first characteristic of successful innovation is that it must be profitable.  Products and services that do not deliver a profit are ones that fail to bring value to either the customer or the firm.  If not enough people want to buy a product at a price that exceeds the cost of making it, it is not successful or useful.  It might be an intriguing invention, but not an innovation.

In addition to profitability, there are other characteristics that apply to authentic innovation:

  1. Organic,
  2. Personal, and
  3. Incremental.

Organic Innovation

Authentic innovation is organic, meaning it grows from a customer need.  A technology, feature, or product function is designed to satisfy a gap in a customer’s service experience.  Organic innovations are successful because customer insights drive research and development efforts within the firm. 

In contrast, what I will call “forced innovations” start with technologies or products first, and then search for customers and markets.  Consider the Segway.  the Segway has really interesting technology but no large commercial applications.  A much-heralded “innovation” has been relegated to security people at the mall and groups of eager tourists.  There simply is not enough market volume to convert the Segway idea into a commercially profitable product. 

Innovation is Personal

Nearly every purchase made by a human being has a personal element to it.  We buy things and use services to add to our emotional enjoyment of life.  Every purchase, and therefore every innovation, is personal. 

The Walt Disney Company is well known for its high level of customer service and for innovation.  Their success is based on delivering a highly personalized experience for each guest.  Before you visit Walt Disney World in Florida, for instance, you are asked to select your favorite color and most beloved character for your “Magic Band”.  This Bluetooth enabled wristband then serves as your unique key to your hotel room and gives you access to ride reservations in the theme parks as well as a host of other services, including payments for snacks and souvenirs.  The Magic Band is an example of a very successful personal innovation.

Incremental Innovation

Incremental.  Successful innovation that is authentic is incremental.  I am guessing a lot of my colleagues will scream, “Heresy!” when they see that authentic innovation is incremental.  In the field of new product development (NPD), we always train and discuss breakthrough, radical, and disruptive innovation as the ultimate, golden award and to such to seek such innovations unrelentingly.  Yet, most companies and most individuals build success through incremental change.  Consider the retrospective review completed at the end of each sprint in an Agile project.  The team will make one change – only one – in their behaviors for the next sprint.  The reason is that too many changes are hard to track and to verify improvement.  Multiple changes can be confusing to the team members and customers alike. 

Likewise, a vast majority of innovations are incremental.  Understanding customer needs and any gap with their current experience drives the most successful development of next generation products and services.  It is an incremental innovation to have both a forward-facing and rear-facing camera on your cell phone, but such innovations can be highly profitable. 

What is Authentic Innovation?

Authentic innovation brings value to a market and to the producer by transforming ideas to profitable products and services.  The characteristics of authentic innovation are organic, personal, and incremental.  Successful innovations focus on customer needs before design and development of new technologies or features and don’t necessarily need to be brand new-to-the-world.

Learn How To Win With Incremental Innovation

Join leading innovators for 20 Days of Innovation in 2020.  You’ll get a free innovation tip, tool, or technique in your inbox for 20 days, starting 6 January.  Sign up here. 

About Me

I am inspired by writing, teaching, and coaching.    I tackle life with an infusion of rigor, zeal, and faith.    It brings me joy to help you build innovation leaders.    I am an experienced professional with a passion for lifelong learning with a PhD in Chemical Engineering and an MBA in Computer and Information Decision Making.    My credentials include PE (State of Louisiana), NPDP, PMP®, and CPEM, and I am a DiSC® certified facilitator.    Contact me at info@simple-pdh.com or area code 281 + phone 280-8717 for more information on coaching for entrepreneurs and innovators.

© Simple-PDH.com

A Division of Global NP Solutions, LLC  

Study.            Learn.            Earn.            Simple.

Changing Innovation Performance

Innovation has a dark side.  While everyone wants to be “more innovative”, new products fail at alarming rates.  When your business is to create new ideas, new technologies, and new markets, failing more than half the time is troubling indeed. 

On the bright side, however, innovation is more accessible today than ever.  Industries share their product development processes openly and companies partner with suppliers, distributors, and even competitors.  We have learned to integrate customers into the development cycle with open innovation and Design Thinking.  How do organizations continue to move forward, making progress with speed-to-market and changing internal performance?

