How Will Your Company Find Its Next Big New Product Idea?

Companies are experiencing a shortage of game-changing ideas that drive growth. This is a ‘how to’ book about generating a steady stream of breakthrough new product ideas. Experts, Dr. Cooper and Dr. Edgett, provide an unbiased evaluation of the top 15+ ideation methods used by leading companies.

Generate Breakthrough Ideas

This ideation book explains how to ‘feed’ your innovation funnel with a steady stream of breakthrough new product ideas. Through numerous examples of the methods, approaches and techniques being used by leading companies such as Motorola and Procter and Gamble. The authors confirm the importance of a robust Discovery Stage and illustrate how to implement such a system.

Discover how leading companies feed their Idea-To-Launch Process with a steady stream of blockbuster new product ideas from internal and external sources. Also, learn the pros and cons of the top ideation methods including: voice of customer, peripheral vision, immersion, open innovation, disruptive technologies, brainstorming, fundamental research and more.

The Complete Guide on Ideation

• Understand and compare top new product ideation methods
• Implement an effective idea generation system
• Learn how to create innovation strategies and roadmaps that drive results
• Link your idea generation system to your Idea-To-Launch Process
• Learn how leading companies generate breakthrough new products.

Key Topics:

• Objective, unbiased evaluation of top ideation methods used by leading companies
• How to establish a strategic Discovery Stage including Product and Technology Roadmaps
• How to screen new ideas for winners with the latest idea scoring techniques
• What peripheral vision is and how to use it to dodge technical and environmental threats
• Concrete and actionable ways to encourage creative thinking from employees
• How to capture ideas from traditional, proven sources and unexpected external sources
• Accelerate time to market by linking idea capture systems to Idea-To-Launch Process
• Generating ideas for fundamental research, technology developments and platforms.

A ‘Must Read’ for people in these roles:

• Business executives responsible for leading product innovation performance results
• Managers responsible for implementing new product/new revenue generation systems
• Cross-functional product innovation teams
• People responsible for contributing new product ideas
• Technology development managers, project leaders and team members.

Tap into your internal talent – order a copy for every employee!

Companies Referenced:

Toyota ExxonMobil Hewlett-Packard AT&T Motorola Disney D. Swarovski & Co. Goulds Pumps

Xerox Apple Siemens Mattel NASA Microsoft Johnson & Johnson Eli Lilly

3M Lego IBM Chrysler Dell Nissan Pfizer Guinness

 

 

Table of Contents:

Chapter 1: The Quest for Breakthrough Ideas

• Product Innovation is the Key Management Imperative
• But It’s Not So Easy
• Why the Shortage of Innovative Projects: Understanding the Root Causes
• The Need for a Proactive Idea Generation and Management System
• Make Your Company an Innovation Machine

Chapter 2: A Product Innovation Strategy to Guide Your Idea Generation Effort

• Add a Strategic Discovery Stage
• What Is a Product Innovation Strategy?
• The Elements of a Product Innovation Strategy
• Setting Goals for Your Product Innovation Effort
• Defining Target Arenas for Your Business
• Your Product Roadmap
• Putting Your Product Innovation Strategy to Work

Chapter 3: Strategic Inputs to Ideation – Forecasting the Future

• 1. Develop Peripheral Vision
• 2. Exploit Disruptive Technologies
• 3. Employ Scenario Generation to Envision the Future
• Watch for Signals, Then Act!

