How to innovate in tough times

Experts offer tips on sustaining innovation through difficult economic periods.

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It can be a formidable challenge to make sure your innovation projects continue to prosper at a time when many company budgets are shrinking. A recent article from Knowledge@Wharton summarizes recommendations from a panel of experts who spoke at Wharton — on the topic of how to sustain technology innovation, specifically, during tough times. Some of the panelists’ recommendations:

  • Align projects with the larger organization’s aims.
  • Hone your people skills. People “need to like your idea, but they also need to like you,” observed panelist Eric F. Bernstein.
  • Show how your innovation will save money.
  • Have an advocate for your project at as high a level in the organization as possible.

The Knowledge@Wharton article also quoted Wharton marketing professor George S. Day , who noted that some leading companies continue to invest in innovation even during difficult economic periods. Day has written in MIT Sloan Management Review on topics such as being a vigilant leader and aligning an organization with the market.

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Comments (4)
Improvisations « MIT Sloan Management Review » How to innovate in tough times, part II
[...] week, I blogged about a Knowledge@Wharton article containing advice about innovating in difficult times. This week, a visitor to our site added her own insights on that topic: Laura Weiss, an innovation [...]
lweiss212
This is an important topic, but needs to address a broader audience of innovators.  In an Opinion column in today's San Francisco Chronicle (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/01/27/EDSN15H80O.DTL) I advocate the following:
> Get focused, fast
> Leverage what you already know
> Maintain a steady pace
> Be compassionate with yourself

Laura Weiss
SMB '97
How to Innovate in Tough Times « THE NEXT WAVE…
[...] Courtesy of MIT/Sloan Management Review [...]
eminero
the introduction is powerful.i have high hopes that i shall gain a lot from it