Stop Worrying And Start Managing Innovation

Innovation is a concept we hold in high esteem in the abstract, but it is feared in the real world. This is particularly true in business in which many believe the status quo will carry them through to next week, next quarter and maybe even into retirement. And it is in retirement when we can all sit back and enthusiastically complain about everything and how it is all going to hell in a hurry.

In many cases, the fear of innovation is both well founded and pointless. It is based, in large part, on the unknown, unfamiliar and unproven, which are all manageable. More importantly, how well businesspeople manage these fears often determines whether they will make it into next year and beyond. Today's business world is one in which the status quo is a perilously short-term strategy.

The first step in innovation management relies on data. While smart businesspeople don't entirely abandon their gut instincts and experience, neither do they discount or discard new data that challenges those instincts. New technologies, changing marketplace environments and even the perspective of new employees feed into the smart manager's data flow.

While pundits are fond of expounding on so-called "disruptive technologies" and "disruptive innovation," the mundane truth is that the vast majority of change comes much more slowly through "step innovation." It only seems to happen overnight to the more somnolent managers. Those with their eyes wide open are in a constant process of sorting the fads from the future.

Another pillar of innovation management, Proof of Concept, or PoC, borrows its name from engineering. Essentially a form of prototyping or small-scale testing, the term is relatively new to the business lexicon. However, the principle is well established. Take, for instance, the use of so-called breadboards in early electronics design. These compact units, now largely obsolete, allowed electrical engineers to design circuitry without the effort associated with soldering. Using these devices, engineers could run through multiple designs quickly by simply plugging wires into the board. In business today, that same function is performed by computer models that allow managers to test multiple "what if" scenarios efficiently.

Proof of Concept extends to tests in real world settings. This may include a single vending machine placed on location or a whole product line put in front of the customer in a small sampling of locations. In essence, it is a small "test bet" designed to produce quantifiable results. For many businesspeople, these kinds of small bets are second nature. But they are often conducted on an ad hoc basis and not part of a larger program of testing with no one in charge. Therefore, whatever data are collected are short-lived and dispersed, and the value of the results immediately degraded.

The third piece of the innovation management puzzle is scalability. Will a concept that succeeds on a small sampling work on a larger scale? And what are the limits, if any, to its size? This is the difference between a highly successful niche concept or product and overambitious failure. Take, for instance, the very popular kale cookies. They fly off the shelves in some small shops -- though woe to parents who dare include one in their child's school lunch. Similarly, large organizations are designed around large-scale strategies while small businesses generally have the ability to profitably provide more options.

Finally, if technological advance is a small step for innovation, so is its integration into a business. Testing, planning and application are the difference between jumping on a bandwagon heading for parts unknown and sitting in the driver's seat.