Earlier this week, Innovate Forum posed this question: Does it matter if a firm generates fewer breakthrough-type innovations – as long as it is consistently delivers higher returns on its R&D investments? The reality is that as a result of redirecting the spending of research dollars into areas that are likely to lead to more immediate returns, like incremental improvements to existing products, there are, by definition, fewer resources available to spend on more radical forms of innovation.

These days, almost every company worth its balance sheet insists that it invests in "innovation." But does it make or lose money on these investments? That is a tougher question--and one that James Andrew and Harold Sirkin tackle in their new book, titled Payback: Reaping the Rewards of Innovation.

In the annals of corporate innovation history, 2006 should go down as the year of "idea management." As innovation is more widely recognized as a new business discipline, executives are lining-up to implement idea-management systems and software intended to harness the considerable insight and talent within their corporations.

The first in Sopheon's 2007 "Winning Practices for Innovation Management" Webinar series, Johan  Skåntorp, Vice President of Global Product Planning for Electrolux will present "Quantifying the Generation Plan" on Thursday, February 8. Plan to join this event as Mr. Skåntorp discusses:

Dr. Robert Cooper, Dr. Scott Edgett, and other industry leaders are joining together to present the first ever Stage-Gate®* Leadership Summit in St. Petersburg, FL, February 21-22. Join Sopheon for this two-day knowledge exchange about best practices for accelerating decision-making, increasing new product success rates, and driving new product innovation.