So how do you know whether you need an innovation program? Here
are a few signs to note, says Leifer: Sales start to erode,
customers start asking whether you're doing anything new, or
good employees start to leave the company. "There's no
cookbook approach," says Leifer. "It depends on the
personalities of the company leaders, the culture of the company
and the industry. But most companies we've seen have to think
about reinventing themselves and [their products] . . . to stay
competitive and successful. It's a big challenge."
Now There's an Idea!
If Bill Ernstrom has his way, lots of ideas will be born from
his corporate entrepreneurship program.
Voyant
Technologies Inc. is four years old, but the company, a
provider of audio-conferencing technology, only started promoting
innovation in the most cost-effective way in February--via its
intranet.
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Using that network, Westminster, Colorado-based Voyant's 200
employees learn about the company's history as well as the
"Product Implementation Process"--rules for launching
entrepreneurial ideas. "That's a really important part,
because if you don't know the ground rules, then it's
impossible to do it--even if you have a great idea," says CEO
Bill Ernstrom, 37.
Further fueling innovation is the Bright Ideas program, which
rewards both entrepreneurial successes and failures. The Best
Overall Company Mind Share Contribution goes to ideas that captured
the company's imagination, and the Elisha Gray Award (Elisha
Gray filed for a patent for the telephone a few hours after
Alexander Graham Bell did) goes to near-successes. The reward: a
nice plaque and stock options. "We steer away from [money
awards]," says Ernstrom. "Everyone has stock options, so
we try to steer toward, 'Hey, we're all pulling the same
way, and we all win if it's pulled together.'"
Mimicking the VC process, Voyant executives review new
ideas--which tend to stay in the market space, although the company
doesn't limit itself in that way--and supply the high-potential
innovations with funding.
Ernstrom says most ideas come from tech employees, but
there's no rule saying ideas can't come from anywhere in
the company. New projects are still germinating, so it's too
early to tell whether Bright Ideas is working, but Ernstrom says
Voyant's sticking with the program for now. "We try to
find things that are inexpensive but really innovative," he
says. "And that's clearly what an entrepreneur
does."
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