Innovation management involves managing the processes that generate innovation. It is becoming more widespread as a way to manage newness and novelty. We innovate because eventually our current ways of creating value will run out, so we need to do something different. Effective innovation management understands both internal development processes and the external environment in which innovations are adopted. The goal is to put ideas into valuable action, either for customers through new products, or internally through new processes.

1. Innovation management:
where to aim?

2. What is going on in
innovation?
• Innovation is the one remaining area which
is not managed
• Many people have talked of change
management for years, but it is really very
simple
• It’s about doing something different

3. Questions
• What innovation is right for us?
• How can we manage innovation?
• What is innovation management?
• Why do we innovate at all?
• What is innovation?

4. What is innovation?
• Innovation is about newness / novelty
• Newness is in the eye of the beholder

5. Why do we innovate at
all? (1/3)
• We cannot continue to do the same
things for ever
• We can try, but ...
• If we want to increase the value to our customers
• eventually, we will run out of steam

6. Why do we innovate at
all? (2/3)
• We can
• become more efficient and more effective
• cut costs
• improve quality
• advertise more
• increase sales force

7. Why do we innovate at
all? (3/3)
• But, sooner or later, we need to
• do something different
• do something new
• And it is better to do it sooner

8. What is innovation
management?
• Until recently, innovation management
has been largely non-existent, except:
• in some industries, e.g. pharmaceuticals
• in some organisations, e.g. GE, 3M, W L Gore
• Now it is manageable like:
• sales
• quality
• Everyone is trying to manage innovation

9. How can we manage
innovation? (1/2)
• Gathering information, ideas and feedback
• Evaluating and selecting opportunities or
solutions
• Initiating and tracking development
projects
• But these activities are largely internal and
tactical

10. How can we manage
innovation? (2/2)
• By understanding the external environment
in which there are processes of
• adoption by individuals
• diffusion through populations
• By distinguishing these external strategic
issues from the internal, tactical issues
• By identifying our position and direction in
this strategic landscape

11. What innovation is right
for us?
• “Putting ideas into valuable action” for
customers
• outbound, or product, innovation
• “Putting ideas into valuable action” for
ourselves
• inbound, or process, innovation

12. Possible answers (1/2)
• What is innovation?
• Newness, in the eye of the beholder
• Why do we innovate at all?
• Because, sooner or later, all other value creation runs
out of steam
• What is innovation management?
• The management of processes generating innovation
• It is now becoming widespread

13. Possible answers (2/2)
• How can we manage innovation?
• By understanding the landscape
• What innovation is right for us?
• “Putting ideas into valuable action” for someone