I am still at the Front End of Innovation conference today. This morning features a number for plenary sessions covering an array of innovation topics.
First up is A. G. Lafley, Chairman and CEO of P&G. He has recently written a book: “The Game-Changer: How You Can Drive Revenue and Profit Growth with Innovation.”
A. G. is winding down as I write this. He has made some very interesting observations in this interview format session. He has described how P&G adopted more customer-centric innovation process. He also says that getting ideas is not the problem; it is the process of transforming ideas into successfully delivered products. Certainly, the impact of P&G’s innovation transition is stunning. They have improved from a 15% new product introduction success rate to a 50% success rate.
A. G. identifies the company’s two most important constituencies as customers and employees. More interesting however, is the notion that for P&G, a company widely noted for its open innovation initiative, employees are the most important source of innovation.
Lastly, A.G. states that the CEO must be the Chief Innovation Officer. This is a key point and one that I will be reiterating later this week when I post on the role of executive leadership as the first pillar of sustainable innovation culture.
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