Innovating To Win

Predictable Futures: Using Patterns of System Evolution

Recently, a colleague asked me if the Patterns of System Evolution from TRIZ could be used by non-TRIZ practitioners.  At first the question struck me as being rather odd; it seemed sort of like asking if a map could be used by someone who was not a cartographer.  But as I thought about his question, I realized that a non-TRIZ practitioner might find some of the TRIZ tools mystifying.  However, the Patterns of System Evolution (Patterns for short), like many of the TRIZ tools, are useful to anyone.

The Patterns are very simple in nature, and yet some people find them challenging to apply.  Why is that?  For the novice, there is a generic challenge to applying some TRIZ tools.  The general TRIZ approach to problem solving involves a three step process: 1) convert the specific problem into a generalized TRIZ problem, 2) use TRIZ tools to identify a generalized TRIZ solution, 3) convert the generalized TRIZ solution into a specific instance of a solution for the original problem.  It is this last step that most people find challenging.  People tend to be very good at making generalizations, but most of us have difficulties mapping a generalization back to a specific instance.

However, the Patterns are well worth exploring despite this inherent challenge.  The Patterns can be very useful in tackling many important innovation tasks including: identifying next generation products, technology road mapping, and identifying new markets for existing technology.  How does this work?  First consider what the Patterns are.

The Patterns are a distillation of patent analysis that observe that different types of technical systems have a tendency to evolve in predictable ways.  An understanding of the Patterns coupled with knowledge of the system you are examining can give you a clear view in to the future.

Let’s consider a practical example.  One of the Patterns is that of Substance Segmentation.  What this pattern tells us it that in a physical system, a substance may begin as a solid monolithic substance, but in time will tend to be replaced by a discretely segmented substance, then a powder or liquid, then gas or plasma, and eventually a field of some type.  Examples of this progression are easy to identify.  If you consider a simple surgical bone saw, it is clear that the substance segmentation pattern precisely maps to the documented innovations in that technology—innovations such as coating blades with abrasive powders, using liquid water jets for cutting, and eventually the use of ultrasound and laser technology.

This sort of exercise is not merely of intellectual interest, it is of great practical value.  The TRIZ Patterns of System Evolution have been used repeatedly by innovation practitioners around the world to explore the predictable future.

The Importance of Good Innovation Habits

Over on the Innovate On Purpose blog, Jeffrey Phillips talks about making ideation productive.  He makes three key points.

First, enterprises should take on a proactive approach to innovation.  This is undeniably true.  The practice of waiting for the next great idea to spring up and present itself is a strategy for failure.  All too many companies are lured into this mode of operation because it fits the mental model promulgated by our popular innovation mythology—a situation made worse by the occasional success we perceive when a rare good idea seemingly falls into someone else’s lap. 

The reality of innovation is quite different however.  Successful innovators put great time and energy into their art and pursue it with purposeful intent.  This is exactly what organizations must do to successfully implant the seeds of a growing and healthy innovation culture that will contribute to corporate value.

The second point Jeffery makes is that organizations need to tell their members what challenges they would like to solve.  This is also true, but it is only half of the requirement.  It is not enough to communicate the nature of the challenge.  Innovation workers must also be made aware of the context of the challenge.  This context must include the reason the challenge is important, the vision for the desired future state after the challenge is met, and the metrics for success of the innovation.  The more information the innovation workers have, the more easily they will be able to navigate the myriad of possible solutions and zero in on the right solution for the organization.

The final point is that organizations should prepare their innovation workers for the task ahead.  Jeffery cites the example of giving people a reading list ahead of a brainstorming session, and he uses a cooking analogy to make his point.  This is spot on advice.  Informed innovation practice is part of the successful, repeatable innovation disciplines companies need to develop.  What companies should be gleaning from this point however goes beyond the notion of preparing for a singular innovation exercise like a brainstorming session.  Rather, companies need to consider how to create the environment that supports nimble innovation in an informed manner.

To accomplish this, companies need to embrace an innovation information infrastructure that bring together knowledge from both within and outside the enterprise and provides innovation workers with precision, on-demand access to the information that is relevant to the challenges they are addressing.  By putting the right information in the right hands at the right time, companies can improve confidence that the right decisions will be made the first time.

