TOP 10 KEYS TO INNOVATION SUCCESS

THE BEST COMPANIES USE

P I V O T A L I N N O V A T I O N

THE TOP 25% OF INNOVATORS

OUTPERFORM THE BOTTOM

25% BY 12 TIMES

Sou r c e : PDMA

This means, on average for every dollar invested in R&D, a top innovator delivers $39 of new

revenue where a bottom innovator delivers only $3.30.

Sou r c e : PDMA

HOW DO TH EY DO I T ?

Successful executive  teams  

systematical ly leverage  ten  key aspects

of  their  business to drive their

innovation performance . They do this

dif ferently and better than  teams at

other companies .  

1 . GOVERNANCE

A holistic directional framework for

inspiring, steering and sustaining innovation. Most companies don’t have any innovation

governance at all. The top innovators do.  

GOV ERNANCE

2 . STRATEGY

S TRA T EGYA clearly defined strategy that i s also

innovative empowers the organizat ion

to obtain the purpose through the

mission . Strategic plans f rom great

companies are dist inctly dif ferent f rom

the rest .

3 . ORGANIZATION

ORGAN I ZA T I ONAn innovative organizat ion i s

structured to rapidly and f lexibly

develop and execute innovation

opportunit ies , while empowering

dynamic teams focused on the effort  

i r respective of functions .  

“We assume that technologies and technological capabilities have no

boundaries or barriers.  Any product or manufacturing technology is available to

any business in any industry in any geography around the world.”  

- 3M

4 . RESOURCES

RESOURC ES

Resources are al l of the

assets , including people ,

cash , and property that

are required to advance

innovation efforts . For

innovation , the focus

needs to be on people

resources and how to

innovate f rom within

through learning .

1

3

5 . IDEAS

 A systems approach to idea generation, synthesis, decision support and design advancement needs to be in place.  By systems approach, we mean that top companies use a superior scientific

methodology to transform ideas into value.

IDEAS

6 . INITIATIVES

  Initiatives are actionable tasks or

projects.  A strategic thrust may take years to

attain, whereas an initiative may take

days, weeks or months. Top innovators manage

and drive multiple initiatives to advance performance on each innovation objective.  

I N I T IA T I V E S

7 . METHODS

METHODS

Techniques that empower team members to

accomplish work with higher value, quality

and speed (e.g.  contextual interviewing, jobs-

to-be-done or ethnography to gain better

customer insight).

8 . COLLABORATION

CO L LABORA T I ON

Innovation i s most

successful with wide

scale col laborat ion

working within and

across teams , across

the entire organizat ion ,

and with external

resources .    

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9 . LEARNING

L EARN INGGreat innovators invest the t ime and

resources necessary to ingrain

education in the natural innovation

process .

10 . PERFORMANCE

Running innovation performance

management on a cadence similar to financial review

rhythms significantly changes the game. 

P ER FORMANCE

A MOVEMENTProfitable innovation is next to impossible without these key factors in place.

By systematizing innovation and running innovation using a disciplined approach,

top companies are outpacing the competition.  If you employ a haphazard

approach to innovation and are expecting a “eureka” breakthrough moment for

your next big product or service, sadly, you will be disappointed with the results.

CONC LUS I ON

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