Call Us: 508.359.6048
Innovation clients frequently ask us how to make better decisions when pursuing breakthrough innovation. Decision making in pursuit of breakthrough and transformational innovation is significantly different that which is for sustaining or incremental innovation (where frames of reference, past benchmarks, etc. exist). There are five key decision points along the journey. At each point, beliefs, assumptions, SWAGS, etc. will get tighter, and more useful.
Topics: Jay Terwilliger, SNIFF test, Innovation criteria, selecting, selection, evaluating ideas, evaluating innovation, Innovation, Innovation Strategy, criteria for innovation
What if Henry Ford got it wrong?
Topics: Jay Terwilliger, creative, Innovation, breakthrough innovation
Topics: Jay Terwilliger, levels of innovation, 3 levels, three levels, defining innovation, innovation language, Creating an Innovation Team, Collaboration, breakthrough innovation, leadership, strategic innovation, criteria for innovation, decision-making, Creating an Innovation agenda, platform thinking, disruptive innovation
Topics: Jay Terwilliger, Innovation, Obama, President Obama, Obama's innovation, State of the Union
Leadership often involves making decisions in the face of insufficient information. This is especially true when it comes to enabling the pursuit of innovation. Doing nothing until the situation clarifies itself is in itself a decision. But, by the time the situation is clear the real opportunity has passed. As Will Rodgers once said “Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.”
Topics: Jay Terwilliger, Future, trends, Innovation, Strategic Goals
Topics: Jay Terwilliger, Innovation, leadership, strategic innovation, strategy, growth, implementation
Topics: Jay Terwilliger, breakthrough innovation, approximate thinking, connection making, developmental thinking
Topics: Jay Terwilliger, Creating an Innovation Team, Championed Teamwork, Expertise and Naivete, M.A.S.H
Sooner or later, no matter how obviously brilliant your idea, someone is going to ask "how big is it?" And in too many situations, this question will be asked way too early in the process (but that's a subject for another day). As a result, I'm even hesitant to provide folks here with a way to answer the question. Because providing a financial estimate too early in the process is more often a Kiss of Death than a useful bit of information. Why? Because if the topic under discussion is an incremental innovation, everyone probably already knows the answer (whatever 1-2% more of the existing sales would be). In the case of breakthrough innovations, the answer is a much more subjective question because there is no existing frame of reference for the answer. New ideas have new markets, new customers, new value propositions, new purchase behaviors, etc. So at best, providing financial information is a S.W.A.G. (Silly or Scientific Wild Ass Guess). Breakthrough innovation should be looked predominantly through a strategic lens in the early stages. Stay Loose until Rigor Counts!
Topics: Jay Terwilliger, breakthrough innovation, defensible SWAG
