Process Rigor vs. Breakthrough Creativity Over thirty years, Daedalus Excel has helped its clients bring hundreds of successful new products to market. Some of these products have been breakthroughs that create new market space or transform existing markets. Looking back on these breakthroughs, we have uncovered the common threads that help drive success. This research, and other new findings, suggests that excessive process rigor, as embodied in processes like stage-gate and QFD, may reduce the likelihood of transformational innovation. Daedalus Excel, in collaboration with graduate students at Carnegie Mellon University, is developing a framework to foster aspirational creativity while maintaining process discipline. 4Moms Developed under a strong-leader process, the 4Moms Cleanwater Infant Tub is the second most popular infant tub on the market and the most expensive. It has transformed the formerly commoditized infant tub market. Daedalus Excel provided Ergonomics, Ethnographic Research, Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Design services. Miller Developed under an ethnographic research driven process, the Miller Revolution fall safety harness sold its first year’s projected volume in five weeks, and is the dollar volume leader in fall protection. Daedalus Excel provided Ergonomics, Ethnographic Research, and Industrial Design services.
Transcript
Process Rigor vs. Breakthrough CreativityOver thirty years, Daedalus Excel has helped its clients bring hundreds of successful new products to market.
Some of these products have been breakthroughs that create new market space or transform existing markets. Looking back on these breakthroughs, we have uncovered thecommon threads that help drive success.
This research, and other new findings, suggests that excessive process rigor, as embodied inprocesses like stage-gate and QFD, may reduce the likelihood of transformational innovation.
Daedalus Excel, in collaboration with graduate students at Carnegie Mellon University, is developing a framework to foster aspirational creativity while maintaining process discipline.
4MomsDeveloped under a strong-leader process, the 4Moms Cleanwater Infant Tub is the second most popular infant tub on the market and the most expensive. It has transformed the formerlycommoditized infant tub market.
MillerDeveloped under an ethnographic research driven process, the Miller Revolution fall safety harness sold its first year’s projected volume in five weeks, and is the dollar volume leader in fall protection.
Daedalus Excel provided Ergonomics, Ethnographic Research, and Industrial Design services.
Medrad Developed under an FDA-mandated design control process similar to Stage-Gate, theMedrad Intego is a fluid infusion system, for use in nuclear molecular imaging with PET scan technology. On-board dosimetry, drawing from a bulk container of radioactive contrast medium, delivers reliable doses to multiple patients over the course of a day. Embedded shielding ensures maximum radiation safety for hospital technologists, who were frequently exposed to high levels of radiation prior to the introduction of this product. Daedalus Excel conducted an exploratory study with real users, defining the most understandable arrangement of pumps, sensors, and valves inside the cart. The resulting solution enables a safe and reliable workflow for hospital technologists, when handling the hazardous materials inside.
Daedalus Excel also applied its extensive human factors knowledge to ensure that the cart, heavy due to its embedded lead shielding, is highly maneuverable for a wide range of users, considering the confined spaces of a hospital ward. These findings informed the aesthetic design of the Intego cart, which establishes a strong visual identity for a Medrad product entering a new market.
McKessonDeveloped under a spiral development process, the McKesson Accuscript Pharmacy Robot is designed for the retail pharmacy market (CVS, Walgreens, etc.) Accuscript automatically fills prescriptions from over 200 stocked medications—up to 100 fills per hour. Through the Graphic User Interface (GUI), the operator can control and monitor all aspects of the prescription scheduling, filling and checking process. The sizing and layout of the controls were optimized for the touch screen application. Colors and layout were carefully developed to quickly convey machine status to the operator, whether he or she is standing in front of the robot or viewing the display from a distance.
Daedalus Excel completed the interaction design, human factors, and graphic design for the Accuscript GUI. Daedalus Excel partnered with its in-house collaborator, Slaymaker Systems, to provide the code behind the GUI, providing a complete GUI module integrated with McKesson’s machine control software.
• J&J is a very decentralized place (250+ OpCos, 3 sectors)• Starting point is Innovation Diagnostic
• 75 questions, covering 7 key areas of successful innovation deployment• Applied at the OpCo or functional level of an organization.
• Establish / Improve OpCo Innovation Capability through:• Developing best practice resources, internal expertise, research in the
field, and identification of internal BPs (e.g. Open Innovation)• Team / Leader coaching and facilitation of innovation/ideation sessions• Targeted research utilizing external resources/conferences• Develop tools for innovation
(e.g. Business Model assessment and training)
• Facilitate an internal Innovation network of SMEs • Currently: Building training content in about 15 areas of
Internal Innovation Survey is start of Diagnostic Service
Customized Solutions. Sustainable Results.