The Purpose for Change

Read on or watch the 20-second summary to learn how you can change your innovation performance.

As senior managers present an argument to increase innovation performance, we have to explain the need for change.  Many people in the organization see only a narrow slice of the business.  R&D professionals, for instance, view their daily work and can see frequent, small gains in knowledge.  Marketers identify new insights from customer focus groups when they are held.  Project management professionals view small successes in meeting deadlines and milestones.  From each individual or functional perspective, things appear okay. 

Leaders inspire innovation and significant performance improvements must first demonstrate that a change is needed.  Teams build cohesion around a common purpose in the threat of competition.  New product development (NPD) teams can accelerate performance in time-to-market by uniting behind a common goal with a tight deadline.  This is especially important for virtual teams. 

Simplify Work Processes

A friend was recently telling me a story of bureaucracy.  She didn’t call it bureaucracy, but her frustration was obvious.  To implement a change that sped up the process and was a change that operations desired, she had to obtain approvals from her boss’ boss, the operator’s boss, and a person in the IT department.  To submit the change order, she needed to get access to an antiquated computer system for which the organization had no internal training. 

If you want to improve innovation performance, you need to simplify your processes and procedures.  Agile processes, like Scrum, offer the advantage of focused teamwork and quick feedback from customers.  The Agile Manifesto, commands us to emphasize people and interactions over paperwork and bureaucracy.  Let your NPD teams work on what they do best – designing and developing new features and technologies. 

Measure What Matters

Human beings are programmed to perform our best against the metrics by which our behavior is measured.  If your dad gave you a dollar for every hour you were quiet on a road trip, you could manage to be silent for hours on end.  If your boss measures efficiency to award your bonus, you will strive to eliminate waste. 

Innovations take time to pay off.  Short-term metrics drive short-term performance resulting in mundane, incremental products.  Developing new technologies and new markets are long-term investments and innovation rewards must recognize learning and growth as a purpose of new product development research, as well as product profitability.  Building effective, cross-functional teams is a stepping stone in the journey of improving innovation performance. 

Improving Innovation Performance

Innovation is important in every organization.  They say if businesses don’t innovate, they die.  Customers demand new and better products and services, and companies no longer have the advantage of geographical or technological monopolies.  To improve innovation performance, we must share the driving purpose and strategy.  Innovation requires change and as flagship innovation leaders, we must communicate the need for change. 

Next, innovation succeeds when creativity is unhindered.  Simplify your processes and procedures and let the NPD teams be free to do their work without complicated bureaucracy or reporting authority.  Finally, measure what matters.  Innovation is a long-term adventure where learning is paramount.  Experimentation often results in short-term failure yet innovation leaders value knowledge above short-term stock prices. 

Do You Want to Improve Your Innovation Performance?

If so, what are you waiting for?  Check out our 20 Days of Innovation in 2020 to receive a fresh innovation tip in your inbox daily during the month of January.  It’s not spammy and it’s free – sign up here.

About Me

I am inspired by writing, teaching, and coaching.    I tackle life with an infusion of rigor, zeal, and faith.    It brings me joy to help you build innovation leaders.    I am an experienced professional with a passion for lifelong learning with a PhD in Chemical Engineering and an MBA in Computer and Information Decision Making.    My credentials include PE (State of Louisiana), NPDP, PMP®, and CPEM, and I am a DiSC® certified facilitator.    Contact me at info@simple-pdh.com or area code 281 + phone 280-8717 for more information on coaching for entrepreneurs and innovators.

© Simple-PDH.com

A Division of Global NP Solutions, LLC  

Study.            Learn.            Earn.            Simple.

Questioning for Creative Leadership

We are always told to be good listeners.  Our moms and grade school teachers often told us to “shush and listen.”  And as adults, as many of us think we are good listeners as we think are good drivers.  (By the way, that’s a lot more than 50%, leading to an irrational conclusion.)

Active listening is more than just hearing what someone says.  Listening involves silencing our own thoughts and opinions, connecting empathetically with the speaker, and providing feedback.  The best way to provide feedback and to gauge if you really, truly understand what someone has said is through questioning.  I’ve observed that there are two general forms of questions:  transactional queries and questions for reflection.

