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GGI RapidNews R&D Product Development eZine: Volume 9, Issue 8 - August 6, 2008
In This Issue 2008 GGI BIENNIAL SURVEY FINDINGS - Part 2 of 5 - Innovation Processes MANAGEMENT PRODUCTIVITY - BW & BCG Innovation Results Metrics MANAGEMENT PRODUCTIVITY - Ocean Tomo Fall 2008 IP Auction BOOK REVIEW - Product Development For The Lean Enterprise GGI 2008 BIENNIAL SURVEY - Results Released May 15, 2008 THE WISDOM iSTORE FEATURED PRODUCT 40% OFF - 2004 Survey Summary THE WISDOM iSTORE NEW LISTINGS - Two New Products Announced This Month BIENNIAL PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT SURVEY - 2004, 2002, 2000, 1998 Results GATEWAYS TO KNOWLEDGE - A Monthly Feature CALENDAR OF INDUSTRY EVENTS - A Monthly Feature TELEVISION EVENTS - Alexander Haig's World Business Review --------------------------------------------------------------------- 2008 GGI BIENNIAL SURVEY FINDINGS - Part 2 of 5 - Innovation Processes
Research Execution: The study was conducted by a combination of mailer surveys, and e-mails with links to download web sites. 7094 mailer surveys were distributed, 476 surveys were downloaded from web sites. Of the total of 7570 surveys distributed, 1256 mailer surveys were returned as undeliverable. Net total surveys distributed was 6314. A total of 218 completed surveys were received. Four (4) surveys were determined to be invalid and were eliminated. Five (5) duplicate responses were eliminated, yielding a total of 209 valid responses included in the 2008 results database. The response rate was 3.31%.
Research Participants: About two-thirds of respondents were from public companies, about one-third were from private companies. Over fifty percent had a title of Director or greater, less than 20% held a title of Manager or lower. Over eighty-five percent of respondents were from R&D-Product Development and/or Senior Management. About half of respondents were from companies with sales less than $.5B, forty percent were from $.5B to $5B, and twelve percent were greater than $5B. All industries were represented, including a number of software-only companies.
Research Description: The research was focused on areas in the Innovation Body of Knowledge where Innovation is "tangible," meaning that "it can be directed by executives and is actionable by employees." GGI's focus since 1998 is to investigate the actual processes and practices that companies use that cause their results. The five subjects GGI researched between August 2007 and February 2008 were:
1. Innovation Environment [RN July 08 Issue]
2. Innovation Processes [This RN Issue]
3. Innovation Identity [RN September 08 Issue]
4. Innovation Tools [RN October Issue]
5. Top Corporate Metrics Used in Industry RD&E [RN December 08]
Research Findings - Part 2 - Innovation Processes: Our goal for this section of the research was to identify the number of different processes that companies maintained for "Product Development" activities. Practitioners know that USA companies often utilize more than one process and that many European companies utilize as many as five or six processes [Platform, Derivative, Incremental, Fast Track, Others], and that is just for "Product Development." Organizations that also perform "Basic Research," "Applied Research," and "Advanced Development" often have tailored processes for these somewhat earlier and more uncertain activities. One of the surprise findings of the research is that many more companies are now actively engaging in these earlier development activities, and the degree of documentation and formality of research and advanced activities is clearly increasing. Historically, many of these earlier processes were a "giant sandbox." Funding was provided, but the structure and degree of oversight and control was little to none. Well, that is changing too. Approximately 70% of companies that perform these earlier activities now have a structured process for them. There are many variations and approaches, but there is a clear and significant increase in these earlier activities and the documentation of them. As for Product Development, 40% of companies use a single process and 55% use two or more processes. About 5% of respondents said they had no process at the current time.
Research Conclusions: There are clearly monies being moved from product development to earlier stage activities than has been the historical practice. Some companies have increased their funding, but most appear to be reallocating existing funds. The degree of formality of management of all activities is on the rise, as is the sophistication and preciseness of the processes used for these activities.
MANAGEMENT PRODUCTIVITY - BW & BCG Innovation Results Metrics
Condensation of "INSIDE INNOVATION: indata," Business Week, June 16, 2008, page 64, published by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020, USA, ISSN 0007-7135.
