Explain the 5 building block framework of innovation discussed with an example.

The 5-Building-Block Framework practices the principal of simultaneity, with different units working in parallel. The key issues are outlined as under. Flow of Ideas Ideas can come from two sources. Internally developed from within the business Come from outside sources customers, suppliers, alliances and joint ventures. These ideas should travel inside the organisation to the right places so that they get serious attention. Companies shall actively create the structures to ensure that ideas flow to enhance the capability of both the leader and the people within the organisation.

Selection and Green Lighting of Ideas There must be a clearly defined social mechanism for selecting ideas to be greenlighted. The mechanism must operate on a disciplined, rhythmic basis. The criteria for the mechanism must be clear and link with the strategic selections of where to play and the desired revenue growth goals. The mechanism must keep the customer is boss at the centre and use failure productivity, developing prototypes and observing customers reaction to them. If a prototype fails quickly try another iteration.

Nurturing The process of taking a selected and green-lighted idea to fruitation The owner is responsible for funding it, moving it forward or killing it; selecting both the team leader and the members of the innovation team; allocating resources; doing reviews of the teams output and reviewing success and dealing with the future. Criteria need to be established for selection of the team leader and the members who make up the team.

Go to Market The process of going from the nurturing stage into the actual marketplace is not sequential but overlapping. The managers responsible for actually taking an idea to market are engaged during the process of nurturing so that trade-offs and resource allocation are done with the scaling up, cost consideration and reach to customer in mind. Leaders took the decision on major investments, risks and rewards of various departments that ensure that the customer is the boss. All of this has to happen without compromising the integrity of the offering.

Killing Ideas Not all ideas will succeed. As the process of nurturing goes forward and milestones are evaluated, managers and team leaders need to reappraise the most critical hurdles and re-evaluate the social process. Managers shall get away from emotional commitment to keep a wrong project moving and shall kill it at the right time.

Honeywell ACS conducted innovation workshop for developing wireless technology and understanding customer needs for it. It invited people from various parts of the company to get the market opportunities. By the end of the workshop, it was clear that the opportunity for wireless was immense. The company get technology and marketing people, along with industry experts and customers, to work together to create a seamless flow of ideas and move from the verge outline of an opportunity to a clearer definition of actual projects with numbers tied to them. Then business leaders check the feasibility of the projects and make decisions about whether to pursue them. It proved to be a breakthrough in solving the biggest cultural problem company have with innovation. In addition to the workshop, ACS uses an online tool to collect ideas. When a business unit leader assumes ownership of an idea that emerges from one of the workshops, he engages his entire team, the Product Action Council (PAC). The PAC includes the business unit president, and his sales, finance, technology and marketing people. The PACs are an effective way to select the ones that show the most promise and best fit with the companys goals and strategies. A group of technical people together created money of about $40,000 to fund the new online tool. All its information is online and available for anyone in ACS to see. The tool provides an overview of the entire portfolio of projects so they can prioritize and allocate resources accordingly. The PAC ensures that everyone is connected. People have the process, tools and even expectations that make collaborating as part of normal way they do their jobs. Because people from manufacturing and marketing are part of the PAC, they start their work earlier and products move faster and more smoothly to commercialization. What Honeywell ACS business has assembled is an end-to-end process of innovation that is integrated with the business. Along the way, kill projects that no longer show promises to free up people with expertise.