Innovation, learning from continuous small-scale experimentation and rapid organisation-wide rollout of likely winners, is the principal way to retain competitive advantage as consumers become more ssensitive to the environmental impact of our products and services.

However, we really do have to understand what it is that makes that new product "better" or "better value" to our customers, and - hopefully - also for us as suppliers.

We must also understand the likely future behaviour of our competitors, customers, suppliers, and complementers; it requires a detailed understanding of the organisation's current and future capabilities; and it needs to bind together the activities of the relevant organisational parts at key times through open and sensitive communication. It also needs in-built mechanisms for learning so that each cycle leads to increased capacity and reduced cycle time.

Innovation can be focused on improvements in one or more of the three key performance dimensions - technology and product leadership, operational excellence, and customer intimacy. For sustainability there are three key questions:

• can we raise the added value while reducing the impact of our operations? Use less material and energy while creating less waste?
• can we do less for more customers? Offer a lower value deliverable at a much lower cost in order to capture a much larger - and more price-sensitive - market?
• can we make money from the waste produced by marlket leaders? Waste is produced inevitably at all stages of the production and consumption process.

Can we spice up your innovation by reviving your Strategy, Process, Intelligence and Ideation, Capability and Communication, Execution?

Vecta Consulting Limited, Mulberry House, 2 The Spinney, Broad Lane,
Cottenham, CAMBRIDGE, CB4 8RN
Tel: +44 (0) 1954 250222, Fax: +44 (0) 1954 252333

©2001-2005 Vecta Consulting Limited

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