Where innovation happens part I: innovation in a specific group

About this Publication

Overview

Since most innovation is product oriented and incremental in nature, innovation is traditionally thought of as something that happens within R&D or the product management functions. However, even with innovation occurring in these groups – probably the easiest to manage and measure of all innovation locations – the process of innovation is rarely a well-oiled machine. With the aid of a centralized unit of innovation, this Quick Insight aims to demonstrate how it can become one.

Implications

Where groups are allowed to create their own processes and databases, there is a significant opportunity for redundancy and rework and little opportunity for groups to learn from each other and take advantage of corporate knowledge.

In particular, this Quick Insight demonstrates:

• where innovation can happen and how a centralized innovation group can help
• how DSM’s innovation center facilitates internal learning and sharing of understanding across the businesses
• how HANNING’s central unit of innovation co-ordinates idea evaluation from across the business
• how Whirlpool implemented a centralized idea management system to effectively capture, process and assess ideas from “everywhere and everyone” in the organization.

Originality

With thought leader Jeffrey Phillips’ views on the problems with innovation in specific groups and his recommended solutions, this Quick Insight focuses on the theory of why and how a central innovation unit can assist the innovation process within small, focused teams. In addition, it offers case examples of how this approach has been successful in practice.

Structure

• The "Focus on…central innovation teams" specifies the various locations in businesses where innovation can happen, and offers case examples from DSM and HANNING.
  
• The core article "Innovation locations part I: innovation within a specific group” by Jeffrey Phillips of OVO outlines why and how businesses should be introducing centralized units of innovation.
  
• The box item is a case study describing how Whirlpool has introduced a centralized idea management system to effectively capture and track ideas from around the organization’s values and unmet needs.

Table of Content

Key Insights