Innovation to the Core

CHAPTER 6

Asking the Right Questions at the Right Time

MANY EXECUTIVES SAY that their problem is not a shortage of ideas, but knowing which ideas are the right ones to execute. Where companies tend to go wrong is in prematurely deciding that an idea is either “good” or “bad” and then overcommitting resources to the so-called good ideas while weeding out the bad ones. Instead, we believe it’s better to think about new ideas and opportunities as being on a continuum from “embryonic” to “fully mature.”

To this end, what criteria should your company be using to evaluate new opportunities? And how do you know whether you are asking the right questions at the right stage of the idea development process? This chapter will provide you with some useful ...