A number of organizations are in search of the aggregate measures that truly get at the innovative abilities and the innovation results of corporations. The goal for many is to be able to compare companies within an industry, and across industries. Most of the major firms have already weighed in with their recommendations, and/or are in the process of trying to identify the right metrics.
For several years now, Business Week and the Boston Consulting Group have collaborated on an annual ranking of the "world's top 25 most innovative companies." The rankings are based on three metrics that are aggregated to produce an overall measure of innovativeness. The three metrics are:
Revenue Growth: Annualized three-year revenue growth %.
Margin Growth: Annualized three-year margin growth %.
Stock Return: Annualized three-year return %.
Editorial Comment: GGI editors believe this is clear progress towards the end goal of identifying a series of metrics that truly measure innovation. However, it seems that the final answer is still in the future. Most of the companies that were ranked Top 25 appear to be legitimate contenders. It is somewhat curious that General Motors was a Top 25, and a couple of other companies were curious as well.
It is also important to note that "being innovative doesn't necessarily mean spending a lot on R&D," which was said on page 64 of the article. The range of spending on R&D spanned 0% to 13.9%.
Editorial Comment: GGI editors have seen recent studies from other sources that draw essentially the same conclusion. Spending more doesn't necessarily get you more. In fact, research that needs additional corroboration is beginning to identify the inflection point where increased spending gets no additional returns. Statistically valid findings of this inflection point are likely to emerge in the next several years. When that figure gains confidence, the spending of many companies will change. The game will be to spend up to the inflection point without going over it. Then, a new "lean spending" race will begin to see if the same results can be achieved when one under spends from the inflection point.
This years Top 25 rankings were jointly developed by the Business Week Editorial Staff and the Boston Consulting Group. For more information, please visit the Business Week web site.
MANAGEMENT PRODUCTIVITY - Ocean Tomo Fall 2008 IP Auction
Intellectual Property pioneer Ocean Tomo will conduct its sixth Live IP Auction this October in Chicago, with offerings including patents, trademarks, copyrights and domain names. GGI editors have been doing our best to keep RN readers appraised of this emerging market for the exchange of intellectual property.
Excerpt From Recent Email Announcement: The Ocean Tomo Fall Auction & Conference is a full 2-day event that includes a 1 1/2-day conference on cutting-edge IP issues, including "Managing IP Risk", "Buying and Selling IP", and "IP Finance" followed by the Live IP Auction. The events will be held on October 29th & 30th at the Trump International Hotel and Chicago Cultural Center.
We hope you can join us for the CLE-approved courses, the Gala Dinner at the historic Stock Exchange Room in The Art Institute of Chicago and, of course, the Live Auction where hundreds of IP assets will be transacted.
For more information, please visit the Ocean Tomo Auction Website.
BOOK REVIEW
Product Development For The Lean Enterprise: Why Toyota's system is four times more productive and how you can implement it., by Michael N. Kennedy, Copyright 2003 and 2008 by Michael N. Kennedy, The Oklea Press, Richmond, Virginia, 254 Pages, ISBN-10: 1-892538-18-0 and ISBN-13: 978-1-892538-18-5.
Much has been written about the Toyota product development system over the years and this book is another worthwhile read on the subject. The layout of the book and the text size are friendly after a long work day.
Dr. Allen Ward, a recognized expert on the subject, has written a worthwhile foreword to the book that sets a good stage for the context in which to digest the book. Michael Kennedy is a consultant to the National Center For Manufacturing Sciences [NCMS] and some of the value-added of this book relates to his experience in assisting NCMS companies in the adoption of the principles, values, and practices of the Toyota Product Development System.
A useful definition of product development was spotted by GGI's Editors. Product development "is the collective activities, or system, that a company uses to convert its technology and ideas into a stream of products that meet the needs of customers and the strategic goals of the company."
The author simply but elegantly reinforces the primary elements of change inherent in adopting Toyota-based practices:
* Set-based concurrent engineering
* System designer entrepreneurial leadership
* Responsibility-based planning and control
* Expert engineering workforce
No matter what your level in the organization or the number of years experience you have, the knowledge in this book will be understandable and applicable to your career as you go forward.