Transactional Questions

In a market economy, we exchange money for a product.  Just as in a commercial exchange, conversation and dialogue can be transactional.  If there are multiple product choices with comparable features and functions, a rational consumer selects the least expensive product.  The decision is based on logic and the transaction is designed to minimize time, effort, and resources.

Some conversations are transactional in nature and should be.  “What time does the meeting start?” and “Where is the restaurant?” are responsible transactional questions that allow us to increase our efficiency and productivity.  The responses are typically used to complete the exchange, just as handing money to a cashier completes the purchase.  “The meeting starts at 10 am” and “The restaurant is at 123 Main Street”.

We use transactional queries to obtain data.  Remember that data and information are different.  Information allows us to make decisions, create opportunities, and to expand our knowledge of a given situation.  In a transactional conversation, we exchange impersonal data and the individuals may translate that data to information on their own.

For example, if I know that the meeting starts at 10 am and is held at a restaurant on Main Street (data), I will plan to leave my office at 9 am since I also know it is a one-hour drive.  Converting the transactional conversation to information also tells me that I need to take dimes and quarters with me to put in the parking meters on Main Street.

Reflection

While my decision to leave at 9 am and carry small change with me is not necessarily creative, it does explain another level of communication.  Questions for reflection use “right-brain” thinking to analyze the conversational feedback, to draw conclusions, and to offer alternatives.  For instance, I could have countered the restaurant location with a suggestion to meet at a different place that allows me to take a shorter drive.

It is through questions for reflection that we build creativity.  Innovation is enhanced when we look at things from a different perspective and try to envision a unique outcome.  Transactional queries normally limit the participants from seeing alternatives but can support incremental improvements and operational efficiencies.

Leadership Questioning Skills

How do you know if you’re asking transactional or reflective questions?  As an innovation leader, you want to drive creativity and encourage alternatives in new product development (NPD).  You want to empower your team to listen and to learn.

Transactional questions, potentially hindering radical innovation, are easily rephrased to “yes” or “no” inquiries.  We could easily have said “Is the meeting at 10 am?” instead of asking what time the meeting is scheduled.  This gives us a strong clue that the question is purely transactional.

Another indication is that the response to a transactional query is quick.  The meeting time is known so there’s no hesitation in providing the answer to the question.  At most, people will need to check their calendars to confirm the data.

On the other hand, reflective questions introduce a pause in the pace of the conversation.  A person has to stop and think about how s/he might respond.  The response provides information and not just data.  And, information allows us to take on different perspectives and to generate alternative solutions.  An indication that a question is designed for reflection is that a “yes” or “no” answer would be totally inappropriate. 

Creativity is driven by viewing problems from different perspectives.  Those viewpoints should include all potential stakeholders, including designers and developers, functional organizational representatives, customers, and end-users.  Understanding the entire ecosystem of innovation lays out the scope of a new product development effort.

Customers and Open Innovation

When customers are involved in innovation, we call it open innovation.  While customers cannot tell us what features and specifications they want in a new product, they can answer our questions and we gather both data and information.  It’s important, however, to focus customer interactions on qualitative data, such as that gathered through reflective questions.  Market research and open innovation are driven by understanding and empathizing with customer needs.  And only when this information is collated, can a development team go into the labs and pilot plants to design a new product or service.

While questions for reflections are best used in gathering customer impressions and feedback, there is a place in innovation for transactional questions.  Of course, these are often limited to setting pricing parameters and in A/B market testing.  You’ll also want to collect and analyze demographic and geographic data about potential customers since this can frame future marketing efforts.

Questioning for Innovation Leaders

Leaders set the tone for the culture and climate of an organization.  Restrictive, distrustful environments hamper creativity and are often characterized by strict boundaries and constraints.  In these situations, questions are largely transactional.  Managers are tracking directives for scope, budget, and schedule metrics.

In open, creative cultures, leaders provide freedom and autonomy for innovation teams.  Questions seek knowledge building and deeper understanding.  Open-ended questions without right or wrong answers can stimulate perspective-taking and novel approaches to solving problems.  Involving customers and end-users in creative questioning can improve innovation exponentially.