Involvement of Senior Leadership
• This is a strength in some, but not all areas
• We go where the interest and/or readiness is, assess potential needs and business opportunity/impact, and then provide services based on capacity to support.
• Our is more of a “middle out” approach, where we are typically working with Directors and VP’s of Marketing, R&D or Business Development (which is where most of the innovation interest is at J&J currently)
• We have not specifically targeted and attempted to proactively “sell” innovation to Senior Leaders.
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Wendell Nekoranec EdD MBA April 2009 Mutual of Omaha
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Innovation & the Internal Management Consultant Project Greenhouse & Culture of Innovation
The comments reflect a two-prong approach initiated by executive leadership at Mutual of Omaha
• CEO & executive leadership supported initiatives • Use innovation to find new products/services to strengthen markets and bottom line, and to
recreate Mutual of Omaha for its next 100 years o Exhausted current products and services o Change the Wild Kingdom into a new “wild kingdom”
• Project Greenhouse: sponsored by the Corporate Strategy department • Culture of Innovation: sponsored by Human Resources • Key participants in initiatives:
o Manager, Corporate Strategy managed Project Greenhouse o Manager, Corporate Learning and OE managed Culture of Innovation o Internal Consulting: Wendell Nekoranec & Mark Bateman o Wendell Nekoranec & Manager, Corporate Strategy team member on both initiatives
Project Greenhouse (PGH) April 2008
• Project owners: CFO & SVP Corporate Strategy o Change in how company functioned – gathered ideas from everyone and introduction
of initial stages of collaboration • Project leader: Manager, Corporate Strategy • Purpose: establish a process to gather ideas from all associates; introduce the idea of being
an innovative company • Initial plan: companywide with launch date; revised plan: pilot small group • Determined a pilot group (250 associates) from throughout Mutual of Omaha • Consistent and ongoing communication is vital for success • Internal Management Consulting
o Designed, analyzed, and developed collaboratively the PGH plan o Assist in the development of a website to capture ideas and collaborate on ideas o Determine best practices and benchmarking around innovation, collaboration, and
financial returns for innovation for financial companies and any large “old” company o Designed and delivered innovation training to pilot associates o Assisted in development of innovation training for senior managers by University of
Nebraska Omaha (UNO) professor; partnered with UNO business school o Functioned as key resource around analysis, development, and executing of all facets
of PGH with Manager, Corporate Strategy o Scheduled and facilitated weekly core team meetings (ongoing) o Conducted company-wide presentations (e.g., Business Acumen series) o Ed Lawler: “There are few ‘old’ companies to benchmark Mutual against.”
• Analyzed results and presented to executive management • Expanded PGH around initiatives
o Information Services o Customer Services Organization o Selling to Gen X & Y Markets
Wendell Nekoranec EdD MBA April 2009 Mutual of Omaha
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Culture of Innovation March 2008 • Initiated by CEO and executive leadership • Team of 12 associates from Talent Management group • Project Owner: Manager, Corporate Learning & OE • Purpose: understand how Mutual of Omaha can become an innovative company • Internal Management Consulting
o What is innovation and its influence on company culture o Conduct internal and external research about innovation practices o Contacted external resources, e.g., Center for Organizational Excellence, other large
companies, etc. o Facilitating focus groups o Analyzing focus group data o Provided academic research studies on innovation and change around innovation
• Data gathering method: focus groups o Conducted 8 focus groups sessions o Audience size: 56 associates from throughout the company o Focus group sessions: 90 minutes o Followed a defined agenda
• Analyzed the data and constructed an extensive report and presented to CEO & executive leadership
Deliverables
Project Greenhouse • Assessment of the pilot and support for moving forward • Further analysis of innovative ideas and expansion of PGH platform • Enhancing collaboration for a silo-structured company
Culture of Innovation • Presented findings to CEO & executive leadership • Refining methodology to support issues of validity (qualitative vs. quantitative) • Developing a strategic approach companywide about innovation • Delivering companywide culture assessment
Improving Innovation at Eli Lilly and Company
At Eli Lilly and Company the focus related to innovation is in three areas:
• Scientific Innovation: Discover, develop, and deliver medicines that improve outcomes for individual patients
• Innovation in how we do business in Europe • Speaking Freely
Scientific Innovation:
In science, insights are discovered, not created. It is not a “creative” process. In addition, we prove (in a double blind placebo trial) that our product does what our product says it does, without unacceptable risks and side-effects.
Examples of efforts to enable scientific innovation relate to:
1. Focusing on improved outcomes for individual patients. Building and improving organizational capabilities to understanding and treat people “in context.”
2. Changing how we manage the portfolio of medicines in development – changes in decision-making criteria, decision-making forums, clarifying accountability and authority.
