Three iterations of an innovation “funnel”

March 31, 2011

© 2011 NetCentrics. All Rights Reserved.

In our mind’s eye

Traditional “funnels”

• Traditionally, we’ve thought about innovation as a funnel of ideas

• In its first iteration, the funnel concerned how we managed ideas internally.

• The concept of the funnel was analogous to a “sales funnel” – lots of ideas enter the funnel, a few exit as new products, the rest are weeded out.

Traditional Ideas Funnel

Ideas Management, Evaluation, Selection Products

“Open” Innovation

• Henry Chesbrough and others modified the funnel with “open” concepts

• “Open” innovation changed the funnel, introducing the concept that the corporate boundary was “porous”.

• Ideas can enter from external sources and can leave directed to external recipients.

“Open” Innovation Funnel

Third Evolution of the “funnel”

• Over time our thinking is shifting – what’s really important is filling the funnel with the best concepts to solve customer or consumer problems.

• Those “concepts” aren’t always ideas, and they aren’t always ours

Filling the Funnel with concepts

Opportunities Ideas Technologies Products

“Inside” the corporationTrends

Ideas

TechnologiesFrom internal R&D

From brainstorming, idea management systems

Ideas

Technologies

Products

From open innovation, crowdsourcing, suggestion systems

From partners, proprietary networks, RFPs

From entrepreneurs, business partners, acquisitions

“Outside”” the corporationTo partners or entrepreneurs

“Spin out”

“Spin in”

Customers, Prospects,Partners, Competitors

© 2011 NetCentrics. All Rights Reserved.

Differences

• This concept of a funnel denotes the time to commercialization and the fact that different concepts – opportunities, ideas, technologies and products – have different development cycles and can/should enter the funnel at different points

• Also that all of these concepts can originate internally or externally

• Further, ideas a firm has that aren’t relevant internally can be “spun out” to external firms

Mind the Gaps

• In this model there are a number of “gaps”– Between opportunity and idea– Between idea and technology– Between idea or technology and product– Between the “external” world and the internal

workings of the organization

• Each “gap” threatens the process. How have you bridged these gaps?

Key Takeaway• The key point isn’t to fill the funnel with ideas,

but to recognize the innovation funnel as a continuum which can effectively manage:– Opportunities and turn them into ideas– Ideas and turn them into technologies/products– Technologies and turn them into products– Products, which can be commercialized

• All of these concepts should be part of an innovation “funnel”, planned and managed effectively “end to end” with all gaps carefully considered.

We'd like to hear from you. We constantly seek out fellow innovators for discussions, new ideas, product concepts...and of course as new customers.

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