IT Management Slideshow: Innovation: How Apple, Nike, and Procter and Gamble Jump the S-Curve

Myth: Being above average is good enough.

Reality: Being above average in today's climate will fail to provide needed differentiation.

Three building blocks to command the S-curve:

1. Commit to a big-enough idea. Then define and execute an edge-centric strategy.

Three building blocks to command the S-curve:

2. Build threshold competence before scaling to determine/build capabilities.

Three building blocks to command the S-curve:

3. Emerge as valued by achieving shared high expectations among your teams. Cultivate a hothouse of talent within those teams along the way.

Where do ideas come from?

Great tech ideas do not necessarily come from tech-focused research. They're often derived by studying demographic, geo-political, societal, economic and other global dynamics.

Listen Up

The best innovators and performers are great listeners. Procter & Gamble's "Living It" initiative results in employees literally residing in the homes of consumers for days. "Working It" deploys execs to work retail counters.

Manage It

Constant high performance and innovation requires managers to break the future into manageable chunks. Apple moves smoothly from iPod to iPhone to iPad by plotting out cycles, and then working systemically within each one, using past success and resources to fuel future market domination.

Six Must-Have Factors for Any Innovative Idea

AffordabilityUsabilityReliabilityNoveltyDesignImpact

Replication is key

Nike uses the same celebrity-driven formula whether the sport is basketball, football, cycling or soccer. Similarly, CIOs can develop their own success templates for multiple departments, geographic regions, etc.

Talent Hothouse

If you're no longer attracting or developing stars, and your proven players are unexpectedly leaving, it's a sign that overall performance has peaked and stagnation is settling in.

Future Chunks

Avoiding stagnation means thinking two or three future chunks ahead. The time for new strategies is when you're reaching the top of the S-curve, not when you're on the way down.