How to Increase your Odds of Success When Integrating Suppliers into NPD

The download is 13 pages and well worth the read for insights, discussions of pro and con, plus how-to.    Vendors

Excerpt:  Faster technology developments coupled with increased dynamics of competition are re-shaping virtually every sector of the market and are pushing NPD in the strategic core of business activity.

The benefits of earlier and more extensive involvement of suppliers in NPD are well documented in existing research and include better project performance in terms of speed, productivity, quality and cost. To realize these benefits, firms have increasingly relied on R&D collaborations. Organizations have started to open their R&D departments and move from in-house, closed R&D approach, toward open innovation and collaboration. Suppliers’ involvement in new product development has become not only important, but for many companies inevitable.

Organizations increasingly rely on their R&D suppliers to innovate successfully. Strategic technology suppliers in particular play a significant role in providing an organization with key external technologies that open innovation advocates see as critical to enable companies to compete successfully.

Supplier relationships in NPD: Problematic
Nevertheless, abounding evidence shows that efforts to involve suppliers in early phases of NPD are not always successful and, in some cases, can even create impediments in product development. Moreover, an estimated 46% of the resources that companies devote to the conception, development and launch of new products go to projects that fail in the marketplace or never make it to market.

The ability of organizations to benefit from R&D collaborations and innovation with suppliers varies depending on a range of factors

Read introduction and download pdf herevia Enterprise innovation articles.  From Innovation Tools

Inside the Latest Office-Design Craze: Hot Desking

Small business of-interest.  Who better to adapt to the cool new office design than startups and small businesses.  Facilitating innovation, collaboration and small business budgets.

Excerpt:  As cloud computing and wireless Internet become ubiquitous, workers are cordless. Who needs a cube, much less an office? Just follow the leads of these cool companies.

Read full article via Inside the Latest Office-Design Craze: Hot Desking | Inc.com.

Collaboration: Creating High Performance Capabilities

Good takeaway in how-to turn theory into action.   I think the tips and outline would hold true for teams other than just information technology.

Excerpt:  But what is ‘effective’ collaboration? How can we translate it from a simple word in the strategy into actual behavior that delivers results?

The simulation workshops were aimed at translating theory into practice, at demonstrating effective collaboration, and at capturing concrete improvement suggestions to drive forward the IT maturity initiative. The workshops were also aimed at creating buy-in and for identifying possible resistance and barriers to the transformation initiative.

Read full article via Collaboration: Creating high performance capabilities.  From GamingWorks

The Secret Phrase Top Innovators Use – HBR

Well, I am not sure how “secret” the phrase is, but I do believe that in the current dramatic push to innovate that many have forgotten this basic and important launch.

Excerpt:  How do Google, Facebook and IDEO jumpstart the process that leads to innovation? Often by using the same three words: How Might We. Some of the most successful companies in business today are known for tackling difficult creative challenges by first asking, How might we improve X … or completely re-imagine Y… or find a new way to accomplish Z?

It’s not complicated: The “how might we” approach to innovation ensures that would-be innovators are asking the right questions and using the best wording. Proponents of this increasingly popular practice say it’s surprisingly effective — and that it can be seen as a testament to the power of language in helping to spark creative thinking and freewheeling collaboration.

Read full article via The Secret Phrase Top Innovators Use – Warren Berger – Harvard Business Review.

Why McKinsey Values Social Economy At Up To $1.3 Trillion – The BrainYard

Small business of-interest and takeaways of ideas and future innovation.  Good read.

Excerpt:  Impact of public social media is important, but McKinsey study sees two-thirds of the value coming from social business collaboration within and between businesses.

Maybe it’s time for collaboration technologies to step out from the shadows of their sexier social media cousins

Read full article via Why McKinsey Values Social Economy At Up To $1.3 Trillion – The BrainYard – InformationWeek.

Collaborative Learning Using Social

The basics of where we are now and what are the forward goals, using collaboration and tools now available, such as social ones to enhance our effectiveness.   Leadership and management

Excerpt:  One approach has simply been to bolt social approaches onto existing courses, e.g. by creating a supplementary learning community for course discussions. However, this has tended to mean that the two elements – content and community – are seen as quite separate by learners, and as they often find it annoying having to move back and forth from the content to the community, they usually end up ignoring the community altogether.

A more effective social approach, however, is where the content is well-integrated within the community, and in fact co-created by the community, and where the emphasis is placed much more on the interactions, knowledge sharing and conversations of the participants – than on the content per se.

Read full article via Jane’s Extracts.  via Jane Hart

Depicting the Intent Behind Collaborative Innovation: the Grid

Another great innovation article from Innovation Management today.  In this article are some ideas and how-to innovation, applying the Balanced Scorecard as a visual guidance.  Good read.

Excerpt:  Intent guides the practice of collaborative innovation. What problem do we want to solve? What possibilities do we want to explore? In introducing his blueprint for collaborative innovation, innovation architect Doug Collins suggested applying the Balanced Scorecard as a simple, visual approach to start the conversation around intent. Recent practice with clients has him revisiting this guidance. This article presents his latest thinking.

Read full article via Depicting the Intent Behind Collaborative Innovation: the Grid | Innovation Management.

10 Top Tools for Business Brainstorming and Collaboration

More tools today to help effective team communication and collaboration in your business meetings and projects.

