Nothing breeds an “a-ha” moment more than the realization that what you’ve always done isn’t the way things necessarily should be done. T he recent Fourth Product Portfolio Management Benchmark Survey was such a catalyst for many. It identified one of the most common challenges organizations experience as being how to speed innovation to deliver innovative products to market while still relying on the same approaches to people, processes and tools that continually limit their success. When you think about it, this is the quintessential definition for “insanity” – doing the same thing over and over again while expecting a different result.

For the fourth consecutive year, the survey found too many projects for available resources as the number one challenge product organizations experience. Without clear prioritization criteria, an inability to respond to change effectively and no process to weed out low-value products in the funnel or market, companies are at a disadvantage when it comes to establishing the best practices required for managing a world-class, end-to-end innovation system. All stakeholders must recognize the missing components required to run an efficient, results-producing innovation management program. The Innovation Management Maturity ModelTM was created to help organizations modify their approach by first assigning themselves a measurable maturity level in each area (people, processes, and tools) using an objective assessment tool. As the saying goes, “the first step is admitting you have a problem.” Once the maturity level is identified and agreed upon, the organization can work towards improving their maturity which in turn, will improve their chances for success.

T he biggest obstacle in finding the actual maturity level is making sure everyone is on the same page.Middle management and executive leadership of ten have differing views on the organization’s innovation maturity, presenting a tremendous challenge in securing buy-in, budget and resources to implement and adopt necessary processes and tools to address pains and improve maturity. Your job is to get your boss on your team and seeing things from your perspective. Does he/she understand the cost of continued missed launch dates? Do they understand the impact of manual data gathering and report development?

Here are the 5 tips to bridge the perception gap between middle management and the Executive Human Resourceto grow maturity:

1.Educate executives – use the Fourth Product Portfolio Management Benchmark Survey to provide evidence of the pitfalls of having too many projects and overloaded resources.

2.Identify the gaps – use the Innovation Management Maturity Model to understand where stakeholders believe the organization ranks for each category and overall

3.Have a plan – think of quick changes that yield immediate ROI (download the white paper to get some ideas)

4.Speak their language – get into their world and articulate your plan using their language (download the white paper to see a helpful chart to easily identify personality types)

5.Don’t wait for perfect to get started– there’s never a “perfect” time so just dig in with confidence

If you are ready to begin bridging the gap, stakeholders must have a realistic view of the organization’s innovation management maturity level, and then establish a clear plan of how to grow towards the next level of maturity. It will take perseverance and open communication, but with the steps outlined in the white paper, you’ll be well on your way to success.

To learn more about product portfolio management, these resources are your best bet:

1. Download the complete white paper Gaining Agreement: How Is Your Innovation Management Program? f or additional helpful tips, resources and a case study on a company who succeeded in establishing an effective product portfolio management solution

2. Read the Fourth Product Portfolio Benchmark Survey to see what more than 500 product development leaders identified as their top pain points and risks; how they affect innovation; where product-centric companies are in terms of innovation management maturity and where they want to be; and what organizations can do to get products to market f aster.

3. Assess your organization’s innovation management maturity and see how you compare to companies across the globe in only five minutes using the Innovation Management Maturity ModelTM.

4. Join the Product Portfolio Management LinkedIn Group to connect with more than 3,000 like-minded professionals and learn about solutions, strategies and best practices related to product portfolio management.

5. Sign up for the monthly PIPELINE newsletter by emailing info@pipelineconference.com

By Steve Beaumont

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Lars Percy Andersson