The Leading Practitioners' Resource for Product & Technology Development
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Quick Insights
Six Levers of Innovation: Creating an Integrated Innovation Organization 
Quick Insight | Posted: 2009-12-19
In the sixth and final session of Management Roundtable’s Innovation Leadership Guru Series, Robert Shelton, Director, PRTM, co-author of Making Innovation Work, discussed the strategic value of technology innovation and business model innovation levers. While technology innovation levers are used extensively, business model levers are underutilized and can deliver even greater benefits.
Reinventing Corporate Growth - Open Innovation for Tough Times
Quick Insight | Posted: 2009-12-01
In the fifth session of Management Roundtable’s Innovation Leadership Guru Series, Gene Slowinski, Director of Strategic Alliance Research, Rutgers University and author of Reinventing Corporate Growth, discussed how Open Innovation partnerships are transforming the nature of competition in industry.
Discovery-Driven Growth – A Breakthrough Process
Quick Insight | Posted: 2009-11-02
Rita Gunther McGrath, Associate Professor, Columbia University and co-author of Discovery-Driven Growth: A Breakthrough Process to Reduce Risk and Seize Opportunity, discusses strategy and techniques for achieving bold growth at minimal cost and risk. Uncertainty comes with the territory of growth -- different disciplines are required for exploring uncertain areas versus mainstream. Discovery-driven planning (DDP) enables exploration of the unknown while setting clear boundaries and guidelines.
The Two Faces of Platform Innovation – Productivity and Revenue Growth
Quick Insight | Posted: 2009-10-26
In the third session of Management Roundtable’s Innovation Leadership Guru Series, Marc H. Meyer, Professor, Northeastern University and author of "The Fast Path to Corporate Growth," discussed how industry leaders have been able to add new revenue streams - while lowering costs - through platform innovation. He provided guidelines and illustrative examples of platforming, building on core strengths, moving into adjacencies, creating new business models, and mitigating risk.
Evaluating & Choosing Opportunities When ROI is Unpredictable
Quick Insight | Posted: 2009-10-05
In the second session of Management Roundtable's Innovation Leadership Guru Series, well-respected technology and innovation expert Jay Paap, president of Paap Associates, discusses a common dilemma facing organizations – choosing and justifying innovative projects when hard numbers are unavailable. Paap points out that truly innovative projects have few, if any, 'hard numbers.' Though companies attempt to minimize risk by waiting until unknowns are resolved, the consequence is missing the window of opportunity while competitors step in. To overcome this dilemma, he provides non-quantitative but rational guidelines to decision-making, choosing opportunities and managing innovative projects.
Choosing the Right Adjacency Moves for Profitable Growth
Quick Insight | Posted: 2009-09-30
While companies continue to pursue growth opportunities, a recent survey by Bain & Company shows that CEOs plan more than half of targeted growth coming from adjacency expansion, i.e. moving into areas close to those the company already does well. Adjacencies indeed make a convincing business case; they are readily accessible and less risky than “new-new” ventures. Still, not all adjacent efforts succeed. The trick is choosing wisely. Having solid decision criteria and staying close to the core are key.
Leading Innovation in the Great Disruption
Quick Insight | Posted: 2009-09-24
Scott Anthony, author of "The Silver Lining" and managing director of Innosight Ventures, discusses how to find new opportunities and successfully innovate despite uncertainty and difficult economic times. He offers insight on seeking and evaluating new ideas, pruning the portfolio, de-risking projects, and learning to "love the low-end."
Tapping Into Government by Leveraging the Stimulus Package: Questions and Answers
Quick Insight | Posted: 2009-06-22
A recent Management Roundtable audio session, "Tap into Government: Leveraging the Stimulus Package," generated a great deal of interest and numerous questions among members. The audio-session presenter, Susan Ward, President of ITECS, answered participants' questions in a follow-up to the audio-session covering such topics as IP ownership, the availability of grants to large, profitable companies, and the position of sub-contractors in a funded project.
Cutting Costs This Year? How to Slice Expenses While Remaining On Schedule
Quick Insight | Posted: 2009-05-27
More and more companies are being forced to take measures this year to reduce expenses. But is there a way to cut expenses and still keep product development projects on schedule? It is all in where, how, and when to wield the knife, says David W. Paulson, President of consultancy Accuer. Paulson suggests how to use tools from Lean Product Development and Theory of Constraints to cut expenses while keeping product development projects on track.
Leveraging the R&D of Federal Labs for Strategic Advantage
Quick Insight | Posted: 2009-05-21
Learn the advantages of working with the federal government on R&D projects as well as the process to uncover and engage with these institutions. This is not a procurement program, but a method to bolster your R&D depth by leveraging federal assets.