{"id":1446,"date":"2015-04-25T09:34:37","date_gmt":"2015-04-25T14:34:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/?p=1446"},"modified":"2015-04-25T09:40:51","modified_gmt":"2015-04-25T14:40:51","slug":"be-innovative-and-act-conservative","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/be-innovative-and-act-conservative\/","title":{"rendered":"Be Innovative and Act Conservative"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"innovative\"I saw a lot of innovative people present business ideas in a very original way: playing a movie, doing a dance, making a painting, writing one huge post-it, making a newspaper, and even by doing a flash mob.<\/p>\n

Of course it’s a great idea to be original, but when you present your innovative business idea to others\u00a0is wise to keep in mind that your executives or bankers\u00a0are still as conservative as ever. They\u00a0might praise you for your creativity. But, will they buy the idea and give you the resources to develop it after seeing a flash mob?<\/p>\n

Most people like to be innovative but don’t want to run a lots risks. As innovator you can fight this risk adverse culture, as a kind of modern Don Quixote fighting windmills. Or you can accept it. Only when you accepted it, you can deal with it. Managing innovation has everything to do with managing expectations and reducing risks. Although they might have asked you to bring them innovative\u00a0ideas. Present them something better: tangible potential for growth!<\/p>\n

In the boardroom your idea will be evaluated from at least four perspectives:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \n

    The Customer<\/em>: will they like it?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  2. \n

    The Business model<\/em>: will it be profitable?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  3. \n

    The Technology<\/em>: can it be\u00a0produced?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  4. \n

    The Risk<\/em>: what if it’s a failure? What if it’s huge success?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    A common way, in management practice to present business\u00a0initiatives is drafting a business case. And for innovative concepts I made\u00a0a special variant. One which complies with all uncertainties in the earliest phase of the innovation pipeline:\u00a0a mini new business case<\/strong>. This is a clear, strategic, commercial, professional and financial plan for innovative\u00a0initiatives. At this early stage of the innovation process it is more of a “preview” of the full business case.<\/p>\n

    A good mini new business case for an innovative idea consists of seven slides:<\/p>\n

    1. The customer friction<\/strong>\u00a0(1 slide).<\/p>\n