Starting With an Idea Funnel
Is the WRONG WAY to Approach Innovation!
Photo by Cecília Fornazieri on Unsplash
Today I attended an event where the presenter showed a funnel as the way to start innovation.
You solicit ideas in a wide open fashion. Anything goes. Let’s be creative!
You then pare them down at some point to a short list of ideas worth carrying forward.
I’ve seen that so many times before, but it wasn’t until today that I finally noticed what is wrong with that method.
Let’s do a quiz. Without looking ahead, can you tell me what is wrong (or even backwards) about this method? Hint - the answer can be derived just by looking at the two bullet points above. No peeking!
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Where’s the focus?
The funnel model accepts input from anyone about anything. The goal is a big number - a big numer of ideas." “OMG, we had so many ideas this quarter! Great job, everyone!” We walk away feeling good about ourselves, our openness, and how we empower people.
But from there, we still have lots of work to do paring the ideas down into a few keepers. So, we spend hours or days evaluating random ideas. That’s when the focus occurs, only after we’ve solicited ideas about anything.
We don’t target anything in particular. Our mantra is “Give us your ideas. We don’t want to miss anything.” As a result, we get ideas about, and spend time evaluating ideas about, topics that aren’t even on our corporate radar!
Focus should come first, not last.
Where’s the tie to corporate strategy?
Once we evaluate the funnel ideas and arrive at the short list we are still not assured that the winning ideas strengthen our corporate strategy objectives. They are just the best of the randomly solicited ideas in the top of the funnel. How do we know there will even be one idea in the funnel that addresses our important needs? We didn’t explicitly ask for that?
By using a wide open funnel, we motivate people for quantity of ideas, not quality. In the name of being “open” we allow ideas about anything, whether the subject is strategically important or not.
That doesn’t seem like a great way to expend corporate resources!
Let’s replace haphardly focused innovation with strategically focused innovation.
I run workshops and provide training that equip companies to invent breakthrough next generation products (well, and services or processes, too). We begin by first identifying a strategic area upon which to focus your company’s innovation (for example, a product that is getting a little outdated and is ready for a redesign) and secondly by then focusing on identifying specific opportunities to create high value within that area.
Haphazardly focused = source ideas about anything from anybody. Hope for the best.
Strategically focused = source ideas about the topics that you already know are strategically valuable for your company and can create high value for your company.
I learned long ago that brainstorming without focus is just guessing - you’ll get random results (and most are not valuable at all - there is truth to “Ideas are worth a dime a dozen”). Maybe you’ll be lucky. But probably you won’t. Strategically focused innovation, on the other hand, targets high value opportunities. The targeting helps your team bring results that by definition make strategic impact for your company
TL;DR - Takeaways
Innovation is a process that can be replicated at any organization. It makes sense to manage it professionally. A major part of that professionalism is pointing your work toward strategic high value opportunities.
Although it sounds nice to say, “In our innovation process, anybody can submit an idea about anything”, the result can be a funnel full of mostly non-relevant ideas.
The creation of breakthrough next generation products shouldn’t be left to haphazard ideas and luck.
Professionally managed invention will focus new product creation on 1) areas of strategic importance to your company and 2) high value opportunties within those areas.
I make my living by equipping companies to do just that.