Over the last 10+ years, my fellow researchers and I have spent an enormous time in the field with firm to understand what are the fundamentals of lean innovation. This cuts across new ventures in a variety of industries and also the largest of firms, and how they approach innovation. In compiling lessons learned from our studies of hundreds of firms, here are ten key elements managers need to know about developing a lean innovation process within your organization:
Embrace the Outsider
Corporations can be insular places. And this inward looking focus can make the innovation process sclerotic. We found that those firms that are willing to ‘shake things up’ and bring in outside resources, from project managers and freelance experts to design firms can clear the cobwebs of your innovation project. Think Tony Fadell at Apple – a project manager brought in from the outside, leader of the original iPod team. These outside experts can also be design firms like IDEO or Continuum, designed to help internal projects break the norm. Get a fresh pair of eyes, and not consultants, but hands-on experts to reshape your efforts.
For further reading, check out:
Meyer, M.A. and Marion, T.J. 2010. Innovating for Effectiveness: Lessons from Design Firms. Research-Technology Management, 53(5): 21-28.
Give Lots of Rope
The best innovation teams are those that are empowered, to go inside and outside corporate walls to succeed. In our research, we call these hyper-agile teams, which can leverage the best of what new ventures do best, do anything it takes to move ‘the ball down the field.’ It is essential management give the support and freedom for teams to operate in this fashion. Without it, they are just skunk works teams constrained inside the same corporate bounds.
For further reading, check out:
Marion, T.J. Dunlap, D. and Friar, J.H. 2012. Instilling the Entrepreneurial Spirit in Your R&D Team: What Large Firms Can Learn from Successful Start-ups. IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, 59(2): 323-337.
Spaces are Important
Corporate sandboxes, innovation spaces and labs. Physical space is important. From the work of Thomas Allen in the 1970’s on workspace communication and collaboration to the design of Apple’s new Cupertino, CA headquarters, the layout and fostering of interaction is tied to communication, knowledge flow, and ultimately innovation success. The most innovative firms care about this, and it generates results. However, just establishing an innovation lab will not spur innovation. There’s a lot more than just the space to consider.
Embrace Collaborative Technology
Wikis, Dropbox’s, cloud-based project management tools, video walls. All of these are technology examples designed to promote communication and collaboration. In our research, the highest performing firms from an innovation project perspective embrace these new tools, and are not afraid to try tools from new ventures. These firms don’t wait for corporate IT, they go out and have teams use what they want. Want a video wall? Hook-up continuous Skype between two offices and see what happens. Traditional Gantt charts not cutting it? Try teamwork.com. In empirical studies, we found that new and social tools have a significant, positive impact on the development process.
For further reading, check out:
Marion, T.J., Barczak, G. and Hultink, E.J. 2014. Do Social Media Tools Impact the Development Phase? An Exploratory Study. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 31(1): 18-29.
Design Beyond Appearance and Usability
Design, like innovation, is somewhat of an overused buzzword. A well-designed product that is beautiful, intuitive, functional, and delivers a world class user experience are now baseline features. Every product and service must have those qualities. What sets apart the truly innovative firm is the drive beyond traditional design into business model and service innovation and integration. Tesla doesn’t just sell an electric vehicle, they sell a new approach to buying, maintaining, servicing, fueling and updating a transportation device. Yes the Model S and X are beautiful and clever, but above everything else, it is the underlying business and service model that is transformative.
Maximize the Minimal
Lean startup methods prescribe the development of functional prototypes to test and validate ideas early, refine, and pivot is needed. Developing a minimally functional prototype (MVP) is a good philosophy, but new technology allows quick and inexpensive development of very credible prototypes. Examples include painted 3D printed prototypes that look and feel like a final product, clean and slick software demos. If you are interfacing with lead users, investors, lead channel partners – spend just a little more time leveraging new prototyping technology to have a more resolved MVP. However, be careful to managing design iterations, as digital technology can foster a culture of endless iterations and churn.
For further reading, check out:
Marion, T.J., Fixson, S.K. and Meyer, M.H. 2012. The Problem with Digital Design. Sloan Management Review, 53(4): 63-68.
Develop Your Support Network
Having a ‘blackbook’ of expert vendors and partners readily available can maximize lean innovation efforts. This select, expert set of vendors and partners that can design, supply, manufacture, fulfill, etc. with blinding speed and quality. And think about having them be local. While firms like Foxconn and other contract manufacturers (CMs) are great for the largest of firms like Apple, don’t overlook smaller firms and individuals. These can substantially lower costs and speed time to test.
For further reading, check out:
Marion, T.J. and Friar, J.H. 2012. Managing Global Outsourcing to Enhance Lean Innovation. Research-Technology Management, 55(5): 44-50.
Lead with your Lead
Bring in your lead potential customers early, and have them be a part of the validation process. These can include OEMs, channel partners, and even investors. Have them become vested in the project and its success. Forty percent of new product launches fail, so increase the success of your innovation process by validating with the people that may write the first purchase order. It’s simple and commonsense, but all too often innovations are developed in a vacuum.
Establish ‘Corn Mounds’
In Native American agriculture, careful planting and arrangement of nourishment for the seeds substantially increased crop yields. The corn mound approach was passed through generations and eventually onto European settlers. For your internal innovation projects, create a culture of R&D corn mounds. Idea hunts, structured seed investment, thoughtful incentives for team involvement, a culture tolerant of failure, and a mentoring and coaching structure. While each individually is important, together they represent a thoughtful approach to innovation cultivation. Money, like water in horticulture, is by itself not a recipe for growth.
Strip the Process
In our investigations of new ventures, the most successful firms eschewed traditional processes like stage-gates, traditional approaches to marketing, and established a culture in which milestones were key. Progress was valued much more heavily than process. For your lean innovation efforts, remove red tape, bureaucracy, and procedures. Focus on milestone management rather than traditional project or program management. A task list in Basecamp.com can be much more effective than a complicated, and always out of date, Gantt chart.
For further reading, check out:
Marion, T.J., Friar, J.H. and Simpson, T.W. 2012. New Product Development and Early-Stage Firms: Two In-Depth Case Studies. Journal of Product Innovation Management, 29(4): 639-654.