Our Research | The Innovation Project has focused our research in three primary areas critical for succcess in today's challenging business environment ... Strategy, Policy, and Innovation.
Focus | Strategy Strategy begins with a Vision being set by the CEO.  From there, objectives, and the means to achieve those objectives, are identified.  The result is a strategic plan, which should be aligned to the capabilities and resources of the organization.  Unfortunately, this process is traditionally done with limited, if any input, from those outside of a limited senior management team.  Why are CEOs often relying on limited, sometimes even agenda-based input, to set the direction for their company? The Challenge | Many CEOs are in a state of denial about the real culture, challenges, and even opportunities, that exist within and across their organization.  To set an effective strategy CEOs need to first understand their entire organization then determine who should be involved at each step in the strategic planning process, only then will the organization be aligned towards a shared strategy.	Focus | Policy After developing it's Vision and Strategy, the next step for an organization is to define how it will operate and manage itself on a daly basis.  Policies are a set of guidelines that govern how an organization makes decisions.  Policies should exist for all aspects of operations, from finance, to purchasing, HR, and IT.  Policies should promote governance and compliance. and guide interaction with external entities while  driving adoption of best practices across organizational boundaries. The Opportunity | For a startup organization, the need to set the right policies and practices in place at the outset is critical.  Once an organization begins to grow, the disfunction begins.  Silo's are developed causing inefficiency across the entire value chain.  The goal is to transform the organization with effective change management.  The longer a company waits to do this, the more challenging an effort it becomes.	Focus | Innovation So how do you create an Innovation culture in your organization?   What role does technology play as an enabler of Innovation?  How can you leverage industry practices such as ISO, Six Sigma and CMMI for process or continuous improvement, as part of an overall innovation transformation, without getting initiative overload or spending an excessive amount of money and time on consultants?  What role should the CEO play as a change agent for Innovation and business transformation? The Solution | Before undertaking any transformation initiative, an organization needs to understand what is driving the need to innovate.  Recent product failures or the need for process improvement as a requirement for future contract bids or SOX compliance? Most organizations will find that their existing corporate culture may prove to be the most challenging barrier, AND solution, to innovation.