Process, Systems, Structure and Performance Measurements Innovation alone is insufficient. An infrastructure, process and performance measures are required for implementation. The innovation process should emphasize speed and a bias for action in getting ideas out, making other internal improvements and decision-making. Over- analysis must be avoided. In an industry where their competitor's product life cycles are 3 - 4 years, Sun Microsystems, doubles the performance of its workstations every 12 months.
Performance measurements serve as a powerful catalyst for change.
Usually the focus is only on financial measurements. This is inadequate. Measurements that demonstrate how innovative the organization is should be instituted, e.g. the number of pilots underway, the time it takes to get a product to market, customer satisfaction and retention, employee morale and turnover, etc. Techniques Equipping staff with the right innovation techniques is important. It enables the separation of fact from speculation, idea generation from idea evaluation, and benefits from criticism.