Manufacturing Executive - January/February 2009 - (Page 6) Manufacturing Executive JAN/FEB-09 he start of a new year is nothing if not an opportunity to wipe the slate clean and start fresh. With the holiday season and a tumultuous year behind us, we can get back to work with renewed focus and energy. But before you dive into planning for the year ahead, make sure you actively look back at the year that has passed to take stock of what worked, what didn’t, and what you need to do better. Given the delicate state of the world economy, it’s important to focus your efforts and your resources to eliminate waste on all fronts. Especially when it comes to innovation, long-term success hinges on your ability to regularly analyze the programs and processes you have in place with an eye toward improvement. Look back at any goals you set last year and initiatives you began, and write out exactly what defined success (or failure) for each item on your list. You’ll end up with a pretty good picture of where you’ve been, which will help you craft an even better picture of where you want to go. In planning for the year ahead, keep a few key things in mind: ● T ing every year (output); look at how many ideas employees submit (input), or how long it takes for an idea to go from concept to launch (development). Having a broader set of metrics will give you a more robust picture of your innovation efforts as you chart your course forward. ● Look outside. Avoid the common pitfall of planning in a vacuum.You don’t exist in a vacuum, and neither does your organization. Look at your competitors and at organizations you admire, and take note of what they’re up to. What were their major successes in the past year? What do you think they’ll be doing in the year ahead? Rather than planning to react to the competition, figure how you can force the competition to react to you. ● Set priorities. Now for the hard part: It’s easy to think big and make grand plans when an entire year is stretched out before you, awaiting your ambition and magic touch. But the reality is that resources — time, money, and people — are limited, and plans have to fit within your existing set of obligations and responsibilities. So go through your roadmap and prioritise the things you hope to Create a roadmap that eliminates roadblocks. Your plan and strategy for the year ahead should account for the hurdles you’ve encountered in the past. Anticipate these barriers and plan for them. Were financial resources too tight to move forward with new ideas? Were too few people dedicated to innovation projects? Whatever the barriers you encountered, figure out how to overcome them as you move forward. ● Define metrics and set milestones. Any solid plan will include a set of metrics and milestones that will help keep you honest and distinguish success from failure. When it comes to innovation, your metrics should go beyond the standard financial and output-related metrics. Especially when it comes to innovation, it’s important to consider “input” and “development” metrics as well. For example, don’t just measure the number of new offerings your organization is launch- world “Given the delicate state of theand youreconomy, it’s important to focus your efforts resources to eliminate waste on all fronts. “ achieve in the year ahead. What three things must you have accomplished by Dec. 31, 2009? ● Communicate. Planning is useless unless you include all relevant stakeholders in the process. Put a stake in the ground, and then distribute your roadmap to your team for feedback. Invite their honest opinions on what you’ve laid out, and make an effort to incorporate their ideas. When you have more people accountable for the success of your plans, you’ll be far more likely to succeed. At the very least, you’ll have more people keeping you on track. With a solid plan in place, the year ahead — in all its vastness — will seem a little more manageable and a lot more promising. Here’s to a fruitful and innovative 2009. ME Lisa Bodell is chief executive officer of futurethink, which offers innovation research and tools. 6 a sents PL — pre one O nging challe ation. ically innov onom rage an ec ncou even and e ar — sses, roce ew ye one p The n ste, h a ate w elimin FRESH RTING STA IO INsa i B No d e ll e to chanc g e t fu t u re t h in k .c o m
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