Victoria, Australia - ‘Innovation failure is not all about a lack ideas’ said Andrew McLellan of AMCRC today. A common fallacy is that innovation is about ideas. A company may generate plenty of ideas, but if they do not appraise them properly, then they lose potentially valuable opportunities. Ideas should be assessed in a structured way against a set of criteria.

Many companies neglect to make innovation a core component of their strategy. Others think that generating ideas is enough, but without the right process and people this is just paying lip-service to innovation. Even with structured ideas appraisal, it is not all mechanical. Ideas appraisal should also involve people who are creative - someone who thinks ‘outside the box’ may see it from an angle which can deliver value even if it fails the other tests.

Appraisal is a way of justifying why an idea should be explored, not why it should be rejected. A common criterion applied to ideas is ‘does it fit our line of business?’ However, there is another test that should be applied – ‘Is there a licensing or joint venture possibility that would enable us to exploit this idea’.

‘Too many innovation ideas are being neglected because the appraisal process is narrow’ said McLellan. ‘If it looks risky, then try to find a way to reduce the risk.’

As a given idea gains traction, more detailed appraisal should look at the financials and evaluate development expenditure against potential return. Is the idea a one-off? Downstream opportunities to widen the concept and develop the innovative product or service through extension will need to be factored in.

For many companies, the first idea should be that innovation itself is treated as a core business process, that ideas are valuable and should properly be evaluated. According to McLellan, ‘too many companies have not yet got the first idea about innovation. Innovation is not all about ideas ’.

Press Release from: http://innovativity.com.au/innovation-failure-lack-ideas/

Contact: Andrew McLellan
Commercialisation Manager
Advanced Manufacturing Co-Operative Research Centre (AMCRC)
Address:
Level 2, 24 Wakefield St
Hawthorn 3122, Vic.
AUSTRALIA
Voice: 03 9214 4780
Email: [email protected]
http://innovativity.com.au/