Clearly, Jeffrey made some good points here.  But, he should have taken his food analogy one step further.

Consider the parallel between innovation and dieting.  Why do most people fail to manage their weight with diets?  The answer is simple.  Dieting creates a temporary and artificial environment.  Dieters feel heighten awareness of their cravings because of the sense of deprivation created by the diet; so much so that most people find it difficult to stay a diet.  Those that do stay on their diet tend to regain the weight lost because once they have met their diet objective, they slip back into the old eating habits that caused them to need to diet in the first place. 

The same factors can be seen in the many of the half-hearted innovation initiatives that we see some companies announce.  The initiative is a temporary deviation from the accepted cultural practice.  As a result, there is great internal resistance to the program, and once the program is finished, old innovation habits return.

This is why successfully establishing innovation as a core competence can not be pursued with a simple initiative or slogan.  It must be viewed as a change to the life-style habits of the organization.  Innovation must cease being a special activity that occasionally has the spotlight cast on it.  Innovation must become part of the organizational fabric and ethos—something as natural as breathing.

Field Notes – July 2007

Some weeks you really are reminded of what it is you enjoy about what you do.  Last week was such a week for me.  There were two things that made me feel that way.

On Wednesday, one of our Fortune 500 clients sent their corporate jet to transport a few of the folks from our office to a meeting with their CEO, COO, and VP of Innovation.  (Note to self: flying on a corporate jet is not as glamorous as it sounds.)  It was a great meeting. 

The CEO of this company understands the importance of a focused innovation strategy for his company.  Like many companies, his organization is under relentless pressure.  Growing foreign competition from emerging countries, the looming sunset of key intellectual property protections, aging products in need of reinvigoration are all on the top of his mind as issues.  He sees innovation in products and technology as a strategic factor in his battle to avoid getting dragged down into commodity hell.

It was terrific to see another clear validation point of the need for corporations to employ structured and informed innovation best practices as a driver of sustainable corporate value.  This CEO is making the investment in such systems and is demanding accountability and attainment of clear metrics of ROI for that investment.  I look forward to helping this company implement their innovation vision as they make the transition from an Accidental Innovation organization to a High-Performance Innovation organization.

The only thing that gives me greater pleasure than helping others become innovation leaders is practicing innovation.  That is the other activity that dominated last week and made it such a revitalizing week.

In my role as CTO at my company, I have the pleasure of being an in-the-weeds technologist.  One of my teams is a world class researcher group.  We routinely explore how to make possible things our clients can’t imagine they could ask for.  This week six of our skunk-works projects reached that stage where we know enough about them that we are promoting them to fully supported engineering projects.  These game changing projects have been years in the conceptualization and pre-prototyping phase.  The excitement of seeing these projects achieve this status is tremendous.

Yes, last week was great.  I was reminded of how much fun it is to live innovation.   Of course, this is a new week, and more innovation is needed.  That’s the way it is with innovation.  It is a never ending story.

Communicate And Train To Foster Innovation

Commenting on “Think Innovation Is A Number Game? Think Again; Change The Rules.”, fellow blogger Katie Konrath wrote:

“Of course, the danger with this is that companies could come down too hard on their employees in insisting that only "good ideas" should be suggested.  Then the enthusiasm for creativity will quickly die and employees won't even want to submit quality ideas.  The innovation culture at 3M was almost ruined by management's insistence on strict Six Sigma evaluations for every idea.

“However, I do agree that thinking of thousands (or hundreds) of bad ideas will not result in a fantastically good idea.

“Perhaps the key is for companies to welcome ideas, while also training employees how to think of better ideas.”

These are legitimate concerns. So, let’s address them.

The innovation best practices that implement a directed innovation approach do not create an idea squelching environment.  Rather, the environment created is one that fosters creative thinking.  But in so doing, the directed innovation philosophy empowers innovation workers to be much more effective in their own efforts through communication and process.