Excerpt:  ….  regardless of whether your team members are working remotely or in the cubicles around you, a handful of online tools can ensure that your next brainstorming meeting will be full of fresh ideas and effective communication among your employees.

Read full article via 10 Top Tools for Business Brainstorming and Collaboration.  From Apps and YEC

NonProfit Partnering for Scale and Impact | Stanford Social Innovation Review

Good insights and points for both nonprofits and for profits……….partnerships for gain and good

Excerpt……. How can partnerships help the nonprofit sector navigate legislative hurdles, new leadership, and antiquated business models? In this audio lecture, recorded at the Stanford Social Innovation Review’s 2011 Nonprofit Management Institute, Tides CEO Melissa Bradley shares the opportunities she sees for increasing scale and impact through partnerships. Her lecture examines the current landscape of the social sector, and explores what the terms scale and impact should really mean. Citing a number of case studies, including collaborations between for-profits, nonprofits, foundations, and even unions, Bradley provides insight into what makes partnerships successful and offers up best practices for organizations looking to work together.

Listen to podcast here……via Partnering for Scale and Impact | Stanford Social Innovation Review.

A Sad Lesson in Collaborative Innovation – HBR

Innovation from the “don’t do this” perspective…….good takeaways for small business.

Excerpt………The innovator’s quest has been to find the win-win proposition: a great new product that can create differentiated value for consumers while supporting differentiated profits for the producer.

But the focus on win-win can blind us to the needs of critical partners. When success depends on others — suppliers, complementors, distributors, retailers — satisfying end consumers is not enough. The innovator’s job is now to create wins across the board. Win-lose-win is a recipe for failure.

Nokia’s transformation from undisputed leader in mobile telephony to struggling me-too player offers a sad but instructive lesson in the new dynamics of collaborative innovation.

Read full article…..via A Sad Lesson in Collaborative Innovation – Ron Adner – Harvard Business Review.

Cloud storage, big data and collaboration: connecting the dots

Looks good for some answers to the questions now uppermost in management today.  Event

Excerpt………As enterprises begin to adopt cloud services and with big data evolving quickly, there are hurdles to incorporating these new capabilities into the business. A potential enabler of big data is cloud storage, because it lets companies collaborate around large data sets in near real time, something that has been difficult in the past.

This webinar will examine how companies are able to move, access and collaborate around big data files in real time and the impact this has had on their business.

Join GigaOM Pro and our sponsor Limelight for “Cloud storage, big data and collaboration: connecting the dots” a free analyst roundtable webinar on Wednesday, May 9, 2012, at 10 a.m. PDT.

See more details for webinar here……via. http://gigaom.com/2012/05/07/cloud-storage-big-data-and-collaboration-connecting-the-dots/?utm_source=social&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=gigaom  From GigaOM

Managers Need to Up Their Game with Social Media – HBR

Article addresses one of the most discussed topics of concern, and probably fault, in today’s business environment and needs.  Leadership and management……

Excerpt……..While it sounds obvious that managers can compromise collaboration with prescriptive control, the relationship between resources, responsibility, and management is one of the most frequently asked questions in organizations looking to apply social media to achieving meaningful business purposes. Collective responsibility is a thorny issue and it takes a different level of management maturity to break the idea that if there isn’t one person responsible, then no one is responsible.

Read full article…..via Managers Need to Up Their Game with Social Media – Anthony J. Bradley and Mark P. McDonald – Harvard Business Review.

Technology Forecast: Transforming Collaboration with Social Tools: PwC

More today on tools to use to manage information overload ……Social media and communication

Excerpt…….Technology Forecast: Transforming collaboration with social tools explores how to confront communications overload and boost collaboration potential by making best use of the new powerful social tools. Business is inherently social, which is why collaboration and communications that scale are so fundamental.

Read full article…….via Technology Forecast: Transforming collaboration with social tools: PwC.

The State of Social Marketing 2011 – 2012

Another article today on the status of social media and marketing…..this one from another expert in the field, and it is a good read with stats and detailed information.  Recommended…

Excerpt…..At the end of 2011, Social marketing stands at a profound crossroads. Some organizations are finally embracing the importance of social networks and, as a result, increasing investments in creative engagement, marketing, and service programs. Others see the future value, but lag behind in execution. At the vanguard, Social Businesses drive a virtuous cycle of discovery: Their successes in Social marketing lead to new data, which lead to insights, which lead to new and more effective programs as well as the business systems and processes necessary to improve internal and external collaboration.In 2012, social media marketing, driven by these innovations, will only continue to mature. Bottom-up learning about what really works in Social will be essential for this expansion

Read full article…….via The State of Social Marketing 2011 – 2012 | Social Media Today.

Eight Dangers of Collaboration – HBR

We have posted MANY articles on the positives of collaboration…..here is an article that points out why collaboration appears dangerous…….. Leadership and governance

Excerpt……Collaboration creates once-elusive “buy-in or “empowerment,” improves problem solving, increases creativity, is key to innovation at companies like Lego, Pixar, and Intuit. It slashes costs and improves productivity.

So why is collaboration as rare as it is?

The short answer is that collaboration is dangerous. Inherently, collaboration says something is happening outside of one’s immediate control. This by itself seems threatening to some, but there are several specific reasons why it appears dangerous:

Read full article…….via Eight Dangers of Collaboration – Nilofer Merchant – Harvard Business Review.