Time is more important than money because it is governed by physics and is unstoppable, while money is both a changing value and meaning. Experiences from the world of innovations show how projects become successful.
26.10.2018, Martin Petruzzi
We urgently need an innovation, we know exactly what we want and just need to know what it costs. The date of the fair when the product is to be launched on the market is known. The first and last points mostly apply.
With a reasonable amount of experience and know-how it is possible to make a rough estimate for the minimum effort. However, it is negligent to quantify the maximum effort. If you can do that, you don’t need a seat belt in traffic, because you know beforehand that you won’t have an accident.
What is the argument against the supposedly accurate estimation of an innovation?
To calculate and estimate precisely and thus to force it into a tight corset is contradictory in itself and therefore not foster to success. In addition to the actual engineering effort, three other factors have a significant impact on innovations:
An innovation is always something that did not exist before. Consequently, nobody knows how to do it, nobody knows the hurdles that will stand in the way. Of course, the experienced person has a better idea of what to expect. But if he is forced to stick to a defined scope, he will do his best to avoid considering and investigating apparently better solutions during the project itself. Because the estimate that was so accurate before the start of the project could be jeopardised.
Secondly, changes flow into every project. There are many reasons for changes: Requirements are added, change, or disappear. Customer requests, user behavior or even laws change in the meantime. Furthermore, change requests are bloated by the fact that – in addition to the essential reviews of the interactions of changes – the resource and cost consequences must also be both estimated and approved. Approval, in particular, sometimes takes a long time. During this time, the team could start implementing the change. And time doesn’t stop during this time.
We know that all people make mistakes. Give the project team a “license to fail” but also oblige them to find the bigger errors early and fix them. The longer errors remain hidden, the more expensive it becomes to correct them, if it is still possible at all. If your team finds a bug, congratulate them on finding it! Incidentally, this does not only apply to innovation projects.
Requirements for projects with innovation potential.
A project needs a clear goal as well as the trust and commitment of all parties involved. Instead of estimating everything before the start, a regular exchange with all those involved is established in the project. This allows the project to be ideally controlled and managed. A fair and motivating environment is created that fuels ambition. Everyone wants success and that leads to success.
Pursue a goal! – Not a solution.
So the next time you work with partners, don’t just compare the numbers, but rather the approaches to tackling the project. So-called comparable offers are a thing of the past, innovations are neither apples nor pears. Instead, use the opportunity to test new approaches. The question must be: Do I believe that the goal can be achieved by the deadline? – In the end, only the missed opportunities are expensive, above all the delayed market entry!
Innovations arise in collaborative partnership!
