Rankings and ratings (of companies, schools, products, or anything else) can be interesting to consumers and potentially distressing to those who don't make the list or are near the bottom. We look at the recent Forbes list of The World’s Most Innovative Companies and why these rankings don’t give much concrete direction to companies interested in improving innovation.
Newsletters tagged "Metrics"
Volume 13, #1, March 2015
Charting a path to horizontal implementation excellence in vertically structured companies
On any given day, you could probably identify five or ten recurring implementation problems rooted in the interfaces between various groups within your company. Many of those problems are like uninvited guests who have outstayed their welcome. So why are they still around? Why haven’t you fixed them and given them the boot?
Volume 12, #1, January 2014
Stop the insanity of measuring percent of sales from new products
You’ve heard the saying “use it or lose it.” We’d like to propose a variation for the New Year: “lose it AND use it.”
Volume 9, #5, August 2011
Substitute Alignment for Standardization for More Relevant Measurement
Many professionals see metrics as a necessary evil—something put in place because someone says they should be put in place—rather than what they ought to be, which is an integrated tool for improving business performance. How do you make the shift from evil medicine to valuable tool?
Volume 8, #8, November 2010
5 Steps to Banish the Bogeyman
"Scary and unpredictable" is fine for Halloween eve, but not so great for business. These five product development imperatives can help you clearly see what dangers may lurk in the night.
Volume 8, #7, September 2010
Three Common Metrics Missteps―and Where to Step Instead
You've probably heard the statement, "You can't manage what you can't measure." Unfortunately, many companies approach metrics in a well-intentioned but counterproductive way. Here we describe three common metrics missteps and explain why they are problematic.
Volume 2, #3, March 2004
A Framework for Measuring the Creative Contribution to Product Development
As with any business process, the first step in exploiting innovation to serve your company's goals is to measure it -- an inherently difficult undertaking. Innovation is a creative process, which, by its very nature, involves doing things that have never been done before. Yet, if you don't measure it, you can't manage it, and if you can't manage it, you can't control it, and if you can't control it, it can sneak up and sabotage your business before you even know there's a problem.