Continuing our Best of Killer Innovations series, we look at one manufacturer's innovative use of resources. This company's story is a testament to how innovation can unexpectedly occur anywhere, with any resource, and at any moment. Innovations' ubiquitous nature is evident in every corner of our rapidly evolving world.

We firmly believe in the limitless potential of innovation, as anyone can ignite it, and it can ignite in any realm imaginable. Silicon Valley and other recognized innovation hubs do not have a lock on innovation or a secret sauce that cannot be modeled or improved upon.  It takes a willingness to put aside time, use your resources, explore the unknown, and expand your creativity (we all have it) beyond where you are today to see the non-obvious.  When you do, you will be like our Kentucky guests, revolutionizing in a non-traditional innovation hub and creating a non-high-tech innovation.

As part of our Innovation Across America tours, we ventured across the country in our new mobile studio to Paducah, Kentucky. During the tour, we actively sought individuals pushing the boundaries and innovating "Beyond the Obvious." In our show this week, we had the opportunity to interview the founders of Fin Gourmet Foods.  Started in 2010, Fin Gourmet is a Kentucky Proud Producer™ of wild-caught Asian Carp products.  So why Asian Carp? It has the highest source of healthy, clean protein and Omega-3 fatty acids, on par with wild-caught salmon.  Nowhere else in the world but the USA are Asian Carp wild-caught, and those from western KY are of the best quality. But more importantly, this innovation story is unique.  Fin's mission and vision are that the Asian Carp provide economic opportunities for communities, fostering job creation and revitalizing the inland fishing industry.

Defining and Tackling a Problem Statement

The team at Fin Gourmet defined the problems and challenges they encountered and engaged in disruptive ideation.  As an integral part of their innovation process, they considered some basic assumptions of innovation to create value, including:

• Turn other people's trash into a product:Fin took the Asian Carp, an invasive species taking over the Mississippi and Ohio river systems, and he innovated a way to turn it into an excellent food source.
• Give opportunities to people overlooked:In addition to locating in a rural part of the country, Fin works with local halfway houses to offer jobs to former prison inmates and others down on their luck.  Training, teaching, and building a culture that values and leverages the abilities of all.
• Breathe life back into an industry overlooked by others: Fin pays a premium price for what many consider "trash" to help local independent fishing families to transition to this new species of fish and the economy it can support.

What is the Non-Obvious Innovation at Fin?

Fin has two patented innovative processing techniques:

1. Debone Asian Carp fillets.
2. Make all-natural surimi (Japanese fish paste) from the Carp without water or chemicals.

With their innovative model, process, and approach, Fin Gourmet is making a significant impact locally and globally with their products and story.  The Fin founders and fishermen like Ronny Hopkins better manage the Asian Carp so that our rivers/lakes/estuaries are better protected while employing people who need second chances from incarceration, drug court, domestic violence, and more.

The ubiquitous nature of innovation is a remarkable phenomenon that defies the limitations of time, place, and resources. It serves as a testament to the infinite wellspring of human creativity and our unwavering commitment to progress. Whether it emerges from the humblest of workshops or arises amidst the chaos of our lives, innovation has the extraordinary power to reshape our world. It reminds us that brilliance can sprout from the most unexpected sources, and no idea should ever be underestimated or dismissed. Let us wholeheartedly embrace the limitless possibilities and foster a culture that not only recognizes but also nurtures the ubiquitous nature of innovation. Together, through our collective efforts, we pave the way for a future that is brighter, more awe-inspiring, and brimming with endless possibilities.

Resuming our Best of Killer Innovation Series, we hone in on six categories of KPIs that will help you successfully predict and keep track of crucial details that will allow you to run your organization smoothly.

This episode addresses questions from listeners on innovation KPIs.  After clocking 12,000 miles in the mobile Innovators Studio, I'm back in Colorado.  On the road, I talked with interesting innovators and analysts. Taking a break from interviews, I'd like to answer your questions on measuring innovation success.

There are hundreds of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to measure innovation success. What are the right innovation KPIs to use?  What KPIs will give insight into the innovation process?   KPIs should be unique to your organization.  Think through what KPIs will measure and how that can guide innovations and your organization.

