How to Develop a Corporate Innovation Idea
Learn How to Develop a Corporate Innovation Idea within your organization from A to Z with our comprehensive guide. An idea is only an idea unless it is developed into an actionable solution. Taking an innovative idea and turning it into an end result that will provide tangible benefits can be a long, and sometimes complex, process. When it comes to corporate innovation, this development effort is best accomplished with a deliberate step-by-step approach. This way the company can ensure that the idea is put into practice effectively and properly so that it realizes its full potential and brings about the desired outcome.
What should such an idea development process look like? Is there a guide that can help your corporation successfully navigate the journey from ideas to solutions?
A plan for successful idea development and innovation
Idea generation is just the first step in the innovation management process. The real challenges come after the early brainstorming sessions when you have to take the ideas generated during these sessions through the development process.
Why do you need a roadmap in the How to Develop a Corporate Innovation Idea Guide?
Even after your innovative idea is approved and vetted by experts, it still could fall victim to a number of different development roadblocks that could slow down, or even completely stop, the process and keep the company from benefitting from a fully-realized innovation.
Having a concise roadmap will put everyone who is involved in the development process on the same page so that you are all working towards the same objectives
A step-by-step strategy for the early stages
Planbox experts who created this guide advocate using a “Stage-Gate” strategy to pace the development of corporate innovation ideas (especially for incremental ideas that are more geared toward continuous improvement) and to make certain that there is a strong foundation to avoid any backsliding. With stage-gates, the development team can deal with any issues that arise before moving on to the next stage. They will always be built on a strong foundation and maximize the likelihood that their corporate innovation effort will be successful.
How to Develop a Corporate Innovation Idea takes would be innovators through each stage, showing them how to proceed so that they can “open the gate” to the next stage.
The guide covers strategies for communicating the corporate idea as well as how to identify and explain its benefits. These are important steps to make certain that everyone is on the same page and buys into their role in developing the idea.
A realistic plan for getting past obstacles
This innovation management guide also offers insights for dealing with potential pitfalls and conducting experiments, research and tests to perfect your idea and implementation strategy.
The final stages of corporate innovation idea development are the most crucial. However, if you have created a strong base using the Stage-Gate strategy, your chances of success will be increased.
These final stages include organizing funding for the innovation, planning, launch and, finally, monetization. The process also has an ongoing “stage” during which the monetization efforts are evaluated and altered or corrected as necessary.
Why use this process to help design your innovation strategy?
Corporations view innovation management as an investment. This is not just a monetary investment, but an investment of highly skilled resources, expertise and time. How to Develop a Corporate Innovation Idea provides insight that can help a company earn a great return on these “investments.”
A little more about time: Developing in stages can actually help decrease the overall time to market for the innovation. Why? Because it brings structure to what is often a confusing undertaking, and it helps to deal with time-consuming problem-solving along the way, rather than at the end of the development phase. If you focus on the stages one by one, there will be less need for backtracking to fix a problem. Backtracking doesn’t just waste time, it means that every step taken after the mistake is based on a less-than-solid foundation.
Any kind of innovation can be messy. Some even describe the process as “chaotic.” An organized approach will not only give your corporation a better chance at achieving measurable results, it will also bring structure to the innovation effort. In other words, everyone who is working on the initiative will be “on the same page” and working on well-defined activities that drive the team effort towards the agreed upon objectives. This will enhance the feeling of ownership of the corporate innovation idea and give everyone the motivation to work to their best potential.
Download How to Develop a Corporate Innovation Idea to learn more about this powerful planning and implementation method for corporate innovation.