Being innovative is not a skill that's easily learned. In fact, companies big and small often struggle with encouraging innovation in their workplaces Does that sound familiar to you? If so, then an innovation programme may be all that lies between your company's struggles and a future that's filled with innovation and amazing new product launches.

1. How to Get the Most from
An Innovation Programme
4 Tips for Success

2. Being
innovative is
not a skill
that's easily
learned.
In fact, companies big and small often
struggle with encouraging innovation in their
workplaces.
Does that sound familiar to you?
If so, then an innovation programme may be
all that lies between your company's
struggles and a future that's filled with
innovation and amazing new product
launches.

3. What is an Innovation
Programme?
An innovation program is a way for
companies to speed up their product
development process or improve
innovative thinking in the workplace.
They work well for companies large and
small because they are scalable. The
focus is to build the right skills and
mindset among individuals and teams.
Doing so is crucial for small and medium
sized enterprises (SMEs), large
companies and public institutions.
Companies that struggle with making
progress on new initiatives, solving
internal problems or enhancing services
can benefit from an innovation
programme.
Typically, help is offered by think-tanks
and other innovation specialists that
respond to innovation calls sent out from
organisations that seek help.

4. Why do you need an
innovation
programme?
There are several
different issues in an
innovation lifecycle
that your company
may be stuck on.

5. Innovation
Lifecycle
Issue #1
The first is when a team in your
company is clueless about how to
improve a current product or develop
a new offering.
A new product launch seems years
away because your teams seem
completely inept (or uninterested) in
making progress on improving services.

6. Innovation
Lifecycle
Issue #2
The second issue occurs when your
company knows what to do but can't
do it efficiently or at all.
It simply doesn't have the time to
implement a major change right now.
Or at least, it doesn't know how to get
anything moving in the right direction.
Your teams are bogged down by
everyday routines and putting out fires
that creep into the workplace on a daily
or weekly basis.

7. Innovation
Lifecycle
Issue #3
The third problem may occur when
your company may know what it
needs to do but doesn't have the
funds to implement a solution.
It's hard to get funding commitments
because no real progress is made and
the problem that needs solving isn't
defined very well.

8. Innovation programmes help
companies that are stuck with
these common issues because:
Specific resources are devoted to coming up with a solution.
Goals are identified and measured, so everyday business
doesn't cause roadblocks.
Ideas are rapidly tested and customer feedback is captured
faster.
Funding from investors is easier to secure because the
company shows commitment to a solution. There is evidence of
progress which encourages further investment along the way.

9. Common tips for
successful innovation
programmes
To get the most out of
an innovation
programme, it's highly
recommended to seek
the help of an
innovation specialist.
Experts will
implement some of
the following tips (and
more) to help your
organisation with their
innovation needs.

10. Tip #1
Your teams
should
actually
want to
participate
• It may be tempting to volunteer individuals or teams to
participate in a swanky and new innovation project. But the
problem with choosing the fate of your employees is that they
may become disenfranchised and unmotivated.
• They may feel as though the new focus on innovation takes
them away from their “real work”. They may become
disgruntled and your grand vision of a revolutionising new way
of doing business may fall short of expectations.
• Instead, allow individuals and teams to self-identify as willing
participants in the innovation project. Doing so increases the
accountability and responsibility of those involved and will
result in a more successful project.
• Innovation programmes can experience many ups and downs
in the development process, which is why getting a good team
culture right from the start is important.

11. Tip #2
Focus on the
Customer
• Speaking of people, your customers are some
of the most important ones you should think
about.
• The adage of “a customer always knows best”
exists for a reason. While they may not know
everything, customers are the ones that will use
your product or service. Like it or not, they are
the final say on whether your commercial
endeavours are successful or not.
• Your offering needs to solve a problem that
customers face. One of the most difficult parts
of being innovative is simply trying to define the
problem. To do so successfully, think about your
customers' tendencies and preferences above
all else.

12. Tip #3
Get Ready
for The
Long Haul
• A successful innovation programme can take time. Lots of it.
• It may be several years between when you start a new project
to when you see gains from a commercial perspective.
• However, just because the entire process takes time, it
doesn't mean you should wait to get feedback. Early testing of
your ideas is the best way to get long-term success in your
innovations.
• You also shouldn't get too attached to a single idea. The first
one will likely change several times through an iterative
process. Put trust in your teams to bring new ideas to the
table.
• While it may sound cumbersome, just think that launching one
innovative measure is better than launching zero, which is
where you would be without the help of the innovation
programme at all.

13. Tip #4
Don’t be
afraid to
Measure
Progress
• How will you judge whether your efforts are a success? It's easy to
turn a blind eye to measurement because sometimes the truth hurts.
However, once you have your main idea, you need to define the
metrics you'll use to measure your project's success.
• Success can be measured in many ways depending on the industry
and the company. If you're struggling to brainstorm some good
measures, then luckily for you the innovation programme can help.
Look for the ability of a contracted innovation specialist for guidance.
• Some common measures of success revolve around how you'll get
paid. It may sound crude, but the willingness of customers to part with
their cash is a big reason why you're in business in the first place. It's
important to measure how well that's working out in practice – now
and in the future.
• Sales, user growth and adoption rates are great metrics for innovation
programmes.
• Know what aren't very good measures? Any metric that tracks what's
happening internally in your organisation. Things like “number of
innovation meetings held” or “number of investors found” only
measure the progress of the internal project. Instead, you should
measure the success of the external solution that the innovation
programme offers.