Summary and Learn More

Learning to ask good questions and to fully listen to the response are skills that can be honed and grown through training and coaching.  We can each practice creative leadership questioning by converting transactional queries into questions for reflection.

Learn more at our complimentary webinar on 13 December 2019 at noon CST (1 pm EST, 10 am PST).  We will discuss the Transition from a Technical Role to Leadership.  Register here.

About Me

I am inspired by writing, teaching, and coaching to build innovation leaders.  I tackle life with an infusion of rigor, zeal, and faith.  I am an experienced professional with a passion for lifelong learning with a PhD in Chemical Engineering and an MBA in Computer and Information Decision Making.  My credentials include PE (State of Louisiana), NPDP, PMP®, and CPEM, and I am a DiSC® certified facilitator.  Contact me at info@simple-pdh.com or area code 281 + phone 280-8717 for more information on coaching for entrepreneurs and innovators.

The 3Cs of Innovation

Innovation is both easy and complicated.  The easy part of innovation is focusing on customer needs and the complicated part of innovation is … focusing on customer needs.  Customers vary and our ability to serve them depends on three key aspects of a company’s strategy:  choice, collaboration, and competency. 

Read on or watch the 30-second summary below.

Choice

Firms have many choices in innovation.  First, a company can choose to serve a broad customer base or a narrow market segment.  In choosing a broad market, companies often look to cost competency for a leadership position.  However, when products compete on price, customers lack loyalty to the brand.  Serving a narrow market segment, on the other hand, allows a firm to create products and services that are differentiated.  Typically, these markets allow the firm to charge a premium and generate significant revenues.  But, of course, there is no utopia.  Choosing a narrow market segment for innovation ties a firm to a specific pattern of development and technology.  If an unhealthy marketplace matures, it can be disastrous to revenues. 

Next, new product development (NPD) choices also involve the degree of innovativeness.  Are products simple line extensions or are they radical departures from existing competition?  These business choices reflect investment, risk, and global economic conditions. 

Finally, innovation choice includes decisions matching product development with strategy.  Some firms are more risk tolerant or cash poor than others.  These choices reflect strategic decisions to grow the business or to expand in existing markets.  One of the most frequently cited failures of NPD is a lack of strategic alignment; therefore, choices of product and service development efforts must closely align with growth objectives for the company. 

Collaboration

Cross-functional teams that work together from idea to launch are proven to be most successful in NPD.  Collaboration means more than naming individuals from different functions to be part of the “team”.  It means sharing ideas and problem solving with various perspectives, including the customer’s view.  True collaboration crosses departmental barriers and external boundaries.

Collaboration also means the team shares trust.  Trust requires sharing vulnerability and a social contract among innovation team members.  New products will be “ho-hum” if team members do not trust one another enough to share crazy ideas and so-called “outside-the-box” thinking.  The more risk involved in an innovation the more trust is necessary for the team. 

Competency

Quality in design and competency of execution differentiate the best companies from average ones.  To always consider the customers viewpoint and what service means is a hallmark of a firm delivering high quality.  Such companies hire, train, and nurture innovation competences in all of their employees.  And competency feeds back in a continuous loop to customer intimacy – understanding needs and wants. 

Training is the starting point to build competency for a quality-driven innovation organization.  Sustaining best practices through coaching can take an organization to even higher levels of success.  In the Flagship Innovation Leadership program, we recommend both individual coaching and master mind groups for senior leaders.  Both opportunities increase accountability and accelerate learning. 

The 3Cs of Innovation

Innovation should be simple, yet in practice is often quite challenging.  The 3Cs of innovation help teams and leaders to focus on what is most important to create success for new product and service design.  First, the company must choose who the customers are.  Innovation takes different forms, risk, and investment for broad markets or narrow customer segments.  Customer choices align with the organization’s strategic growth goals. 

Next, innovation teams must collaborate across functional barriers and with external stakeholders to be successful.  Collaboration is built on trust and trust is essential for taking on disruptive innovation.  Finally, successful innovation requires competency to deliver high quality results.  NPD team members build competency with customer interactions and training in innovation best practices (check out our 1Q2020 innovation training schedule here).  Organizational leaders grow their competency through coaching and sharing with others in master mind groups.  Join us for an Innovation Master Mind pilot on Friday, 22 November at noon CST (register here). 

