Innovative Leadership Needs Innovation Strategy Models

Core Innovation Strategy

Innovation Strategy Insights: Top Tips to Promote Innovation

Business Innovation Strategy - Don't Stop After One Good Innovation

The Importance of Innovation and Strategy

Small Business Innovation - Benefits of Being Small When Developing a Business Innovation Strategy

Coca-Cola's Marketing Strategy

Zynga IPO Outlook July 7 (Bloomberg) -- Michael Yoshikami, chief investment strategist at

July 7 (Bloomberg) -- Michael Yoshikami, chief investment strategist at YCMNet Advisors, Bob Rice, general managing partner at Tangent Capital Partners LLC, Paul Martino, managing director at Bullpen Capital, and Paul Bard, director of research at Renaissance Capital LLC, talk about Zynga Inc.'s plan to raise $1 billion in an initial public offering and the outlook for the company. (Excerpts. Source: Bloomberg)

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Start With Innovation Strategy

Innovation and Business - 7 Common Mistakes When Implementing a Business Innovation Strategy

Many entrepreneurs and business leaders do not understand how to fully leverage innovations in their business. Here's a list of common mistakes when developing an innovation strategy.

Only for Technology Companies - Many people believe that innovations are only for technology-based companies. Although technology businesses develop plenty of innovations, any business - regardless of size, location or industry - can develop innovations. These innovations may relate to the company's products and services as well as internal business procedures.

Just for Scientists and R&D Department - Business leaders often leave the company's innovation activities to the Engineering or Research and Development departments. However, this approach can cause a company to miss out on many valuable innovations. I have seen numerous examples of innovations developed by individuals without any formal science or engineering training. These individuals often come up with great ideas because they are not "burdened" by the scientific training of others. They approach problems from a different angle and do not limit their thinking based on existing company products or systems.

Thinking Innovation is Expensive - Teaching people how to identify innovative ideas takes some time, but the returns produced by new products and new product features can far outweigh the investment of time. Educating all personnel about innovation builds a culture of innovation that produces a steady flow of innovative ideas throughout the business.

Failing to Identify All Innovative Ideas - Innovations can be found throughout most companies, but there must be a system for identifying and recording those innovative ideas. A good identification system provides a quick and easy method for all personnel to submit innovations for evaluation.

Making Innovation Boring - People who have not been involved with an innovative company often do not understand that innovation can be fun. Celebrate creative thinking and reward great ideas that help the business grow. Offer innovation contests, brainstorming sessions and other activities that encourage innovation throughout the company. Show examples of innovations that are strengthening the company's position in its market.

Delaying the Innovation Process - Don't wait until your business grows to a particular size to begin developing an innovation strategy. Many small businesses can bring creative ideas to market faster than large corporations because of their small size. Take advantage of the flexibility available to small companies and start building your innovation culture today.

Not Letting Customers Support the Innovation Process - Many valuable innovations have been developed based on customer suggestions and problems identified by customers. Treat every problem or suggestion from a customer as a "seed" for developing your company's next innovation.

If you are making any of these mistakes in your own business, consider a change today to accelerate the growth of your company.

You can start taking action on your own Innovation Strategy today by claiming your Free Report "Innovation Excellence" at http://www.InnovationStrategyReport.com

From Steve Sponseller - Innovation Strategist

Innovation Strategy Models Need Innovative Leadership Guides

Innovation strategy models usually follow this uninspired recipe

- let's encourage employee ideas, throw together a business case,

justify the costs and operating budget, dish-up a marketing

strategy and production project plan, hope for the best.

There are other organizations who believe in innovation

strategies which heavily depend on setting up and managing

arrangements, special relationships or partnerships with their

supplier community. I am not trying to find fault with those

methods, however, my argument is with those who are supposed to

act as the agents of innovative leadership.

What is the purpose of an innovation strategy? We innovate to

take advantage of the opportunities caused by change. For

example, prayer is a strategy we use to cope with our personal

challenges. And "prayer", as philosopher, Soren Kierkegaard so

aptly observed, "does not change God, but it changes him who

prays."

Simply stated, it is not the strategy that changes, it is we who

change as we employ our strategy and use it to encourage,

energize, enlighten and engage ourselves to strive for achieving

its objectives. In a word, our innovation strategies can not be

expected to change the world, our strategy must compel us to

change the ways we think about, react to and perform in the

world.

"Without change there is no innovation, creativity, or incentive

for improvement. Those who initiate change will have a better

opportunity to manage the change that is inevitable."

