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the LWC Innovation Accelerator

The LEITWERK Innovation Accelerator

Getting the right project ideas to the starting line

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
Sustainable innovation management with the help of the Innovation Accelerator

Companies face the major challenge of being and remaining fit for the future in a fast-moving, increasingly uncertain and complex world. Therefore, sustainable innovation management should not be missing from the top management agenda these days.

In this blog post, we highlight the pragmatic approach to introducing sustainable innovation management from our day-to-day project work. The focus here is on the systematic generation of new ideas by our own employees.

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The Innovation Accelerator in the project business

The problem our customers face:

‘How can sales gaps be closed in the short term? What measures can be taken to make a process more efficient?’ And let's not forget: ‘How can we keep up and remain successful in the fast-moving business world?’

These critical questions are on the minds of top management - and rightly so!

It is not for nothing that the word VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity) is on everyone's lips. Today's business world is faced with constantly changing framework conditions. These are directly associated with a certain degree of uncertainty and insecurity. At the same time, increasing networking is fuelling a supposedly inscrutable complexity that seems almost impossible to cope with when decision-making is made even more difficult.

Sustainable innovation management as a possible solution framework:

Against this backdrop, the promotion of a living culture of innovation and the use of effective management strategies to develop promising project ideas is increasingly coming into focus. Sustainable innovation management is the decisive framework for creating a safe space for creativity, experimentation and a willingness to take risks and make mistakes. Innovation management stimulates the generation of new ideas.

It consolidates, analyses and evaluates these from company-relevant perspectives (e.g. economic efficiency, strategic impact, feasibility, etc.).

There are several key strategies for implementing idea generation in innovation management. Three of the best-known approaches are as follows: The open innovation approach involves idea generation and innovation development together with external stakeholders such as customers, suppliers or, for example, universities. The strategic partnership approach, on the other hand, seeks long-term collaboration with other companies that have complementary skills or resources in order to bring innovations to market by utilising synergies and economies of scale. In contrast, idea management refers to the systematic generation of new ideas by a company's own employees.

Focus of the article:

In this blog post, we will provide a project insight into our LEITWERK Innovation Accelerator, which uses a 5-phase concept to help achieve sustainable innovation management. We would like to draw particular attention to the innovative power that is already sitting at the company's own desk: its own employees!

Expertise, knowledge of pain points and non-functioning processes as well as many years of experience can be a promising breeding ground for a successful future direction.

Project example

Project example - the initial situation

The LEITWERK Consulting team was commissioned to design a format and accompany it with project management that would produce short-term solutions for sales gaps. The content of the solution was left open. However, the time frame of 4 months from idea generation to management decision was very tight. The source of the ideas was to be the company's own employees.

The challenge was therefore to collect a valid quantity of project ideas within a very short period of time, examine them technically, cluster them, evaluate them on the basis of relevant criteria and prioritise them. This project had to be organised in an appreciative framework for the employees and then presented to the management for a decision.

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!

Project example - our solution approach

Project example - our solution approach

Our team of consultants developed the LEITWERK Innovation Accelerator, a pragmatic 5-phase concept that took into account the different perspectives and interests of management and also provided a platform for appreciating the idea providers.

In 5 phases to promising project ideas

Phase 1: Idea generation & collection

The first step was to translate the management's perspectives and interests into tangible parameters and consolidate them using a one-pager idea canvas (an example template is available to download free of charge at the end of this article).

The starting signal was an internal departmental kick-off, at which all employees were given an explanation of the background to the project and the planned approach. The focus of communication was on the employees themselves - their expertise and the opportunity to make it visible.

Thanks to the chosen approach, over 70 project ideas were collected within 3 weeks. This involved both pooling specialist expertise independently in groups and developing ideas on their own.

Phase 2: Idea clustering & technical review

Consolidation and clustering as well as an initial technical review of the project ideas took place in the second phase. This allowed ideas to be grouped and analysed in terms of their quality and relevance. Throughout all phases, it was important to enter into a brief but appreciative dialogue with the eliminated idea providers. This made it possible to explain the background to their departure and maintain their motivation to proactively contribute new ideas.

The ‘Idea clustering & technical review’ phase reduced the selection to around 40 project ideas.

Phase 3: Evaluation & prioritisation

One of the most important phases in our Innovation Accelerator was the evaluation and prioritisation. Our team developed an evaluation cockpit in which the project ideas were evaluated on the basis of a catalogue of criteria in combination with the ‘T-shirt size method’.

Using the T-shirt size method, a valid tendency can already be given at the idea stage, particularly for business parameters. The method is also suitable for criteria such as strategic relevance or an assessment of the increase in customer benefit through the project idea. The well-known T-shirt sizes XS, S, M, L and XL are assigned ascending ranks. This makes it easy to recognise whether an idea has a high contribution margin potential, for example.

The assessment was reviewed together with technical experts. The team then translated this into a weighted evaluation formula in the cockpit. This made it possible to determine a score for each project idea and rank the top 15 project ideas.

Phase 4: Pitch Day

The Pitch Day organised by the LEITWERK team is the highlight of the 5-phase concept. In a stage-like setting, the employees were given the chance to convince various department heads of their project ideas.

There were no limits to their creativity. All they had to do was practise their presentations before the Pitch Day and get feedback from the LEITWERK experts. In the first round, the idea providers were given exactly 90 seconds to summarise the added value of their project idea. Questions from the jury were not permitted in this round. The jury used an online rating tool to vote on which 10 ideas made them so curious that they wanted to find out more. In the second round, there was a little more time to convince the jury. In a full 5 minutes plus a 2-minute question and answer session, the ideas were explored in more depth.

At the end of the second round, the TOP 5 project ideas were prioritised using the online rating tool and sponsorships were awarded by the jury members. Project sponsors have the task of supporting the idea providers in getting their project off the ground in terms of resources and top management approval.

Prioritisation was carried out within half a day, which would have taken several weeks in daily business.

Phase 5: Top management template

In a final step, the results of the pitch day were presented to top management in good time by means of precise project profiles. The funding for all 5 project ideas has been confirmed and a comprehensive rollout of the approach has been commissioned.

Challenge completed!
Results with the Innovation Accelerator

With the 5-phase concept in the LEITWERK Innovation Accelerator, the LEITWERK team was able to create an efficient and sustainable innovation space in a very short space of time.

The appreciation of all participants, the focus on relevant evaluation criteria and a large portion of motivation and fun are the recipe for success for sustainable innovation management!

Would you like to find out more or do you need to actively involve your employees in the future direction of your company? We would be happy to support you with the customised design of your sustainable innovation management!

Do you want to start immediately? Then you can download our LEITWERK Innovation Accelerator Canvas from Phase 1 free of charge.

Do you have any questions on this topic or are you interested in a consultancy service?
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LEITWERK - Sebastian Karl.
Your conatct person
Sebastian Karl
+49 89 189 235 96
sebastian.karl@leitwerk-consulting.com
...or write us via our contact form.
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