Your Next Steps

Consider how NPD project choices are effectively implementing strategic goals.  Then, ensure your teams are cross-functional and collaborative.  Finally, implement training to sustain quality through competency.  Read more about innovation best practices in my new book, The Innovation ANSWER Book, available from Amazon here.

© Simple-PDH.com

A Division of Global NP Solutions, LLC  

Study.       Learn.       Earn.       Simple.

What to Do When Waiting

When I was in grad school at the University of Washington in Seattle, I did not own a car.  I took the bus to campus and home to my apartment in the Northgate mall area.  While I was on the bus, I would read journal articles related to my research project.  It was great to have 20 minutes of uninterrupted time to concentrate on science. 

Recently, my husband and I took a two-week vacation to Scotland.  We used public transit and I spent a lot of time on the train recording our stories in my travel journal.  A lot of trains and buses have Wi-Fi and I noticed a lot of people texting or looking at Facebook on their phones.  Few people were reading or chatting.

Read on or watch the 40-second video summary.

Waiting Time

We spend a lot of time in our lives waiting.  Whether we are on the bus or train commuting or we are in a queue at the store, we often face idle time.  Most of us today grab our phones and surf the internet or text friends.  We fill the waiting time with non-value adding activities.

Now, I’m going to ask you to do an experiment.  Close your eyes and think back 10 years.  A decade ago, only a few of us had smartphones and there really was not Facebook.  What did you do when you were waiting? 

Maybe you chatted with the person in line ahead of you and learned the news of your community.  Maybe you let your mind wander and you came up with creative ideas.  Or maybe you spent that time planning strategic actions for your job or business.  Maybe the waiting time just gave you a chance to catch your breath and relax for a few minutes out of a busy day.

Creativity in Waiting

When you have little to occupy your mind and your thoughts wander, creativity sparks.  The subconscious mind is constantly working on our problems and challenges, and it is when we relax that those creative ideas can germinate.  That’s one reason why people claim to get good ideas in the shower.  So far, there is no technology distracting us in the bathroom – yet! 

So, I’ll ask you to try another experiment.  The next time you are waiting – on a bus or in a queue – resist your phone.  Just breathe and observe what’s around you.  Watch people and their patterns of behavior.  Consider the simple solutions that surround you while you’re waiting:  an automatic bus ticket machine, the cash drawer opening and locking, and candy bars stacked near the checkout at the grocery store.  Is there a simple, creative solution for your challenge?  Can you borrow one of these ideas? 

Strategic Waiting

Sometimes we need to concentrate on a specific problem.  Waiting time is another opportunity to generate strategic solutions.  Sitting at your computer, you’ve got files and emails calling for your attention.  But when you’re waiting, you literally have free time with no distractions or interruptions. 

While you are next waiting, resist your phone and consider your biggest strategic problem.  Now, challenge yourself to come up with three ideas to implement that would solve that problem.  While you are waiting, envision exactly how you will execute each plan, who you will need to help you, and what the end result looks like.  If you need to research something, plan to do it later.  You must resist your phone to brainstorm a strategic plan.

How to Use Waiting Time

All of us have waiting time whether it is during our commute or in queues at stores.  Instead of filling the time with quick and easy gossip on Facebook, use your time to find creative and strategic solutions to innovation challenges.  Resist your phone and try to generate at least three new ideas and three action plans for implementation.  You’ll be surprised with how much you can accomplish in 10 minutes! 

Learn About Design Thinking

The techniques of generating three creative ideas and three specific strategic plans are tools from Design Thinking.  Design thinking is a creative and collaborative problem-solving approach for identifying customer needs and designing solutions from an empathetic viewpoint.  You can apply Design Thinking tools to new product development and innovation and to your own life or business challenges.  Sign up here for a free, 60 minute Q&A webinar (21 Oct 2019 at noon CDT) on Life Design.  I’ll be sharing more tools from Design Thinking at the Institute of Management Consultants (IMC) conference on 6 October in Dallas, TX.  Stop by and say “hi”.  I’d love to hear how you are generating creative and strategic solutions during your waiting times!