The communication part of the equation is very important.  The world is not one size fits all.  The techniques and solutions that apply are very situational.  Consider a very simple example—training a dog.  Most people’s first thought might be “Where’s the bag of dog treats?”  But if your goal is to train the dog to find survivors in disaster situations, this approach will have very bad consequences as the dog seeks out every scrap of food in the rubble.  For this kind of training, human interaction must be used as the reward.

What are the goals of your organization and of your customers?  Understanding these goals is critical to formulating the right innovation problem statements and eventually to selecting the best solution approach.  But the need for communication doesn’t stop there.

Think how much more effective innovation workers could be if they knew what the organization knows.  Enterprises need to provide the mechanisms to allow employees to identify the internal knowledge of the organization that applies to the issues they are examining.  Additionally, innovation workers should be provided with efficient ways to leverage knowledge from outside the enterprise.  What is known by your industry?  What is known by those outside your industry?

Process is the other half of the equation.  Yes, that’s right.  Contrary to what some may think, “innovation process” is not an oxymoron.  Innovation best practices define a number of specific techniques that comprise the tool bag of the skilled innovation practitioner.  Katie is exactly right when she suggests that companies need to train their employees to think of better ideas.  Innovation is a trainable discipline

If companies invest in equipping their innovation workers with the right information and the proper innovation skills, they will see vastly improved predictability and return on investment in their innovation efforts.

Think Innovation Is A Numbers Game? Think Again; Change The Rules.

Here are a few common statements that signal serious problems in a company’s innovation program.

“We have all the ideas we need.”

“We just need to fill the pipeline with more ideas.”

“Open innovation is the answer to all our problems.”

If you understand why these statements signal an innovation program that is out of control, you will have no problem adding to this list.  On the other hand if you are wondering why the statements are so dire, read on.  This post is for you.

There is a common misconception that innovation is a numbers game.  We are all familiar with the statement that it takes 6000 ideas to eventually lead to one successful product.  An unfortunate consequence of the broad exposure this statement has received is that many people believe this statement defines the way things are supposed to be.  The reality is that this statement lays bare what is wrong with global innovation practice.

Have you ever thought to yourself, “Why does it take 6000 ideas to find a single winner?”  Of course, the answer is fairly obvious.  5,999 of the ideas weren’t good.  That’s right; not all ideas are quality ideas.  Perhaps an idea is hackneyed; maybe the idea is already blocked by competitive patents; or perchance the idea is just a poor fit for the company’s strategy.  Whatever the reason, the vast majority of ideas are just not all that good.

This situation has led many companies to look for mechanisms to increase the rate of idea in-flow.  Open innovation is one such response to this phenomenon.  When companies are unable to generate game changing ideas internally, they begin to explore the notion that by opening their doors to outside thinking they improve their chances of finding that next great idea.  There is merit to this approach.  However, this approach does not address the underlying problems—the inefficiency of sourcing ideas and the lack of predictability in the process of idea sourcing.

The bottom line is that we need better ideas, not more ideas.  But what does better mean when we are talking about ideas?  Simply put, better ideas are ideas that are well aligned with goals and needs, and that are actionable.

In order to find these better ideas, companies need to shift from sifting through a pile of mediocre ideas looking for a problem that might be addressed by one of the ideas, to a directed innovation paradigm.  This means beginning with the problem-goal statement and based on that statement, looking for the solution in a disciplined manner.  Directed innovation methods focus effort on ideas that are more likely to produce the company value driving results that we all seek.

Through intentional focus, directed innovation helps improve idea generation results in multiple ways:

• Ideas are precisely alignment with the corporate goals and mission.
• Ideas are mapped directly to market and customer goals and objectives.
• Ideas are pre-validated for applicability and feasibility.
• The idea to product conversion ratio is dramatically improved which in turn leads to top-line impact of better time-to-market and right-to-market delivery as well as bottom-line impact through product development program efficiency gains.

The notion that it takes 6000 ideas to find that one great idea evidences a core problem—the claimed plethora of ideas is dominated by weak ideas.  To truly break away from the morass of accidental innovation and the threat of being pull down into commodity hell, companies must do better at generating not simply more ideas, but more high-quality ideas.  By adopting a directed innovation approach, companies can redefine the rules of the innovation and product development game to their advantage.