3. Tapping into the best brains in the world, not just the best brains in our company – Creation of a FIPNET (Fully-integrated Pharamaceutical Network)
4. New organizational models
Innovation in how we do business in Europe
Innovation is not just scientific innovation, but also a more creative component – but within clear and narrow regulatory boundaries.
Examples of Efforts in Europe:
1. Leadership Development: The Innovator’s DNA 2. Aggressive multi-year “Transformation Agenda” 3. Focus on Oppenness (a.k.a Speaking Freely)
Speaking Freely
Despite the importance of scientific innovation, we need to create an environment that in which people feel much freer to say what they think, “when they have a difference of opinion and it matters.” In addition to more typical ideas such as executive lunches, split-level meetings, employee surveys, etc.
Examples of Efforts Completed:
1. Research -- survey and focus groups on Who does/ does not speak freely? What topics do they not speak freely about? In what for a do they not speak up? Why do they not speak up?
2. Leadership Development – Leadership profile, feedback 3. Leadership Team Problem Solving 4. CEO Role Model – blog, Blackberry, approachable, demands improvement on
this 5. Vision JAM – 96 hour social networking brainstorming session
The Cargill Innovation System has grown from our strategic direction set in 1999. We made a clear choice to become a customer-focused company and set goals for 2010 and 2015.
STRATEGIC INTENT 2010
By the year 2010, Cargill will be the recognized global leader in
providing agrifood chain customers with solutions that enable them to
succeed in their businesses
STRATEGIC INTENT 2015
By 2015, Cargill will be the partner of choice, recognized as having great people with imagination
committed to delivering the best ideas to the worlds we serve: ag,
food and risk management
We started on this journey in 1999 and assessed our culture for where we were and where we wanted to go.
1999 2010-2015
Customers Low service needs Transaction-based
Sophisticated solutions Relationship-based
Products/ Technology
Base products Base and specialty products and new products, services and solution
New alliances and mergers of Ag/Food companies with chemical, pharmaceutical and bioscience companies
Employees Loyal, comfortably secure Internal value chain focus Commodity mindset
Loyal, performance minded Customer/market focus Solutions and value creation
mindset Portfolio Focus
Commodity trading and processing Focused food chain assets, specialty businesses and intellectual property
Spin off/out those businesses not linked to the strategic intent
Capital Allocation
Fund all business to some degree as able
Ensure funding of new growth engines
Protect and adequately fund case generators
From this culture work, Cargill’s vision statement was developed to align with our strategic intent:
Our Purpose: Is to be the global leader in nourishing people Our Mission: Is to create distinctive value Our Approach: Is to be trustworthy, creative and enterprising Our Performance Measures are: Engaged Employees, Satisfied Customers, Enriched
Communities and Profitable Growth
Strategic Intent 2010 identified innovation as an important area of attention and became one of five key focus areas for SI 2015.
Customer-Focused Innovation at Cargill is: Converting
knowledge and insight into new products and services that create distinctive value and
profitable growth for our customers
High-Performance Innovation at Cargill is: Converting
knowledge and insight into new processes or improvements that
help create distinctive value, competitive advantage, and
profitable growth
Customer-focused innovation is essential for reaching our most important goals as an organization by:
1. Becoming the “Partner of Choice” by allowing Cargill to stand apart in proving solutions for our customer in an increasingly competitive landscape
2. Engaging every mind enables us to draw upon the ideas and imagination of every Cargill employee, continuing to make Cargill a great place for individuals to work and flourish
3. Meeting business growth targets by creating top-line growth and improved margins through the distinctive value of innovative solutions
Customer-focused innovation gives attention to our customers’ needs by:
1. Identifying their needs so as to provide insight into potential, future needs as well as helping solve current needs
2. Providing assistance with balance-sheet improvement, risk and cost reduction, revenue growth and competitive position improvement by offering an innovation solution
While the innovation system was designed to be customer focused, both internal and external innovation are crucial for Cargill’s continued growth and success.
Having a common innovation system will help harness Cargill employees’ creativity and create accountability by:
Using a common approach and language for innovation across the company
Creating a disciplined and systematic approach that is consistent and repeatable
Allowing us to track, manage and measure our progress on innovation
Giving us more opportunity to meet our customers’ needs
Our Innovation System starts with our strategy and targets, looks at intersection for our capabilities and our customers’ needs, captures and studies customer insight, taps into employees’ imagination, generates and manages ideas, manages customer portfolio, uses standard project methodology, measures success, promotes a sustainable culture supporting innovation and provides a structured approach with a common language and set of tools to improve connectivity and capture the value of imaginative thinking.
Our deployment consists of: common goals agreed to by top leadership; deployment by individual businesses; corporate metrics; roll-out progress reported; innovation/change
coach assigned to each business; and led by leaders of the company.
