How to Measure Innovation

Everyone is interested in innovation and creating new products, markets, or opportunities for their organizations. How do you know your efforts are paying off? You need a measurement system to be able to track your work and success.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• A system or model for measurement
• An innovation process

Determine What Drives Your Business

1. 
   Strategic message

   Review your company's strategic goals. Here you'll see the direction the CEO plans to take the company in the next few years. If your organization is public, you may find this information in a copy of the annual report.

2. Set up a meeting with someone from your finance team. Ask him about the main revenue sources for your business.

3. Check to see if anyone within your organization is in charge of innovation. The standard answer is "everyone," which means that no one is leading the effort.

Measure Innovation

4. 
   Google search

   Choose an innovation system. If you do not have one in mind, start with an Internet search on Google.com.

5. 
   Seeds of Innovation book

   Choose a measurement system. By way of example, I am going to use Seeds of Innovation.

6. Review the baseline test to assess where innovation currently is in your organization. Ensure whichever system you choose gets you this information.

7. 
   Eight areas to measure innovation

   Decide which areas you want to focus on based on current state and future goals. (see image below and results from Section One.)

8. Set up projects to increase the assessment score in each identified area.

9. Reassess using the information baseline in Step 4.

Tips & Warnings

• If you have a large organization, you may want to bring in a consultant to train on the specific innovation program ou choose.
• Hard data is important. Look for real dollars in measurements where possible.

Resources

• Seeds of Innovation

[kboyer]

on 9/19/2008 I like your article. You stress planning keep up the good work.