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Routines for Innovation Teams

Last week, we discussed two key arenas for success with innovation teams – communication and the project charter.  Good communication is obvious in all areas of our lives, but we are often staggeringly inept at sharing information when needed by others.  The project charter is a critical guiding document for the team that lays out boundaries and constraints for the product development effort.  You can watch a short video on communication and charter here. 

While skills development is one of the biggest concerns for innovation executives and leaders, routines in innovation processes can build habits that drive success.  Many of the systems and processes in new product development (NPD) are detailed and sophisticated so that companies minimize risk and maximize ROI.  On the other hand, routines for project teams are simple and inexpensive with high returns. 

Rewards and Recognition

Most of us get up every day and go to work for a purpose.  We might say we need to earn money to pay the bills, but as creative professionals, our purpose in working is far deeper.  People drawn to innovation, design, and development work, value helping others and improving lives.  Hiring for Purpose is the first practice in the Initiation and Structure element of the Virtual Team Model (VTM). 

Element 1 of the Virtual Team Model

Human beings also want to reap rewards when we fulfill our purpose.  Creating a new product that makes it easier to do yard work or yield an increased throughput at the factory are achievements worth celebrating.  Recognition of successes in innovation is an important motivator for teams, especially when the challenges seem insurmountable. 

NPD teams can build rewards and recognition into their daily routines.  For example, daily stand-up meetings can also celebrate successes when goals are met, and tests are completed.  Innovation professionals can gather in an informal celebration at lunch after a successful gate review.  Displaying the first-run production batches in commemorative packaging builds morale and showcases the team’s efforts. 

Rewards and recognition should also include profit-sharing for the new product or business as well.  Profit-sharing and stock options are long-term rewards that encourage strategic development rather than quick hits.  Longer term rewards also demonstrate the organization’s commitment to learning and development for the innovation teams. 

Renewal

Too often, we are on the go all the time.  Because of the dedication to the purpose and mission of new product development, innovation professionals often put in long hours.  Especially during crunch times to meet critical deadlines and during commercial launches, team members work evenings and weekends, traveling away from their homes, families, and friends.  All of this go-go-go takes a toll. 

The Hullett Provincial Wildlife Area

Therefore, innovation teams must build routines of renewal.  It can be as simple as instituting walking meetings instead of sitting in stuffy conference rooms.  Renewal comes from relaxing the mind, body, and spirit. 

Japanese companies require a two-week vacation each year.  The reason is that you don’t really let go of your worries and concerns with just a few days away from the office.  But, in two weeks you have time to pursue a favorite hobby, breathe in nature, and rejuvenate your soul.  Renewal is also the reason that churches and universities offer sabbaticals.  The intensity of work in these professions – to help guide and educate others – must be balanced with personal renewal.  Sabbaticals give preachers and teachers an opportunity to clear their heads of day-to-day busyness and to focus on important messages. 

What is Your Innovation Routine?

Does your innovation team have routines beyond schedules and budgets cycles?  Do you recognize and celebrate all accomplishments?  Even the learnings that come from failure?  Do you reward teams with both financial and motivational honors?  Do you give your innovation professionals time for renewal?

Innovation is tough work.  If you face issues with too many failed projects and demotivated teams, consider adding routines of reward recognition and renewal.  Learn how at the complimentary Life Design Master Mind Q&A webinar on 21 October 2019 at noon CDT (1 pm EDT, 10 am PDT).  Register here.

Are Your Innovation Teams Struggling to Move Forward?

If your teams are struggling with cohesiveness and generating timely results, please join us on Friday, 6 September 2019 at 12 noon CDT for a complementary Q&A webinar on Building Effective Cross Functional Teams.  Everyone who attends the webinar receives a FREE work style assessment.

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A Division of Global NP Solutions, LLC  

Study.      Learn.      Earn.      Simple.

Two Skills for Innovation Teams

There is no question the innovation is hard work!  It is challenging to identify and create technical solutions to solve customers’ problems.   It is even more challenging to really identify those customer needs.   

Yet, innovation and new product development (NPD) are especially fun areas in which to work.  We have the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of people in our communities, around the world, and in our workplaces.  Changing for the better is a happy outcome from innovation efforts!

