Innovation is different and distinct from creativity in that it is idea selection, development and commercialisation as opposed to creativity, which is problem identification and idea generation. The core issue with innovation management is, therefore, how to select those ideas that are most likely to succeed?

Ideas have to pass though an idea funnel as most organizations lack the resources to try out all their good ideas. The Economist (2003) states that 3000 bright ideas result in 100 worthwhile projects, which are winnowed down to four development programmes. And four such development programmes are required to stand any chance of getting one winner.

Within the idea funnel, ideas must regularly pass GO and KILL points. Here it is decided whether an idea should remain in order to ascertain its potential or be killed off and make way for a new idea. The selection process can be difficult - drop an idea and you may have lost that one gem; keep it in and you disallow another potentially good idea reaching fruition.

Certain ideas have more probability of success than others.

a) Some ideas will naturally have cultural, technical or other impediments. Condom use in Africa to prevent AIDS is subject to cultural taboos. Non-carbon fuel cars must beat back resistance from the oil industry. E-commerce suffers from fear of Internet fraud. Impediments can be plotted against the S-curve in order to generate a risk profile for each idea under consideration.

b) Some ideas have an inherent greater chance of success than others, depending on their origin. Franklin (2003) argues that ideas that have resulted from solution spotting - when individuals have sought solutions for particular problems - have a significantly greater chance of success than most other ideas. The nearest competitors are ideas that originate from random events.

This topic is covered in depth in the MBA dissertation on Managing Creativity & Innovation, which can be purchased (along with a Creativity and Innovation DIY Audit, Good Idea Generator Software and Power Point Presentation) from http://www.managing-creativity.com.

You can also receive a regular, free newsletter by entering your email address at http://www.managing-creativity.com.

Kal Bishop, MBA

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You are free to reproduce this article as long as no changes are made and the author’s name and site URL are retained.

Kal Bishop is a management consultant based in London, UK. He has consulted in the visual media and software industries and for clients such as Toshiba and Transport for London. He has led Improv, creativity and innovation workshops, exhibited artwork in San Francisco, Los Angeles and London and written a number of screenplays. He is a passionate traveller. He can be reached on http://www.managing-creativity.com.

There is no doubt that Toyota is one of the most successful
manufacturing companies in the world. In fact lean manufacturing
is derived from the management and manufacturing practices of
the Toyota Corporation.

The manufacturing techniques and way of thinking at Toyota have
been well documented. In essence the focus at this carmaker is
the absolute elimination of waste. The result is a constant
improvement in the flow of material from raw material to
finished product. With every tiny improvement, costs of
manufacturing are reduced and efficiency improved. The result is
higher profits all the time. The Toyota way is all about
attention to detail right from the ordering of raw materials,
which is done according to the needs of the day. This virtually
eliminates the need to keep large stocks of raw material which
end up reducing costs.

Still, there is one element in the whole lean manufacturing
process that is usually not given enough prominence and at times
is ignored altogether by corporate concerns seeking to implement
lean manufacturing. This is the element that is the real secret
behind the amazing success of Toyota as an automobile
manufacturer.

The element I am referring to here is of course people. In fact
people are the most valuable resource in any company. The
constant improvements and lean-manufacturing principals that are
the foundation of Toyota are heavily dependant on the staff. It
is the workers’ flow of information and ideas that ensures
constant and consistent improvement. Bluntly put, without the
human resource element, a lean enterprise will just not happen.

In a lean organization it is absolutely critical that people
grow with the system so as to be able to take extra
responsibilities and become more productive. Workers usually
grow and improve on their productivity much more quickly where
they are highly motivated and in a position where they can
regularly suggest and implement ideas for improvements and
elimination of waste in the manufacturing process.

Copyright © 2005 Chuck Yorke - All Rights Reserved

Regardless of whether you are a student, work at home mom, a web designer, or a CEO of a Fortune 500 company, prioritizing your work is critical to your success. Failing to prioritize your work load usually results in being extremely inefficient and extremely stressed out. How many times have you thought to yourself “I have so much to do today, how am I ever going to get it all done?”

