Innovation Guide

A simple definition of innovation

The action or process of innovating which means a new idea, method or product. This can produce or save money.

Innovation for 3 different audiences

1. Large Firms and Organisations

Employees, customers and stakeholders are the best source of new ideas. Innovation is crucial now because of increasing competitiveness and the new global economy. Market, product and competitive life-cycles put pressure on firms to keep introducing new products, modified offers and better services in order to maintain growth and survive.

The City and shareholders expect growth; there are pressures such as new environmental laws which demand innovative solutions.

The Innovation Management Process

1. Appoint a project team and manager as a focus for innovation ideas.
2. Audit your existing systems: see our innovation audit download - oisolutions.co.uk see A-Z list
3. Set up a process either using your intranet, a social networking tool, a hosted innovation software solution, your own I.T. solution or a survey based suggestion scheme. We can advise if you need help. Call 01202 706 975.
4. Set clear challenges for your employees and stakeholders not vague questions. So for example ask about a new beta test website page or send the spec' out for a new product. It does not need to go to all employees.
5. Reward input - this does not need to be large but needs to be fair and ideally recorded on personnel appraisal systems.
6. Review with a panel of experts eg engineers/marketing/finance/HR.
7. Send back to the staff the modified ideas for final / next stage review.
8. Look at their comments
9. When appropriate send for sign-off to management or the Board.
10. Celebrate success and never make people scared to fail.

Jenni innnovation process management software is an ideal tool to do all this: a hosted software solution - see oisolutions.co.uk or jpb.com

2. Small and mid-size firms

In the UK over 85% of firms fall into this category dependent upon how you look at the figures. Innovation is just as important in this environment. Some of the ideas above may be relevant in what is called an SME (Small and Medium Sized Enterprise) businesses with up to 250 employees in the firm.

Some help and ideas for SME's:

1. Face-to-face communication replaces the need for processes by and large within smaller firms. However to capture ideas from customers and other stakeholders it is a good idea to set up system, a number of which are available from this website:
suggestionschemes.co.uk
2. Innovation expertise and advice from various agencies is available across the UK. We have researched this regionally and the latest position is found on oisolutions.co.uk then go to the A-Z site map and look up: Innovation for all Organisations.
3. The cim.co.uk website has many events, training, articles and guides. The Small Business Group has a specific interest in the SME sector.
4. Clicktools online survey tool is especially useful - we use this for innovation gathering and reviewing ideas

3. Individuals

You might be an entrepreneur or just a private individual with a good idea in a private capacity. Some help and ideas for you:
1. Where can I get started on innovation for my business?
Ask your customers, list all stakeholder ie anyone with an interest or who affects your business and ask them or even copy their better ideas - provided you stay legal. Look at their websites or keep an eye on them.
2. What are the best websites for me?
Go to Business Link and type-in innovation, this is a good start and oisolutions.co.uk A-Z site index see Innnovation for Individuals
3. Marketing is always important and the Chartered Institute of Marketing can help with events, training and an exhaustive library, go to cim.co.uk

Creativity and Innovation Training

Creativity produces wonderful innovation but it is not the same thing as innovation. Some very uncreative people are involved with innovation however they know how to manage ideas effectively. Equally there are very creative people and creativity training for example is a good way to encourage innovation. There are creativity website links set up for you if you go to the creativity page found on the oisolutions.co.uk A-Z site guide. Andrew Greaves runs creativity training workshops and you can see a pdf of his session on the oisolutions.co.uk homepage.

A Learning Organisation and Environment

It is vital especially in large organisations to encourage ideas. Any idea is a good one. If people live in fear of failure that is dangerous. The better firms succeed today by reacting quickly to changing market conditions: Google, Apple, Virgin and alike allow staff to submit ideas but they also provide a clear vision of what the firm is doing. One danger of old fashioned suggestion schemes was getting too many ideas not aligned to the business needs. Hence it is best to focus staff and stakeholders with what you need either by asking for input on your ideas or being very clear in the first place what is your mission and vision. And make sure the CEO and management walkabout whether it's a small firm or 20 or a corporation.

Innovation and Marketing

New Product Development and new services are essential for all firms to deliver shareholder value in competitive environments. Everett Rogers, Burnside, Ansoff and various other marketing gurus have created models focused on innovation and new product. Summarised in our presentation at oisolutions.co.uk by Peter Eales Fellow of the CIM. A pragmatic way of putting this to work is you doing an innovation audit. You can download this too by looking it up on the A-Z index on the ois website or call us on 01202 706 975. We'll even do an audit for you if you like!

Fundraising, Business Plans and the Perfect Pitch

Inventors and fund seekers often fail at the last hurdle when faced with "the investor dragons". Taming them and finding them is not always so easy. Whilst not central to this Guide, our experience in the field of new business and innovation means we know about some of the challenges of IPR, finding investors, writing and presenting a business proposition. So innovators often ask what about bank loans, leasing, private equity or just what is the right route? And how long should the plan be?

Some quick answers are: again Business Link are a terrific resource, so start on their website or call them. Various free classes on how to present your ideas are usually run by consultancies they recommend who help firms and individuals clarify thoughts, propositions and plans.

The Elevator Pitch

This is worth being clear on. For example, if you had to explain in a convincing way your business proposition in one paragraph and in 45 seconds could you do it? And if you have a fellow director or partner would they say exactly the same thing as you about your idea or proposition?

Innovation Articles and Business Writing

John Drewry writes about how to convince people in writing in his article: How to Write Winning Bids and Tenders in our articles section on the oisolutions.co.uk site. There are innovation articles there by leading academics and international experts.