Innovation projects are executed by teams, usually blending a variety of functions, disciplines, and capabilities.  Cross-functional skills are necessary for successful innovation since each discipline – marketing, engineering, operations – brings unique approaches to solve problems.   Unfortunately, these diverse viewpoints can sometimes lead to conflict.   There are two skills for innovation teams that lead to increased productivity and better outcomes:  communication and chartering.

Read on or watch the short summary video here.

Communication

Communication skills can make or break the success of a team.  Cross-functional teams bring together people of different backgrounds and experience and require collaboration and cohesiveness to produce results.  Marketers speak a different language than engineers, and engineers use a different jargon than the suppliers and distributors. 

Effective communication for a cross-functional team starts with understanding internal team needs.  Using a workstyle assessment like DiSC® or Team Dimensions Profile, team members grow in self-awareness.  Understanding how we tick ourselves allows us to be more receptive of unique ideas and approaches from others. 

For example, a friend was going on a job interview.  Understanding that she preferred action-oriented relationships that produce results quickly can help her frame responses to interview questions.  Especially, in highly technical fields, people may prefer careful analysis over the speed of the response.  DiSC helps team members to recognize the strengths of their preferred working style and offers a common language to adopt for increased improved communication within the team. 

Charter

Projects without charters are like taking a drive without direction.  My dad (a farmer at heart) always liked to drive around the countryside of our town to see how harvest was going.  I found these drives boring and pointless.  I had no vested interest in harvest and I did not know the farmers whose land we passed.  On the other hand, as a CPA, my dad gained valuable knowledge on these drives.  He had a mission and purpose. 

If you don’t share the mission and purpose of the project, your innovation team members will be bored and disoriented (and may even fall asleep in the backseat!).   The project charter for the innovation effort aligns the team to the strategic mission of the project.  It explains why the work is important, who the customer is, how the work will be conducted, and what the expectations are for a finished product.  The project charter is so important in guiding the work of a cross functional team that the Project Management Institute (PMI®) says you don’t even have a project without a charter! 

Cross-Functional Team Skills

Cross-functional innovation teams become effective through a five-step process that includes:

  1. Self-awareness,
  2. Team management,
  3. Project life cycle,
  4. Charter, and
  5. Special circumstances. 

Self-awareness lays the groundwork for sharing conversations and creating open dialogue for intra- and inter-team communications.  Team management builds on the trust that comes from understanding how each individual team member prefers to work and helps the team commit to goals.

Every team goes through a standard life cycle of initiating the project, building relationships, planning the work, and doing the work.  Again, work style preferences and a foundation of trust support effective progress.  These elements are especially important for more risky innovation efforts.  And, as the life of the project advances, team processes, like the team charter keep the team on track. 

Finally, innovation leaders consider special situations or circumstances for team effectiveness.  For instance, virtual teams have special needs to utilize the generalist-specialist skills of the dispersed team members.  NPD projects with lots of government oversight and regulatory compliance require special processes and procedures, as well. 

Grow Your Team Skills

If your innovation teams suffer from a lack of open communication or are driving aimlessly you need attend our next webinar on Building Effective Cross-Functional Teams.  Part 1 covers the first two steps in the team building process:  self-awareness and team management.  Part 2 discuss is how to capitalize on the project life cycle and ensure the project charter links the effort to your strategic mission.  We also describe the Virtual Team Model so your new product development efforts can benefit from globally dispersed team members. 

Space is filling fast for the Q&A webinar on Friday, 6 September 2019 at noon CDT.  Register now!

About Me

I am inspired by writing, teaching, and coaching.   I tackle life with an infusion of rigor, zeal, and faith.   It brings me joy to help you build innovation leaders.   I am an experienced professional with a passion for lifelong learning with a PhD in Chemical Engineering and an MBA in Computer and Information Decision Making.   My credentials include PE (State of Louisiana), NPDP, PMP®, and CPEM, and I am a DiSC® certified facilitator.   Contact me at info@simple-pdh.com or area code 281 + phone 280-8717 for more information on coaching for entrepreneurs and innovators.

© Simple-PDH.com

A Division of Global NP Solutions, LLC  

Study.         Learn.         Earn.         Simple.