Посты с тэгом: best practices

The CMO’s Guide to Driving Innovation

Published date: November 22, 2008 в 10:05 am

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Forrester Research, Inc has released a new publication titled "The CMO's Guide to Driving Innovation." Cindy Commander at Forrester, has outlined best practices for chief marketing officers to drive innovation across the organization.  As part of the research, she interviewed senior marketers from BMW, Equifax, GE, IBM, Johnson & Johnson, LeapFrog, and Samsung Electronics America.  In addition she spoke with consultants from Innovaro, InnovationLabs, and PRTM.  For companies seeking insights about innovation methods and programs, this report is essential.

The report outlines four key areas of focus for marketing leaders: culture, team, process, and insights.  The report goes into detail within each of these and includes best practices and examples as well as recommendations for overcoming common challenges. I had the privilege of being interviewed for the report.  Here are the people highlighted:

  • Jochen Schmalholz, Head of Marketing Innovation, BMW
  • Alex Gonzalez, SVP, Strategic Marketing, Equifax
  • Patia McGrath, Global Director – Innovation and Strategic Connections, GE
  • John Kennedy, Vice President, Marketing, North America, IBM
  • Nancy MacIntyre, EVP, Marketing, Product, and Innovation, LeapFrog
  • Drew Boyd, Director of Marketing Mastery, Johnson & Johnson
  • Peggy Ang, VP, Marketing Communications, Samsung Electronics America
  • Tim Jones, Principal, Innovaro
  • Langdon Morris, Principal, InnovationLabs
  • Rob Shelton, Director, PRTM

Taken together, the advice in this report gives CMOs a ready made blueprint for improving the state of innovation in their firm. The report is for members of Forrester's CMO group, so contact them directly for information about ordering it.

The Not-So-Fuzzy Front End

Published date: February 6, 2008 в 10:16 am

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A best practice at Fortune 100 companies is to see the front end of the pipeline not as fuzzy, but as crystal clear.  A systematic approach to innovation using an effective process can take away the mystery of the front end and create a sustainable growth engine. 
What is the “fuzzy front end” and why has this notion become so popular?  Calling the front end “fuzzy” perpetuates the myths of innovation.  “Fuzziness” is the term coined to suggest that innovation has lots of risk, is not systematic, and is more of a “eureka” moment.  One can schedule work, but you cannot schedule invention.
This is simply not true. You can schedule innovation.  A company like GE, for example, that is seeking 8% growth on a base of $207billion in sales, needs $17 billion in new revenue a year from innovation to achieve that. GE will not tolerate fuzziness at its front end of innovation.
For some, fuziness is more about how to select projects from among the ideas generated at the front end.  There are many tools available to help managers select the most appropriate projects.  The best of those use some form of weighted linear model.
My advice: Create an innovation schedule.  Hold people accountable for generating new business opportunities.  Sharpen the focus, and reward teams that bring forward an exciting portfolio of current and future growth opportunities.  Accepting fuzziness in the front end is accepting slow growth.

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