The Back End of Innovation

Many CEOs say that they have more growth ideas than they know what to do
with. It seems like there is a universal love affair with generating ideas but
less enthusiasm when it comes to figuring out which ideas are the most
commercially viable and how to actually implement.
This imbalance causes a backlog of ideas, begging the question: Do too many
ideas stall out innovation?
This quandary is rooted in what is known as the Frontend of Innovation,
which is the idea generation part of the process, and the Backend of
Innovation, which is the strategy and implementation of these ideas.
Companies with an established innovation program have these two elements
in balance. Innovation stalls out when there is a bandwidth issue either
there are no analysts on staff to evaluate each opportunity or there are too
few of them and, like the patent officers at the USPTO, they never see the
light of day.
As much as we love the creative idea generation process, we are also keenly
aware that ideas are a dime a dozen. Extensive market validation is needed
to prioritize, incubate, and develop the concepts with the most legs. Just like
with a startup, market validation means proving (or disproving) feasibility,
demand, and profitability.
Singular devotees of the Frontend of Innovation hate talking about this
reality, it makes their skin crawl. This is because putting these limitations in
peoples minds during ideation limits the creative output and perhaps blocks
a breakthrough. We agree, but with generative ideation and limited validation
it is easy to see how the backlog ensues. Without a quantitative way to gauge
ideas, they can all appear equally appealing.
So now, we will give the Backend of Innovation a rare moment in the
spotlight. It doesnt get a lot of airtime because it is the less glamorous
workhorse of the innovation process, but without it, innovation suffocates
from idea overcrowding. Much like the tired funnel diagram, the Backend sets
up a process and framework to assess ideas and eliminate the weakest from
the development pipeline.
Market size, consumer insights, competitive pressure, business model, and
return on investment are just the beginning of the factors that should be
assessed before moving the concept forward to pilot.
Figure out what other factors are critical go/no-go stage gates for your
organization to narrow the funnel. The basic questions are: How big is the
market? What is the competitive pressure and does this represent a better
alternative? Does the end user want and accept this solution? What is the
business model, and what are the operational factors involved?

Strive for the intersection of generative and lucrative. As with many things in
life, the key is balance and moderation.