Managing Innovation Projects

To successfully manage innovation, often it is necessary to adjust the project content and structure to the specific needs of the company and circumstances. However, when I am immersed in innovation projects, I always try to distinguish three stages in the project. Stages which require different contributions, attitudes and efforts.


FIRST: Identify and Classify new ideas.
This is a creativity oriented stage. The objective here is to obtain ideas that have the potential to become innovations.

SECOND: Evaluate and select ideas.
This is an analytic stage. The objective now is to select the ideas that best match with the company strategic and operational interests, needs and resources.

THIRD: Develop an implementation plan and put it in practice.
This is an operational stage. The objective is to prepare and implement an operating plan to cleverly bring the selected idea/s to the customers arena.