How to Plan the Process

Appoint a leader and team to take your projects on the journey.

Make sure your innovation structure is fixed before a project starts, and that all those involved are aware of the key stages. Planning for the process includes:

• Chart out a clear pathway along which innovation can proceed.
• Fix key stages: initial ideas, development, testing, launch.
• Allocate resources: money, time, skills, and knowledge.
• Appoint a leader and team to take your projects on the journey.
• Fix points to assess projects before granting more resources.

ACTION POINT: Know the guide posts for the innovation process to keep it on track.

Structuring the Process

All of these procedures require resources...

Managing an innovation through this process requires a well-defined structure, especially if you want to repeat the process and keep on generating and implementing new products, services, and processes.

Not only must you establish each stage of the journey in detail, and provide a support structure to make sure your idea continues to progress, but you must also establish procedures for reviewing the project at each stage -- and sometimes in between stages -- to ensure that it remains on track and is still worth further investment.

All of these procedures require resources, and your plan should include providing money, materials, and trained personnel to make innovations projects progress.

ACTION POINT: Use process and procedure to establish a structure for innovation.

Article 7.3 Employee Involvement and Teamwork

...working together to achieve common goals and will enhance the quality of life at work for each of us.

Employee involvement is a way of managing which emphasizes teamwork, the sharing of the information, creation of opportunities to contribute ideas and participate in problem solving.

Teamwork is defined as work done by a number of associates each doing a part but all subordinating personal prominence to the efficiency of the whole.

Employee involvement will enable all FSG employees to contribute their ideas an creative energies to support he continued growth of the corporation. It will also foster working together to achieve common goals and will enhance the quality of life at work for each of us.

ACTION POINT: Solicit, use and encourage the creative energies of your team to strengthen the organization.

Mapping the Route

A decision must be made as to whether the idea has the potential to benefit your organization,

There are four key stages that an idea must pass through before it enters the market or becomes a standard process. The first is the initial concept. A decision must be made as to whether the idea has the potential to benefit your organization, and whether the predicted costs merit further investment.

The second stage is a detailed exploration of the practicalities -- how the concept might work in practice, and, indeed, whether it is physically possible. At the same time, the concept must be developed so that you can discuss and share it with others, not least because along the way you'll have to convince some of them to provide funds, resources, and time to help you get it off the ground.

The third phase is testing, which may include building a prototype and researching how people in your target market (customers, clients, or coworkers) react to it. Finally, once testing is complete the product can be launched, but even after launch its performance must be monitored to ensure your innovation provides the promised benefits.

ACTION POINT: Valuable change must be tested, supported and deliver real benefits to the organization.

Making Innovation Happen

Only the very best ideas -- those that are most likely to succeed-- will ultimately make it into development.

Once your innovative idea has been conceived an selected as worth pursuing, it needs to go through stages of development to make it a reality. It is important for any organization to have a standard process for developing innovations, particularly if you intend to make regular changes.

The standard structure for the innovation process is to take your idea forward in stages. At each stage, the idea is reviewed to decide whether it is worth pursuing further. For every stage that it passes, an increasing amount of money, time, and resources must be dedicated to the project. This testing process is often described as a sort of funnel.

The mouth is wide, in that many ideas can begin the process, but more and more ideas will be rejected at each stage as they are show to be unworkable for one reason or another. Only the very best ideas -- those that are most likely to succeed-- will ultimately make it into development.

ACTION POINT: Establish a process for innovation to filter out everything but the best ideas.