KPI Building Blocks

I've broken innovation KPIs into categories, like building blocks.  Build up the blocks to get a complete perspective on your innovation effort.  

Six categories for Innovation KPIs:

Idea process /managing the idea funnel

o   What's done to get ideas, put them in a funnel, review, manage and analyze them?

§  Raw ideas

§  Raw ideas validated

§  Ideas prototyped

§  Age of ideas

Idea commercialization

o   Innovation idea brought to market.

§  Innovations that became a product

§  Innovations that make a profit

§  Are early customers willing to pay a margin premium?

§  Innovations purchased

§   resources in the organization aligning to make the product a reality?

Financial impact 

o   Tough to measure – long lag from the time of investment to product launch in the market

§  Revenue from new innovations

§  Profit from innovations

§  Revenue protected by patents

§  Revenue from patent licensing

Customer impact

o   Customer success compared from old products to new innovation

§  What has the latest product allowed customers to achieve?

§  How many customers have shifted to new ones?

§  Market share trend for innovation – grabbing from competitors?

Organizational impact

o   New products/services have an impact

o   Can pull organization into the new category of focus

§  The ratio of sales from old versus new – sales ramping up for further/declining for old?

§  The ratio of profit from old versus new

§  Investments – Is investment shifting from old to new?

§  Rate of return on innovation investment

§  Has it driven brand awareness?

Pure Innovation KPIs

o   Catch-all

§  Staff trained for innovation

§  Use of formal creativity tool

§  Implementation and use of Idea Management System

§  Structured problem-solving tools

§  Committed resources to innovation

§  Patents/year

Guidance

1.     Pick three to five KPIs from each category that work for your organization.

2.     Ensure you can measure them.

3.     Validate KPIs that drive the correct behavior and achieve the desired outcome.

4.     Test/adjust KPIs as needed.

5.     Share with the community.

We'd love your feedback.  What do you think about the five-minute focus in the last segment of today's show?

Like what you hear?  Leave us a comment or review where you listen to the show.

Check out the show notes on Killerinnovations.com.  We post on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.  Follow us on your favorite social media site.

Sometimes, life surprises us with moments of reflection. I remember vividly having a captivating conversation with a taxi driver. While stuck in traffic on my way to the airport after hosting a South by Southwest meet-up on neural diversity hiring, he curiously asked about the key to my success. His question inspired me to jot down my 7 rules to live by. Continuing with the Best of Killer Innovations, I share them with you in the hope that they'll assist you in achieving personal and professional triumphs.

My 7 Rules to Live By

Stay connected to the people who matter most.

Keep in touch personally, not just electronically. Nurture deep relationships with loved ones.

Listen more, talk less.

Be genuinely interested in others, actively listen, and ask questions—end conversations by offering help.

Make commitments you're genuinely committed to.

Don't make false promises. If you can't deliver, be honest and find alternative solutions.

Don't get caught up in credit.

Credit will find its rightful owner. Embrace teamwork and acknowledge others' contributions.

Acknowledge and encourage others.

Success is a result of collective effort. Express gratitude and provide words of encouragement.

Handle criticism with compassion.

Pause before responding. Count to ten or wait a day. Choose compassion over rudeness. Seek advice before reacting.

Set priorities based on the "5 Fs."

Faith, Family, Friends, Fitness, and Finance. Filter demands based on these priorities.

Now that you have my 7 rules to live by, create your own set to achieve personal and professional success.

Picking up with our Best of Killer Innovation Series, we delve deeper into how to turn a great idea into a tangible product by following a proper execution plan. 

In this episode, we will wrap up the series of shows on the innovation framework known as FIRE. We will discuss the part of the innovation framework known as execution. Execution is composed of making your best ideas into something tangible.

Execution

I have used the FIRE (Focus, Ideation, Ranking, Execution) framework for over 20 years, and thousands of organizations use it. 

·       Focus is defining where your problem area is. 

·       Ideation is the process of creating ideas to address your problem areas. The process consists of individual and team ideation, which, when combined, generates 30% more ideas than when done individually. 

·       Ranking is where you prioritize your ideas. This process is through dot/wow voting and criteria ranking.

