Most successful executives are inherently not risk averse. They understand the need to invest in order to reap a return.
The key is that proponents of a new invention and potential innovation do not approach the executives with a sufficient business plan that reflects the value of the innovation to the customer, the impact on new and existing markets, the internal and external costs and the impacts on future revenue streams.
Unfortunately, answering these questions about a future innovation is extremely difficult unless the invention has been founded in a innovation process that starts with market recognition and then moves into invention, productization, marketing and innovation. The process today is all too often completely backwards and is driven by existing customer feedback.
The key is to follow a clearly defined invention/innovation process that starts with recognizing a target market and attaching resources based on potential and not based on random results from existing management processes.
David Croslin
President, Innovate the Future, Inc.
david@innovatethefuture.com
www.innovatethefuture.com
www.davidcroslin.com
