Focused Innovation: Use Strategic Perspective and Precise Execution for High-Impact Outcomes

John is a versatile, results-driven technologist and manager and is recognized for leveraging his broad business experience, technical knowledge and analytical skills to drive change and help organizations achieve their strategic objectives. John loves sharing ideas through his articles and is eager to hear feedback from the community. John is also the President of PMTrainingOnline.com.

  Innovation   Organizational Project Management   Strategy  

Innovation has become an increasingly popular and important topic in recent years. To a growing number of organizations, innovation is indispensable; without innovation, the organization would disappear before long.

PMI lists innovation—specifically an innovative mindset and innovative thinking—among the “power skills” for project managers (along with collaborative leadership, inspirational leadership, empathy, creativity and the ability to build trusting relationships).

This article focuses on innovation—what it is, where it fits in projects, and how it figures in your professional life as a project manager. Most importantly, it focuses on how you, your project team and your organization can be innovative.

What is innovation?

• Wikipedia states that “innovation is the practical implementation of ideas that result in the introduction of new goods or services or improvement in offering goods or services.”
• Merriam-Webster defines it as “1: a new idea, method, or device : NOVELTY; 2: the introduction of something new.”
• Dr. Ken Hudson says that “Creativity is the ability to create new and potentially valuable ideas in any activity. Innovation is the process of transforming these ideas into a commercial reality (i.e. testing, measuring, learning & sharing).”
• Consultant and business coach Robert …

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