There is no exact science to prioritizing, but there are several tips that should help you become a more efficient, less stressed version of your current self:

• Make a list - this may seem obvious but you’d be surprised at how many people try to organize their tasks in their head. You’ll often find that you feel a lot better just getting everything out so that you can see it in one place.
• Consider time constraints - what absolutely needs to get done today and what can wait until tomorrow or next week. Everything may be important eventually, but some things are more important now.
• Consider people constraints - all things equal, move things that other people are waiting on to the top of the list. If you know that your manager can’t finish his proposal without your part, that’s more important than the thing that you always do on Wednesday that could just as well be done on Thursday.
• Consider the consequences - are you going to get fired if you don’t do something? Is another task going to give you the inside track on that promotion? Those things should be more important than mildly inconveniencing the sales manager by responding to their email a day late.
• Re-prioritize as necessary - let’s face it, priorities change. As they do, update your list. It will give you a sense of control over the situation.
• Remove unimportant items - is there something on your list that you always push to the bottom and never end up doing? Then get it off the list. It doesn’t belong there.
• Don’t list EVERYTHING - only list crucial tasks. You don’t need to list routine tasks (like lunch) or menial tasks (like checking your email). Also, you’re going into too much detail if you put down prioritizing as a task.
• Do everything you can to keep your list small - this means saying NO sometimes. You are not other people’s gopher. Do your work and help other people with theirs when you have something to offer, but don’t do their work for them. Along the same lines, learn to delegate things to the people that are supposed to be doing them. Why book your plane tickets when you have an assistant for that?

Adam McFarland owns iPrioritize - the efficient way to get organized. iPrioritize is the next evolution of list making. We take your pen and paper list and turn it into a live list that can be edited at any time from any place in the world. We make it easy for you to email and print your list, subscribe to your list via RSS, share your list with others, and check your list on your mobile phone.

Answers are often before our very eyes or in front of our noses - particularly if we read the American Heritage Dictionary!

Explore with me how some of the multitude of definitions for the word “leader” actually serve as a performance standard for leadership.

Leaving behind the standard definition of “one who leads or guides”, consider the second definition: “one who has power or influence”. Have you known people in a leadership role who seem unable to influence the people around them? The ability to make connections, to speak clearly and to frame information so everyone hears a “what’s it in for me” message are essential for influence. We are also persuaded by people with conviction and passion. We are influenced by people whom we think we can trust. Lose or misuse any of this and a leader’s power vanishes.

A leader is defined as “a conductor or the principal performer in an orchestral section”. Finding ways to bring together the different talents of employees or volunteers so that all play from the same sheet of music and blend their instruments into a harmonious whole is a skill demonstrated by the finest of leaders! As a principal performer, we look to a leader to have one talent that is heads above the other people in that arena of “play”. We don’t want a leader who professes to best at everything. But we do want a leader to have one clearly recognizable skill.

The foremost animal in a harnessed team is a leader. Do we not look to leaders to guide the way, joined shoulder by shoulder to the rest of the team? Remember how the presence of a leader at a front line became the rallying point for many a battle?

Leader is also defined as “a duct for conveying warm air from a furnace.” Care is a four-letter word heard more and more frequently in business circles. Employees want to know that a leader cares for them. The cold, stern dictator might get some results but never the full-blown commitment, creativity and loyalty of a warm and caring leader.

There’s the leader that is an economic indicator and the leader that is “loss”. A leader better be in command and have a clear indication as to the economic viability of the enterprise. A leader also needs to know when something is done to attract talent or customers - not to make money.

A short length of gut, wire or similar material by which a hook is attached to a fishing line is a leader and so is the blank strip at the end or beginning of a film or tape used in threading or winding.

What’s the correlation with the world of leadership in these final definitions? Both are used for setting up the profit potential of the venture. Depending upon the type of fish one wishes to catch, a fishing leader strengthens the connection between the hook and the rest of the line. There are times in which the executive’s presence helps solidify the relationship between the customer and the sales team so that the customer “bites the hook”. Other times, a leader gently paves the way for the real presentation to the potential buyer or the investment community. He is the “blank tape” that opens the doors for the full presentation of the company.

If a picture is worth 1000 words, a metaphor is worth 1000 pictures. Using the metaphors provided by other meanings to the word “leader”, we gain a rich image of the scope and possibilities of true leadership.

© 2003 by Eileen McDargh. All rights reserved

About The Author

Eileen McDargh is a woman of many hats: author, radio commentator, organizational development consultant, acclaimed international speaker, and retreat facilitator. Visit her web site www.eileenmcdargh.com or contact her toll free at 877-477-4718.

Reprint rights are granted to all venues so long as the article and by-line are reprinted intact.