Managing Automation - October 2007 - (Page 37)

A new MA reader poll shows that though manufacturers may be doing a good job generating new ideas, a lack of process for commercializing those ideas is plaguing many. BY DAVID R. BROUSELL nnovation. The word has become a rallying cry for manufacturers ever ywhere. The creation of new and better products and services brought to market faster and more effectively than ever before; smarter ways to organize people, resources, and work; and new forms of doing business through partnerships and alliances all find themselves today under the big banner of innovation. The notion of innovation has become tantamount to a populist movement for manufacturers grappling with globalization, more intense competition, and structural challenges at home. It would be hard to find a manufacturer today that would say it is not trying to innovate in one way or another. But peel back the surface skin on what people are saying about innovation, and what you will find is a paradox: the intention to innovate frustrated by a lack of good processes and follow-through. THE WISH LIST: TOP FIVE DESIRES This is the key finding of a new, exclusive Managing Automation reader ● More time and money poll on the state of innovation in U.S. ● A central repository of ideas manufacturing. Approximately 360 MA readers, sur veyed in August using a ● Better management support questionnaire developed by New York● Metrics/methodology based innovation expert futurethink, ● Training weighed in on how their companies generate ideas, develop innovation strategies, and conduct innovation processes. The most striking thing about the survey’s findings is the schism that exists in just about every area respondents were asked about. Take the relationship between strategy and execution, for example. When asked whether innovation has been established as a strategic priority for their companies, a solid TOP FIVE HURDLES TO INNOVATION majority, 59.8%, indicated strong agree● Time and money ment that this has ● Corporate bureaucracy been done (Char t ● Ability to prioritize ideas 3). But when asked whether their com● Not invented here syndrome/fear of failure panies have put in ● Lack of top management support place a core set of metrics to measure whether innovation efforts are effective, less than onethird, or 30.3% of respondents, said they could agree. Even more startling is that more than 40% said they aren’t sure Photo: Managing Automation 37 October 2007 ma

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Managing Automation - October 2007

Contents Take 1 Mailbox New Selling and Fulfillment Product Leads Plan to Transform Sterling Commerce Comtrol Closes Bizarre Chapter Involving Founder New Omron COO Outlines Four-Part Growth Agenda New Mfg. ‘Czar’ Will Have a Full Plate of Issues Lawson Embraces The Trend of Fewer Upgrades Notes Wanted: A Unified Infrastructure Needed: Greater Reliability Special Report: Innovation: Why Are So Many Coming Up Short? Transforamation: Beating the Odds in Global Supply Industries: Metals: Tracking Carbon Footprints Product Scan Advertiser Index Next

Managing Automation - October 2007

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