For more information about Product Development For The Lean Enterprise or to order a copy of the book, go through GGI's Bookstore to the Amazon.com Web Site.
GGI 2008 BIENNIAL SURVEY - Results Released May 15, 2008
Thank you to the 209 people who responded for their companies in our biennial primary research project of North American industry. We appreciate the time it took you to respond accurately to our robust survey questionnaire. All participants should have received their complimentary "Summary" copy of the results at this time. If you participated and did not receive your "Summary," please contact Ervin Kule at eak@goldensegroupinc.com. Ervin is GGI's Manager of Market Research. He can also be reached at 781-444-5400 x202.
The 2008 Biennial Survey theme was "Tangible Innovation." Much is said and written about the "perceived to be somewhat soft" topic of innovation. GGI's research focused on selected aspects of the innovation body of knowledge that are tangible and can be actively managed by companies and their executives. We also refreshed our ongoing biennial research of the past decade regarding the usage of R&D and product development metrics by industrial and high tech companies. Industry Week has recently published the "Top 10 Metrics In 2008" and contrasted them to our research from 1998 to identify the changes during the past decade.
John Teresko, "Metrics Matter [Top 10 @ 1998 vs 2008]," Industry Week, Penton Publishing, Cleveland, Ohio, USA, WWW Posting April 17, 2008.
http://www.industryweek.com/ReadArticle.aspx?ArticleID=16116
Our research covered 88 different metrics that measure the overall results obtained from investments in R&D and Product Development. It is clear that the measurement emphasis is changing to reflect industry's initiatives in intellectual property, innovation, productivity, lean, and other areas. In a few years there are likely to be a number of metrics that will move up to become Top 10.
Industry Week also asked us to write a small piece about some of these trends in metrics that we observed during our research. Most of these trends occur below the Top 10 Metrics which have stayed fairly constant over time. This piece was also recently published.
John Teresko, "Seven Emerging Trends In R&D Metrics," Industry Week, Penton Publishing, Cleveland, Ohio, USA, WWW Posting April 17, 2008.
http://www.industryweek.com/ReadArticle.aspx?ArticleID=16115
The majority of the research effort focused on "Tangible Innovation" versus "Metrics". To date, we have not made any of these findings public and will likely do so only sparingly in public media. We will be providing selected highlights to RapidNews readers in the coming months starting with this issue, see above first section.
The major subject areas we researched are:
Innovation Environment
Innovation Processes
Innovation Identity
Innovation Tools
Top Metrics Used By Corporations For R&D-Product Development
We have two reports available for sale to companies that might be interested. Our flagship report is "MR42" which is a summary of all questions across the population of respondents. It includes full color graphics of each question. We are also offering a less expensive scaled-down version, MR41, which is text only at about half the price.
For more information please visit our 2008 Biennial Survey web site. Here you can find our Research Description, Product Description, Product Brochure, Tables Of Contents for the reports, and/or place an order for one of these publications. Pricing and ordering information may also be found in The Wisdom iStore in the "Primary Research" section. All reports are available in hard copy, or electronic.pdf format for posting on company intranets.
THE WISDOM iSTORE FEATURED PRODUCT 40% OFF - 2004 Survey Summary
Discounted Item: Periodically, GGI's iStore features one item that we discount 40%. We are now offering our 2004 Survey Summary Report, MR32c, in pdf format.
2004 Survey Summary [Electronic Copy - Corporate License], Goldense Group, Inc., Needham, MA, USA, $715.00 [List Price $1,192.00]
This primary research focused on the following five areas of product selection and intellectual property management:
* Product Selection Process
* Product Selection Tools
* IP Management Process
* IP Management Tools
* Top Corporate Metrics Used in Industry RD&E
GGI's Featured Item changes approximately every other month and is always offered at 40% discount. To order this material, please go to GGI's Featured Item on the GGI Home Page or find this item in the Primary Research section of The Wisdom iStore.