·       Execution, the last element of the FIRE framework, is how one turns ideas into innovation—done through two phases: testing and validation and launching the MVP (Minimum viable product). Execution is not easy. 92% of CEOs say innovation is critical to their organization, but only 35% have confidence in executing these ideas.

What to Expect

In my opinion, innovation consists of ideas made real. I constantly repeat one quote: "Ideas without execution are a hobby, and I'm not in the hobby business." At this point, you've ranked your ideas, but need to figure out how to make these ideas a real innovation. Going into this, you won't know all of the answers. Expect a very messy process because there might not be a clear path from point A to point B.

It would help if you were adaptable and ready to learn things. It would be best if you innovated around the idea frequently. Be okay with an unexpected outcome, as the process is an experiment. Innovation projects have to be measured differently than a typical product development project. One of the measurements of success is learning throughout the process. Stay away from innovation antibodies. Innovation causes conflict, prompting these antibodies to come out. These include ego response (stepping on someone's toes), fatigue (people who have tried and failed at it before), no risk response (CFO or legal counsel), and comfort response (we don't need to change).

Steps of Execution

The first step to making an idea real is creating the pitch. The pitch is your way of telling the story around your idea, also known as strategic storytelling. The key is to tell your idea's story so that others see what life will be like when your idea is delivered.

The second step is to create the funnel. There are four funnel gates: market validation, customer validation, limited launch, and global launch. The key here is to convey that not all ideas will go forward. 

·       Market validation is where you ask if the problem exists. One way to do this is through gorilla idea validation. Talk to people you don't know to get brutally honest feedback rather than people you know who might tell you what you want to hear. 

·       Customer validation is where you see if your idea solves the customer's problem.

I use the Michelle test. I would take a product we built at HP, bring it home, and leave it on the counter for my wife. She would take it out of the box and use it, giving it her honest evaluation. Because my wife is not a technology person, I would receive some solid feedback from a different perspective.

·       A limited launch is where you launch in a limited space. I use the buy test to build and advertise a product, putting it into retail stores like a launch. When people try to buy it, you give it to them for free in return for their feedback. 

·       Global launch is where you put your pedal to the metal and push the product out. At this point, you've gone through all of the steps and should have confidence in your product's success.

Summary

This week's show focused on taking all of your ideas and making them real. Many innovators have great ideas but struggle to find funding. There could be an issue with their pitch. Learn and readjust the pitch and understand all the elements that go into it.

When Steve Jobs and Apple worked on the iPhone, the product was ready three years before the launch. They knew they needed to wait for a faster processor and another generation of touch screens. They had the discipline and patience to stay, which paid off in the long run.

I used the lean canvas to help my team stay on track and focused. The innovation lean canvas is in place of a typical plan. It is an overview of the critical areas at a glance, which frequently updates as the product evolves.

Check out the Disruptive Ideation Workshop here to teach your team the FIRE framework.

If you are interested in learning more about execution or want information from previous shows, check out all the free downloadable material I put together here.

Returning to our Best of Killer Innovations series, we kick this week off with a look back at vital innovation skills. This foundation can help beginner and seasoned innovators stay ahead in an evolving world.

What innovation skills are needed to create new ideas and products successfully? Many people often find themselves void of creativity in the innovation world. This stems from a deeper issue. We dive into more detail to discover what innovation skills separate those with limited success from those with continual success. The skill sets that can allow you to be successful no matter your organization type, size, or geographical location all have the same foundational elements.

Self-Confidence in Creativity

The number one skill set I have discussed is self-confidence in your creativity. We were all born highly creative. From an early age, the education system drives creativity out of us. Grade school through college teach children conformity, instilling the belief that acting the same is crucial to relevance. Then, in our professional careers, we are expected to think differently, be more creative, and generate solutions despite sixteen or more years of being drilled in conformity. It's no myth that CEOs recruit creativity. Creativity drives innovation. It's a catalyst for growth in a business. If you are not exercising your creativity and unlocking its potential, you could become irrelevant because of conformity.