Chapter 4: Using Voice of Customer to Generate Blockbuster Ideas

• Why VoC is So Vital
• What Voice of Customer Research Is Not
• Why Voice of Customer Works
• VoC Methods
• If You’re Not Doing VoC

Chapter 5: Getting Ideas From Outside the Company: Open Innovation and External Sources of Innovative Ideas

• Open Innovation
• Procter & Gamble’s Connect + Develop
• Positioning Your Company to Acquire Ideas, Concepts and Products from External Sources
• Beyond Open Innovation: Other Sources of External Ideas

Chapter 6: Harness the Brainpower of Your Own Employees

• Set Up an Idea Suggestion System – A Potentially Prolific Source
• Provide Scouting Time and Resources to Promote Creativity
• Use Group Creativity Methods
• Run a MRG Event and Utilize the Creative Ability of Your Entire Organization
• Your Own Employees Have Your Next Breakthrough – Listen to Them

Chapter 7: Fundamental Research Breakthroughs – Changing the Basis of Competition

• What’s So Special About Technology Development Projects?
• Use a Development Process Designed for TD Projects
• How the TD Process Feeds the Traditional Product Development Process
• Deciding Which TD Projects to Invest In
• Ensuring the Resources are in Place
• Technology Transfer to the Business Unit
• Make Your TD Projects Pay Off

Chapter 8: Picking the Winners

• Put a World Class Product Innovation Process in Place: Stage-Gate
• Use Scorecards – An Effective Selection Method for Early Gates
• Compute the Risk-Adjusted Economic Value: Expected Commercial Value
• Picking the Winners Early – A Summary

Chapter 9: Some Final Thoughts – Seeking Game-Changing Innovations

• Work the Innovation Diamond
• 1. A Product Innovation and Technology Strategy for Your Business
• 2. An Effective Idea-to-Launch System
• 3. A Portfolio System to Help Focus on the Right Projects
• 4. The Right Climate and Environment for Innovation
• Inspiration of Perspiration?

Customer Reviews

Submit a Review

There are no reviews for this book.  Be the first to submit a review.

 

Dr. Robert Cooper

Dr. Robert G. Cooper is one of the most influential innovation thought leaders in the business world today. He pioneered the original research that led to his many groundbreaking discoveries including the Stage-Gate Idea-to-Launch Process. Now implemented by almost 80% of North American companies, it is considered to be one of the most important discoveries in the field of innovation management. He has spent more than 30 years studying the practices and pitfalls of 3,000+ new product projects in hundreds of companies and has assembled the world's most comprehensive research on the topic. His presentations and practical consulting advice have been widely applauded by corporate and business event audiences throughout the world making him one of the most sought-after speakers.

A prolific author, he has published more than 100 academic articles and eleven books, including the best selling Winning at New Products, 3rd Edition. He is the recipient of numerous prestigious awards including the Crawford Fellow from the Product Development and Management Association (PDMA) and the Maurice Holland Award from the Industrial Research Institute (IRI). Dr. Cooper is a Professor Emeritus of Marketing and Technology Management at the Michael G. DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University in Ontario, Canada and Distinguished Fellow at the Institute for the Study of Business Markets (ISBM) at Penn State University in Pennsylvania, USA.

Dr. Scott Edgett

Dr. Scott J. Edgett is internationally recognized as one of the world's top experts in product innovation and is the pioneer of portfolio management for product innovation. He is a high profile speaker and sought-after executive advisor on product innovation. Dr. Edgett has extensive experience advising large multinational clients in a variety of industries, principally focusing on issues affecting innovation leadership and capability. He is credited with helping business executives and innovation professionals successfully implement world-class innovation processes that have generated outstanding results. His speaking engagements and professional work have taken him around the globe to work with some of the world's best innovators and companies among the Fortune 1000.

Dr. Edgett is Chief Executive Officer and co-founder, with Dr. Robert G. Cooper, of both Product Development Institute and Stage-Gate International. He has spent more than 20 years researching and developing innovation best practices and working with organizations in product innovation. He is a prolific author having coauthored six books including the popular 'Portfolio Management for New Products, 2nd Edition' and has published more than 60 academic articles. Dr. Edgett is a former Professor of the Michael G. DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University in Ontario and is a Faculty Scholar at the Institute for the Study of Business Markets (ISBM) at Penn State University in Pennsylvania, USA.