Cultures of Innovation

Here’s what a culture of innovation looks like: Nestlé’s pet food division cut the market introduction of a new packaging innovation by more than a year, which was unprecedented in the industry. Facing multiple obstacles—overcoming cross-functional boundaries, getting everyone on the same page, designing the special lid, installing new handling equipment, meeting an overwhelming volume push, maintaining quality, and integrating everything into the company’s supply system—the division set a powerful example for the rest of the company and was given the prestigious Pillars of Excellence Award by Pat McGinnis, (now former) CEO, Nestlé Purina PetCare for the Americas. One of the division’s leaders described her experience this way: “All of our goals were met, and many were beaten, through the hard work of a team that wouldn’t fail to overcome all obstacles.”

When new product development and speed to market are vital to an organization’s success, people and teams must do three things very well: (1) create a collaborative environment where people stay focused on top priorities, (2) engage everyone’s inventiveness in creatively dealing with obstacles, whenever they arise, and (3) take personal accountability to hit deadlines and budgets, no matter what. Doing so not only drives new product development from concept to launch but also creates a culture capable of consistently turning innovation into commercial success.

New product development and speed to market results are always easier to achieve when the culture of the entire organization is aligned and all business functions are supporting developmental and commercial success. In other words, creating and sustaining a culture that supports all stages of the product development and commercialization process should be an organization-wide priority. To learn more about creating cultures of innovation that can greatly improve new product development and speed to market, we invite you to join the Accountability Community at www.partnersinleadership.com, where you can review actual client case studies in detail.

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