Bravery

Another essential skill set is bravery. The opposite of innovation bravery is conformity. You need to go out and apply your creativity. Share your thoughts and ideas. Take some risks. Try something you haven't done before. The fear and feeling of failure a detrimental mind block because it holds us back and kills our bravery. You have to get over the fear of failure to be brave. Step out, get permission, or permit to go, and fail. Go out, experiment, test the limits, break the norm, and be brave.

Seeing with Fresh Eyes

One vital skill set that gets harder to use as you get more experienced and set in your ways is your perspective. Seeing with fresh eyes and having a beginner's mind will guide you to develop breakout products and services. Don't let your area of expertise cloud your vision but come into every new project with an attitude of openness. Every year of experience in your area of expertise can enable you to become more and more closed off to different approaches or new opportunities if you are not careful. By adopting an open-minded approach, you can avoid getting caught up in a limiting cycle of repetitive groupthink.

Ability to Craft & Ask Great Questions

How does one get creative thoughts and ideas flowing? The answer is by asking questions. Questions hold great power. They get people thinking. There are simple 'yes' or 'no' questions, leading questions, and questions you craft to discover. The power of creating and collecting your questions is critical in the innovation world. It will help you develop new ideas and eliminate problems. Coming in as a new leader, I crafted four questions to gain a unique insight. Creating these questions is vital to deriving input from your team, vendors, partners, leaders, and potential beneficiaries of your idea.

Continually developing different ways of asking a question can generate unique discoveries. For instance, if I ask you, "What is half of thirteen?" and you respond, "Six and a half," I would give you an 'A' on a math test, but in innovation, I would give you a 'C.' Why? The reason is that you stopped at the first obvious answer. What if I craft the question slightly differently and ask how many ways you can convey half of thirteen? There are more ways than one, and how creative you can get would surprise you.

To help, I've crafted a card deck that asks questions from various angles to challenge you to think differently. Learning how to reword questions and uniquely ask them will give you a skill that generates new insights. The power of questions is critical in the innovation game. Begin creating, crafting, and collecting your questions today.

Dealing with Innovation Antibodies

One skill we need, but tend to overlook, is the ability to deal with innovation antibodies. When operating in the world of innovation, opposition often occurs. People may feel threatened by your idea for one reason or another. These people act as innovation antibodies, attacking your idea. How do you deal with this issue? No matter where you are in innovation, you will encounter different responses and have to learn to work through them.

Here are the types of responses you will need to work through:

·        Ego Response – The jealousy of your idea comes from an authority position. Share some of the idea/give credit to get around these people

·        Fatigue Response – "I've tried that before." Treat them as an adviser to help your idea

·        No-Risk Response – "That's too risky." Empathize with them and take risks seriously

·        Comfort Response – "We don't need change. We're doing good." Show them that things will not be good forever

Have you dealt with an innovation antibody in your organization? What category would you put them in? Do others call you an innovation antibody? If so, what type are you?

Innovation Attitude

An essential skill set vital to success is an innovation attitude permeating your culture. I use the following easy-to-remember acronym CARE to keep an innovative outlook.

·       C – Candor – freely share your creative thoughts and ideas with others. Be respectful but be honest and encourage openness among yourselves and others. Invite them to act as an innovation antibody, even on your ideas. If you don't share your thoughts and ideas, they don't become genuine innovations—they have zero value.

·       A – Action – Act on ideas that will impact your organization. Take charge to enable progress and lean in. Provide solutions to issues both big and small regardless of if it is your idea. Don't let good ideas become stale simply because it wasn't your idea. Instead, please take action to drive them forward.

·       R – Risk – Understand the uncertainty and risk of trying new ideas. Take calculated risks or act on perceived threats. Get rid of perceived risks—many are not real risks. Learn from experiments and calculated risks. Understand how to manage risks and push forward.

·       E – Empower – Trust yourself and others to make a difference. Feel like you are empowered and have permission. Empower others and encourage leaders to empower—enable permission.

Let's connect; I am on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. If we do connect, drop me a note and let me know. The email address is feedback@philmckinney.com, or you can go to PhilMcKinney.com and drop me a message there. If you are looking for innovation support, go to TheInnovators.Network or want to be challenged to develop the next big idea? Check out our Disruptive Ideation Workshops. Don't forget to join our Innovators Community to enjoy more conversations around innovation.