THE WISDOM iSTORE NEW LISTINGS - Two New Products Announced This Month
The "2008 Survey Highlights" report [MR41] and the "2008 Survey Summary" report [MR42] are now available. Both may be found in the Primary Research section of The Wisdom iStore
2004 Product Development Metrics Survey - Product Selection, IP Management, and Top Corporate Metrics: The Summary Report (MR32h) and Highlights Report (MR31h) for GGI's 2004 Biennial Product Development Metrics Survey are now available for purchase by the public through GGI's Wisdom iStore. These reports are completely based on primary research performed by GGI researchers. The research includes 202 respondent companies. There was a 5% response rate. McKinsey & Company, Texas Instruments, Rockwell, Kimberly Clark, JDS Uniphase, Shure, Curtiss Wright Flight Systems and Datacard are representative of companies that purchase market research from GGI. The 2004 Survey focused on the following five areas of product selection and IP management:
We have already shared many results with GGI RapidNews readers since we began this line of business in 1998. 2004 Survey results ran in six RN issues, RN V5I11 - RN V6I5, which may be found in the RN archives, along with results from prior years. Some additional complimentary information about the survey is available: The three commercial versions of the survey results that we currently offer for public purchase are:
1. 2004 SURVEY HIGHLIGHTS: A text-only report (75 pages), including the full text of all the results and analysis of the survey population analyzed as a whole, and Individual sections of the research reports, as well as logical combinations of sections are also available. All reports are available in printed or electronic versions. These reports are available in the Market Research Section of The Wisdom iStore. 2002, 2000, 1998 Product Development Metrics Survey: The Summary and Highlights Reports for GGI's prior Biennial Product Development Metrics Surveys are also available for purchase by the public through The Wisdom iStore. Information about the purpose and focus of prior surveys may be found in our Biennial Survey Archives. GATEWAYS TO KNOWLEDGE GTK- Gateway To Knowledge is a DIRECTORY OF THOUSANDS OF LINKS to providers of engineering, purchasing, and manufacturing technologies and services. If you hit the right subjects, it is more useful than a search engine! The "main entrance" to GTK can be found at: http://www.goldensegroupinc.com/gateway/index.shtml For those of you that do not want to go through the main entrance above, some of the Gateways that we believe you will find useful or entertaining are highlighted below. Technology Providers
CALENDAR OF INDUSTRY EVENTS GGI's Calendar of Industry Events contains an up-to-date listing of links to Conferences, Seminars, Distance Learning Centers, Colleges & Universities, Executive Education, and Corporate-Sponsored Universities. The calendar has just been updated with 60 upcoming conferences and seminars throughout 2007. The categories we follow are: The categories of conferences, seminars, and distance learning are further organized into the following subject areas: If you are looking for a conference or other learning opportunity, check out the Calendar. This free service for our readers is front and center on GGI's Home Page. Or, go directly to the Calendar of Industry Events MEGA Gateway.
TELEVISION EVENTS Alexander Haig's World Business Review: Brad Goldense has made several appearances on Alexander Haig's World Business Review. Streaming video is available for all shows, which aired on August 4, September 29 and December 15, 2002 and on May 20, 2003. See below for details. May 20, 2003 Broadcast of September 29th In-Studio with Alexander Haig (22.5 minutes): Streaming video for this segment is available on GGI's web site. December 15, 2002 In-Studio with Alexander Haig (7.5 minutes) on CNBC paid programming: Streaming video for this segment is available on GGI's web site. September 29, 2002 In-Studio with Alexander Haig (22.5 minutes): Streaming video for this segment (as well as the entire 30-minute show) is available on GGI's web site. August 4, 2002 On-Location at GGI (3.5 minutes): This On-Location field report is available in streaming video on GGI's web site. The web page includes links to download a streaming video player, if you do not currently have one installed on your computer. For more information on any of Brad's appearances on television, go to: http://www.goldensegroupinc.com/ggi-goldense-product-development-tv-television-broadcast.shtml. --------------------------------------------------------------------- GGI RapidNews is an e-mail publication from Goldense Group, Inc (GGI). Its subject matter includes survey findings, company news, book and article reviews, key industry conferences and R&D information of interest to clients and associates. Please send communications to rn(at)goldensegroupinc.com. Thank you. | |||