- William Pollard

Innovative Leadership Guide-1: Thinking through your innovation

strategy model

"Innovation is not the product of logical thought, although the

result is tied to logical structure."

- Albert Einstein

Your innovation strategy model must enable you to execute four

essential tasks:
It has to help you recognize the components of a changing
landscape [explore],


It must expose you to the needs imposed upon your ecosystems
by the change [create]


It should usher you through the changes you hope to exploit [
implement],


It must empower you to adapt to the changes in your
marketplace and your offering [supervise].

Innovative leadership means finding clearly defined pathways

through the territories you operate within - this includes the

environments of your organization, partners, markets and

end-customers. Innovative leaders channel or direct the shared,

received and transmitted energies found in their ecosystems of

profound knowledge, work processes and social relationships.

Innovation leadership uses the innovation strategy model as a

guide towards:

1) Directing innovative activities;

2) Developing crucial systems, resources and assets;

3) Disciplining the process, purpose and players of
innovation
Innovative Leadership Guide-2: Reacting to your innovation

strategy model

Your innovative leadership team uses the innovation strategy

model to tweak, adjust and maintain its course towards

successful outcomes. The most effective strategy models provide

leaders with:
Windows on historical, internal and external
circumstance [Realities];


Mechanisms to control and adjust to changes [Dynamic
Controls]


Applications of energy to inspire, relieve and educate [
Leadership];


Metrics which expose exchanges, dependencies and
transfers [Ecosystem Management];


Revelations of beliefs, meanings and feelings [
Coordinated Communications];


Relationships between the observed, measured and
assumed [Progress Dashboards];


Opportunity "areas" where the strategy can be executed [
Organic Leveraging].

"Cast aside those who liken godliness to whimsy and who try to

combine their greed for wealth with their desire for a happy

afterlife." - Kahlil Gibran

If your innovation strategy model depends on a "kiss from the

muse", a "bright idea" and some similar "eureka" experience, you'll

have very few and far between innovations emerging from your

organization.

Innovative Leadership Guide-3: Performing on the promises of an

innovation strategy model

"Never before in history has innovation offered promise of so

much to so many in so short a time."

- Bill Gates

Back in the Industrial Age, we followed a series of steps, made

use of equipment and mechanized systems and relied on prodigious

amounts of fiscal and human capital to achieve the promises of

success. We may live in a different era, I call it, the

Imagination Economy, yet we need the same amounts of effort and

focus to realize our goals.

A few years ago, our competitive advantages were based upon our

ability to shape raw information into forms of relevant,

applicable knowledge. Today, we compete against the imaginations

of others - we have to slice and dice knowledge and blend it

with universal wisdom, intuitive know-how and meaningful

what-ifs to produce sustainable, profitable, productive

innovations.

In the Imagination Age, innovative leadership will be called

upon to map-out the complexities, model optimal congruencies and

mold evolutionary conceptualizations of our world. Leaders will

meet the many challenges of this new Age by seeing people as

four dimensional beings - that is, as physical, intellectual,

spiritual and developmental entities.

Innovative leadership will use their innovation strategy models

to fully exploit and leverage the many strengths of their

available human capital assets - intellectual and physical assets

[think and do], production and social assets [process and

interact], as well as, innovative and developmental assets [learn and imagine].

"Innovation is the specific instrument of entrepreneurship. The

act that endows resources with a new capacity to create wealth."

- Peter F. Drucker

A model for your innovation strategies is an essential

ingredient in your organization's competitive recipe - without

such a model, your business will lack the flavor of innovating.

Your customers, constituents and communities may begin to

perceive the staleness of your old, crumbling offerings and stop

putting your products on their shelves.

You need to mix together all the elements of an innovation

strategy model listed above and use these innovative leadership

guidelines to manage and energize your strategy. Innovation is

industry and it requires persistent, determined effort. And just

like the industries of old, innovation can follow a process, it

can use capital assets, it can be measured or assessed and it

can be led and managed.

"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead were there is no

path and leave a trail."

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Copyright © 2006, Mustard Seed Investments Inc., All rights

reserved.

Bill Thomas develops innovative leaders and helps them design innovation strategy models for success in the Imagination Age - his books, manuals, Executive Briefings, software, speeches and training programs define sustainable innovation processes and empower leaders to produce measurably powerful results! Learn "How to Energize Your Innovative Leadership Power and Model Your Winning Innovation Strategy!"

http://www.leadership-toolkit.com/innovation.html