Copyright © 2011 The RBL Group All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or using any information storage or retrieval system, for any purpose without the express written permission of The RBL Group. For more information please go to the Institute Library for the complete Playbook titled: Sustaining Innovation Toolkit for Sustaining Innovation RBL Institute From the February 2012 Think Tank Session Led by Dave Ulrich and Norm Smallwood Toolkit Innovation Protocol

Innovation is more than an event if it is to be sustainable. There is a Protocol

3 Sustainability requires more than an event, it requires process, The process of Innovation can be described in six steps. HR needs to hold up a mirror to the leadership team and question if Innovation is a priority, then they need to spend time on it and move from rhetoric to reality. Overview The key to success is to work through the steps and determine how you will embrace failure. We tend to only look at successful innovation, it’s hard to admit failure, but the most innovative companies embrace failure. Best way to deal with failure is to Think Big, Test Small, Fail Fast and Learn Always…the protocol is a framework for that process.

4 Innovation: a protocol Idea generation Leaders inspire new ideas by focusing on customers, encouraging risk takers and forming alliances Impact  Strategic fit Will it be credible for our firm to pursue this idea?  Potential value: Will the financial margins justify further investments?  Opportunity size: Will the value and impact be large enough to be worth pursuing?  Differentiation: Will the innovation help the firm distance itself from competitors?  Employee passion: Will the firm find employees with the passion and competence to pull it off? Incubate Leaders create ‘incubators’ where the idea can be piloted for customer acceptance and technical feasibility Invest Investment will require clarity around product portfolios, distribution channels, and geographic scope Integrate Innovation requires integration of new ideas into old, change management is critical Improve Innovation does not end, but evolve, Think Big, Test Small, Fail Fast, Learn Always