How Leaders F-Up Innovation
When it comes to innovation, most tools, processes and frameworks are prescriptive. They promise, in essence, if you’d just do it right, you’ll always be successful. Somehow despite this, 75% of companies still report that their innovation efforts are not meeting their expectations, 60% of product launches continue to fail and 50% of innovation projects are abandoned.
INNOVATIONS AT THE 2024 FANCY FOOD SHOW
Almost every booth at the 2024 Fancy Food Show claimed they offered something new, an innovation. But I found most were not more than incremental changes to existing products; new flavors, formats or packaging. However, a few booths did stand out to me as being both innovative and aligned with market trends.
Unlocking Profit: The Case for Hiring a Fractional COO in Small Businesses
In the world of small businesses, sales performance, efficiencies, structure and product/market fit are keys to unlocking profitability and growth. Yet, many business owners and CEOs find themselves struggling to capture the profitability they believe their business should have. This is where the value of a fractional COO becomes evident.
How to Fail at Innovation #8: Believing Users Can Tell You What They Will Buy
Advising against relying solely on consumer focus group feedback in the innovation process can seem counterintuitive at first glance. After all, customer insights are crucial for designing products or services that meet market and user needs. However, there are compelling reasons why researchers and innovators might need to exercise caution with focus group feedback.
How To F-Up Innovation #16: Poor Project Portfolio Management
Innovations have no value until they are launched. The most effective way to launch more, and better, innovations is to practice innovation portfolio optimization. The issue isn’t ”if” your company is practicing innovation portfolio management, it’s “how”.
Are innovation failures always as obvious in the moment as they are post-facto?
Are innovation failures always as obvious in the moment as they are post-facto? Here’s a short list of some product launches that, on paper, had all the elements needed for success, but were total failures none the less. I’m not listing head-scratching new products like Juicero, but thoughtful, strategic innovations that could have been successful. […]
The Primary Reason I See Innovators Fail
A primary reason I see many small businesses fail to grow, or even fail completely, is the reluctance of their founders to embrace sales as the most critical function for their success.
Four Reasons Executives Should Stop Innovating
The first step in launching a successful new product is to avoid the common traps that nearly guarantee failure.
Leaders need to ask themselves why failed products were launched in the first place. How did leaders NOT see that some products were certain to fail.
Three Rules to Follow When Making Innovation Decisions
Making any decision about innovation is extremely challenging. Leaders are frequently confronted with the need to make definitive choices in situations where the potential outcomes are, at best, unclear.
To achieve success in innovation, leaders must adhere to these three fundamental rules when making decisions.
Leaders Should be Micro-Managers but not Micro-Deciders
It is important to distinguish between being a micro-manager and being a micro-decider. One builds engagement and accountability, the other can be highly detrimental.