Solution Finding

Some years ago, while working on Supply Chain innovations, I visited a Molex plant in Lincoln Nebraska. The purpose to study process implementation, became overshadowed  by fascination with a two story manufacturing facility. When molex decided to build an additional plant in Lincoln their plant management team drove the design ideas. The two stories allowed the movement of raw material is on the bottom level, manufacture and movement of finished goods on the upper level.

That alone is innovation, but they ran into a glitch. The raw components came on reels. They had trouble loading the leader from the reel, located on the bottom floor, to the manufacturing machine on the upper floor. While running the leader up to the top floor snags were happening and causing material loss. Not a good situation.

Someone had innovative idea. They connected 2 distinct yet divergent experiences. They would try a garage door opener. It has a sensor in case something is in the way of the door that could be set to varying degrees of sensitivity. Instead of running it horizontally they would run it vertically and even better -- the price -- a trip to Home Depot. It did the trick. They would load the leader and then the garage door opener would pull the line up to the top floor. If the leader caught anything the sensor would trigger and the leader would be sent back down.

This teams openess to new ideas enabled creative solutions. How open is your team to new ideas?

Innovation Mindset

Tony Robbins talks about human psychology and the need for both certainty and uncertainty. Sounds mutually exclusive, but that's what makes it human. To embark on any level of innovation means change and change means uncertainty. We quite often cling to the same way of doing things to ensure we face certainty, or what we feel is certainty, when in an ever changing world with increased velocity, that is not necessarily true. How do we shift peoples energy towards facing uncertainty?

In the Tour de France this year, Mark Canvendish a UK cyclist represents Team Columbia, a US team. At the moments as a sprinter his explosive power seems untouchable. At stage 13 the peloton (main group of cyclists) headed towards the finish line. Mark Cavendish positioned himself in the front but found himself boxed in as speed started to get revved up. Robbie McEwan a veteran sprinter of world renown was making a run for the line and Cavendish shifted himself out of his boxed in position and just rocketed past McEwan at astonishing acceleration to win the stage. Of course I was on the edge of my seat. Okay, so the world's greatest race doesn't neccessarily excite you.....

Sport of any kind is a game of teams or individuals where the uncertainy drives chears and boos and all kinds of emotions. Can you build that passion into your work environment? Think like a coach, build the dreams of your team.

Untapped Innovation and the Gift of Time

One of the most abundant source of ideas for your business reside hidden deep in the recesses of your own employees. Usually they are too busy to know it themselves because we are busy people in a busy world doing busy things. Quite often, we are busy fighting fires and fixing things that may not have so easily broken if we had taken an opportunity to think creatively and proactively about improving management of day to day business.

Be bold and find a way to give your people the gift of time to step back and think about solving problems in their daily lives, improve experiences for your customers and make things easier for everyone.

I believe in anchor points for activities such as 'a day offsite' or a 'time out to think' on a Friday afternoon. It is easier for people to think creatively if they have a starting point or reference. Paint a picture of how things could be easier. Use examples or case studies from other companies. Use a facilitator who can help walk people through a thought building exercise. Have a goal! and celebrate the results!

Total Offer - An innovative product doesn't always win

Business innovation extends beyond product innovation. When you have a great innovative product start thinking about marketing innovation, business model innovation, sales innovation. Don't stop with the tangible.

I own 2 Dutch ovens from a company called Kitchen Fair. I own them because a friend of mine went to a factory closing and picked them up for me. They claim to have a superior non-stick surface and from my experience, it could very well be absolutely true. I hadn't heard about them before my purchase, nor after. They still manufacture in Wisconsin and have corporate offices in Fort Worth, Texas. Great product - generally unheard of(at least to me). If it weren't for the factory closing, I would just think they were happy with their slice of then non-stick cookware pie, but then why the closing? Perhaps it's time to initiate online viral marketing to start. Maybe a movie on You Tube.

Highly caffeinated sugar water company Red Bull on the other hand has spent as much as 30% of revenue on innovative marketing techniques including extreme sport and event sponsorships. Differentiate the product and innovate around it. Build a billion dollar brand.

Think about your whole business when thinking about innovation.

Incremental Innovation

In “Five Common Mistakes in Innovation” by Dev Patnaik recently wrote that companies over-rely on pilot initiatives. Certainly a companies scale, cash flow, funding and strategic intent determines appropriate implementation options. Innovation doesn't always bring short term results, however there are ways to test and measure changes considered in your business. A recent article recently reported GE considered sale of it's kitchen division. The kitchen division's iconic image in the GE conglomerate seems outweighed by it's flat profitability. Perhaps GE has a way to measure public opinion by releasing this information pre-decision.

Test geographically, by customer segment, by channel or using classic marketing tests of focus groups or surveys. The Internet is also a great way to test and refine product or service innovations before making a full force launch of it.

Fear not testing, measuring and refining.

Asking questions to gain insight

Yesterday a button on my Lucky Jeans popped off. Not fun considering the original price of the jeans, so I decided to glue the button back on. What would I try? Krazy glue of course --- binds most surfaces, metal perhaps? Krazy glue has a great packaging innovation. Single use packets. Reusing a classic Krazy glue tube a second time usually ends in a minor success (after a bout of dry glue wrestling with push pins and needles) and a third time in complete frustration. Single use packets' practicality and ease of use make sense for the wallet and mindset. A happy customer is more likely to be a repeat customer.

Take some time to understand your customers' grievances. Not just the core functional aspects of your product, but ancillary and seemingly minor annoyances.

Customer insights can lead to innovation and all you need to do is ask.

Problems before Opportunities

I've been asked why I focus on problems instead of opportunities. I feel every problem is an opportunity but not every opportunity solves a problem or at least not an immediate problem.

As an example, I recently read an article about Amtrak. The story is about a wonderful 3 day journey. Travel for travel's sake. 3x cost & 3x time. This would solve my problem if I time on my hands.

When I read about the Deutche Bahn in Germany, I read about ICE (even the name sounds slick) trains with glass doors that swish, speeds to envy and business travel amenities. When I read about Japanese trains, I read about Internet connectivity and work space.

If Amtrak wants to solve their customers problems, they could target the same buyers airlines target, find the routes that make the most competitive sense and look to play their strengths, which have potential. My immediate problem is to get from place to place as quickly as possible, as economically as possible, with the most comfort and the least hassle. Trade-offs need to be made. Maybe when I retire I will take the opportunity to enjoy a nostalgic Amtrak route reliving the multi-day adventures of our ancestors.

Why the Innovation blog?

Innovation's mystique seems to have clouded the simplicity that jump-started so many successful businesses in the US. I just returned from Silicon Valley, the birth place of technology as we know it today. The tech museum in San Jose illustrates the level of creativity that drives one of the history's most profitable wealth generating epicenters.

A simple approach to Business Innovation does not require a PhD, a basement lab, or a team of techies. It requires a seed of creativity and a link to economic value.

To me, business innovation means solving problems.

Whose problems? Customer problems, management problems and even supplier problems are good places to start. Introducing change through new methods, new ideas, or new products drives innovation in everything from toilets to financial investments to iPods. Mathematicians keep negativity out of the term 'problem'. They consider problems to be questions; Questions that need answers.

Overcoming and solving problems has intrinsic economic value.