In large companies, of all of the things that are done, innovation tends to be managed with the least discipline of any function." That's how Craig Maxwell, corporate vice president for technology and innovation at Parker Hannifin Corp., a manufacturer of motion and control technologies and systems, explains his company's preparations for the future of research and development (R&D).
"[Consulting firm] Booz Allen Hamilton reports that of all of the core functions of most companies, innovation had the most competitive value, but is managed with the least discipline," Maxwell observes, "and I agree with that. When I looked around the company [Parker Hannifin] and saw what was going on, it wasn't that people weren't innovating; rather, serendipity seemed to rule. Missing was the disciplined rigor of order and metrics common to the rest of our operations, like running a factory. In the manufacturing function we constantly measure our performance."
Maxwell counters the traditional argument that innovation is a random, messy process that can't be measured. "In reality, it is not a messy process, despite the fuzzy project front ends and sparks of imagination that can help fuel the innovation process." Maxwell's approach with the Parker R&D program, called Winovation, puts a lot of things in place to create a corporate environment to enable and facilitate the innovation process. To gain the needed discipline
Winovation is based on an adaptation of the Stage-Gate process. The launching process meant traveling to more than 100 of Parker's global operating divisions and training more than 6,000 people, both engineers and core staffs of each of the divisions, adds Maxwell.
"That resulted, for the first time, in a standardized process by which we would evaluate projects and align them to our strategic growth objectives and track them in real time via the Web." The result: "For the first time Parker Hannifin could see itself. I could see every single project in the entire company and there was a rush of communication and collaboration among the divisions."
Another outcome was the development of metrics that document the product development process. "What we're really measuring is our ability to grow -- top line growth and our bottom line profitability. Previously, without this real-time reporting of metrics, the situation was analogous to flying an airplane without gauges."
Maxwell also emphasizes the time savings. "Without a focus on product development metrics, we could be wasting a lot of time on projects of no value." Value is defined through the eyes of the customer, and differentiated value by any definition is innovation. "We're focused on how we can produce increasing levels of value for our customers. Payment for that value translates into margins or earnings for Parker, resulting in a win/win for everyone. Winovation is a screen for value," he emphasizes.
Anyone can enter an idea into Parker's Winovation system. But, says Maxwell, questions are asked -- why is this important, why is it significant and how will it make or save money for our customer? The value must be able to be articulated, he explains. "We want to avoid developing the answer to no one's question."
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