Innovation
Foundations
A keynote by
the Author of Jack’s Notebook
Finnovation
2008
November 20th, 2008
Buy this book Now
Copyright 2008 Gregg Fraley

Disclaimer
• I’m not going to be politically correct
• I apologize in advance if I offend any person or
organization, there is no malice intended
• This is my truth, and, there is more than one
right answer
Copyright 2008 Gregg Fraley

Innovation
• If it were easy
everybody would do it
• Innovation is holistic,
we must “be” it, not
“do” it
• Best viewed as a
complex challenge
• Best process would be
designed for complex
problem solving
Copyright 2008 Gregg Fraley

One Big Difference Between
Motorola and Apple.
Visionary Leadership. There is no substitute
Copyright 2008 Gregg Fraley

Under Past Leadership
Apple looked like Motorola does now
Copyright 2008 Gregg Fraley

Once Upon a Time
Now a visionary company without a visionary leader
Copyright 2008 Gregg Fraley

RAZR Success
Not Sustained
Incidental innovation is an indication that
something is right -- and something is wrong.
Copyright 2008 Gregg Fraley

Coping With Complexity
• The “Four P’s”
• Working a
deliberate
innovation
process
continuously
• A Holistic
Approach
Copyright 2008 Gregg Fraley

The
Four “P’s”
Mel Rhodes, 1957
Copyright 2008 Gregg Fraley

People
• Talent matters
– Who is Jonathan Ive?
• Diversity
matters
– Who is Michael Kirton?
– Includes Consumers &
Outside Experts
• Training matters
– What is CPS?
• Practice matters
– What is “IO?”
Copyright 2008 Gregg Fraley

Jonathan Ive is. . .
A designer who makes a big difference
Copyright 2008 Gregg Fraley

Michael Kirton
theorist of creativity
• Adaptors think
better
• Innovators think
different
• You need both
styles on Innovation
teams
• Myth: out-of-the-
Created a measure of box thinking is all
creative style, the you need
KAI (Kirton Adaptor-
Innovator Inventory)
Copyright 2008 Gregg Fraley

Suggestion
• Assess your teams using
measures like the KAI or the
FourSight Online Measure
• This will tell you if you have the
right balance of:
– Clarifiers
– Ideators
– Developers
– Implementors
Copyright 2008 Gregg Fraley

CPS is. . .
The Osborn-Parnes Model of
Creative Problem Solving
Copyright 2008 Gregg Fraley

IO is. . .
• Improv Olympics
– Based in Chicago
– Founder: Del Close
• Three year journey
to trusting my own
spontaneous
thought
Copyright 2008 Gregg Fraley

Product
• Must be novel
• Must be useful
• Design
– A key to
perception of
value
• Work with
consumers all the
time to dialog
regarding
product ideas
Copyright 2008 Gregg Fraley

Press (Environment)
• Leadership sets
tone
• Innovation should
be part of all you
do, not just
products
• If it’s not fun --
you’re not doing it
right
• Impacts the three
other P’s
Copyright 2008 Gregg Fraley

Process
• Innovation is informal
• Innovation is “hosed” or
augmented by other
processes
– Six Sigma!
– Old Financial models
– Toyota “kaizen”
• CPS is designed for
complexity
• Idea Management is
appropriate as the glue --
– gathering, recording,
sorting, evaluating,
preserving
Copyright 2008 Gregg Fraley

Idea Management
Or Idea Pipeline Management
• IPM Systems:
– Save money
– Make process
continuous
– Invite broader
participation
– Make efforts
measurable
– Work well with
structured problem
solving process
Copyright 2008 Gregg Fraley

BrightIdea.com
• Enabled Cisco to
implement I-Prize
competition
• Experian grows
revenue from 500M
to 1B
• Value of IPM is not
just idea tracking --
it’s project mgmt.
and financial
tracking
Copyright 2008 Gregg Fraley

Overview of CPS
The Osborn-Parnes model
Copyright 2008 Gregg Fraley

Overview of CPS
The Osborn-Parnes model
• Without
structure
problem solving
tends to “spin”
• CPS provides
a structure
to be
spontaneous
within
• Serves well as a
communication
tool/common
language
Copyright 2008 Gregg Fraley

Mel Rhodes, 1957
Copyright 2008 Gregg Fraley

Summation
• Somebody needs to be in charge of
Innovation and needs to tend to all
4 “p’s”
• It needs to be a continuous,
deliberate, holistic effort
– Informal efforts beget inconsistency
• If you need process help, by all
means get it!
Copyright 2008 Gregg Fraley

Deliberate Innovation
Process
Fly
Through
Copyright 2008 Gregg Fraley

Step One:
Objectives
• You’ve got to
have a dream
• It’s not all about
money
• A business
without soul dies
• Innovation needs
to be integral
with all
organizational
goals
Copyright 2008 Gregg Fraley

Step Two:
Facts
• There is no substitute for knowing your
market, consumers, customers inside out
• And, you must be able to think for them, ahead
of them, with them for breakthrough’s
• Take facts and ask what they mean for the
future…
• Insights are more meaningful when projected
into scenarios
Copyright 2008 Gregg Fraley

Step Three:
Challenges
• Framing the consumer need in
fresh ways is a path to innovation
• Researchers need to challenge
assumptions to do more
meaningful work
Copyright 2008 Gregg Fraley

Step Four:
Ideation
• Is not an event
• It’s a way of
living, breathing,
thinking, being
• EVERYONE
inside, and many
people outside,
should be
involved
• And why not
virtual?
Copyright 2008 Gregg Fraley

Open Innovation
Means Open Ideation
• P&G has been
transformed by
innovation glasnost
• Cisco is doing open
ideation, annually
$250,000 prize, I-
Prize
• Adobe “Champion
Showcase”
• Ideation sessions are
almost always better
when outsiders
participate
Copyright 2008 Gregg Fraley

Copyright 2008 Gregg Fraley

Step Five:
Solutions
• Gets back to research
• Refine ideas with consumers,
iteratively, continuously
• Requires its own round of
ideation/problem solving
• It’s about a complete solution
Copyright 2008 Gregg Fraley

Step Six:
Action
• Time waits for no man
(or woman)
• Failure is a good thing
• Excitement internally
first
• Internal
Operations/Logistics of
product deployment is
an opportunity area for
researchers
Copyright 2008 Gregg Fraley

The Bottom Line
• Innovation springs from creativity
• Creativity happens with talented people
who are empowered
• Leaders do the empowering
• Diversity of thinking and market
knowledge are pre-requisites
• Structured process and idea management
are essential
• Passion and motivation can overcome a
lot of other challenges
Copyright 2008 Gregg Fraley

Copyright 2008 Gregg Fraley

Innovation
Foundations
A keynote by
the Author of Jack’s Notebook
Finnovation
2008
November 20th, 2008
Buy this book Now
Copyright 2008 Gregg Fraley