As you might recall many of my blog posts are about differentiation, localisation, and innovations. These are the key tools of success in the future where the global playing field has doubled in size and probably even more on creativity and knowledge due to all earlier people locked out now fighting for a place in sun.
Being able to innovate you need a deeply understanding of sourcing and localization as well as being able to link it to tour differentiation strategy. However, innovating is not an easy task, but imperative for success. I have complied a very tangible 10 step latter to improve your innovation capabilities. Have fun, and let my know how it works for you.
- Collect your management team
- Point out that it is imperative that you start to innovate to differentiate, provide fails and success cases. Start a debate about why only certain people drive the innovations.
- Get accept that only a few people innovate
- Get accept that very few innovations cases are bring measurable impact on bottom line results
- Ask how much’s this cost (potential losses or actual losses) in Euros, or any currency
- Get a commitment that this is not good
- Challenge your team, ask them to beat you and all the high performing innovators. Put a well defined goal to reach and a way of measly it
- Put up a very basic process on the wall: Strategy, Ideation, Feasibility, Capability, Launch. Kill all ideas that not move forward in the process
- Write on the wall every day and under each step
- Get together every week and coach you team with following structure
- Good news
- Progress, appreciate your team
- Critical factors that are not working and hindering you and your teams progress
- Actions to be taken
- Priorities and goal for next week
