HEADS UP!
Heads Up! A weekly update on the world of innovation brought to you by Innovation University, a best practices program of the Innovation Network.
Is Speed Killing Creativity?
by Innovation Network Associate Robert Tucker
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Senior management's demand for more new products launched at a faster
pace, is apparently stymieing breakthrough innovation, according to a
survey of 95 companies.
A study by the Conference Board of New York reports that most companies in the U.S. and Europe have achieved only moderate success with efforts to accelerate new product development. Eighty three percent are turning out derivative rather than exponentially different products.
The report also finds:
* Investment in R & D ranges from 1 percent to 30 percent of revenues, averaging about 5 percent
* In half of the firms, "new" products or services are those defined as created within the past two years
* Less than 20 percent describe four to five year old offerings as "new"
* Breakthrough innovation accounts for a small portion of company offerings today
To produce breakthroughs such as Maytag's Neptune, and Chrysler's PT Cruiser, companies are turning to more unusual approaches to innovation.
One approach: cultural anthropologists are being used to gauge how people use products in real life. "Lead users" are being studied to see how they adapt existing products to fit new needs.
This report entitled, "Speed: Linking Innovation, Process, and Time to Market," (ID# R-1269-00-RR) is available through The Conference Board's web site http://www.conference-board.org or at (212)339-0345. The price is $US 65.00 for members, and $US195.00 for non-members.
Robert B. Tucker is an author, speaker and associate of the Innovation Network. For more information on Robert, see: http://www.thinksmart.com/speakers/tucker.html Or contact Andrea Woodward at (805) 563-1438 or andrea@thinksmart.com for more information onbooking Robert to speak at your next conference or meeting.
For information on the Sept. 11-15 IU meeting in Lima, Peru, please see http://www.thinksmart.com/iu/iuinperu.html. Call today to join the group! Contact Andrea Woodward at 805-563-1438 or email: iuinfo@thinksmart.com
Join the Innovation University Fellowship Group
Call Ruth Ann Hattori at 303-604-1981 or e-mail andrea@thinksmart.com for more information.
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