NPD Management Corner

New Product Execution is Exactly the way it is Accepted to be

When asked about how new product execution is going for a business everyone will have something they do not like; something they wish was different. The lunch table is always a great place to hear about what’s wrong with New Product Development. Creating a healthy list of symptoms is easy and everyone is quick to add value to the whine list. However, generating solutions for these identified issues is an area where there attention is lacking.

The greatest productivity issue new product organizations face is a lack of emphasis in resolving known, recurring barriers. The fact is that new product execution is exactly the way it is accepted to be. A comfortable smokescreen of limited resources and inadequate funding perpetuates this misplaced acceptance while the true cost of extended tolerance remains veiled.

Let’s be honest – waiting, blaming and accepting is in fact the root of the new product execution efficiency situation organizations face. Anything can be fixed, but only if there is an obvious necessity and the proper emphasis to do so. This means a clear impact must be identified, specific solution ownership is in place and a fully resourced project commitment is engaged.

Clear Impact
The main reason barriers to new product execution go on project after project, year after year is that there is no visibility as to how much it is costing the organization. If a problem cannot be represented in terms of impact to bottom line costs and/or top line revenue, it will not be perceived as a real obstruction. The impact must be quantified in financial terms in order to gain the momentum necessary for engaging a solution. Unclear impact will always lead to a poorly committed solution. If financials can’t justify working on an issue, then it’s not really a problem is it?

Solution Ownership
If there is a problem there is always a solution. The quickest path to a high quality solution, one with staying power, will require that someone take the reigns to make it happen. Solution by committee involves a lot of meetings, time and hypothesis with little result. When ready for a permanent fix, assign the solution leadership to a capable individual. Provide clear objectives and metrics, and then allocate this person the time and resources to make it happen. Set it up properly and then get out of the way.

Full Time Project
In many cases productivity efforts are a part time effort. This typically means they are not a real project, there is limited visibility and it will always be the first effort to be delayed when other more financially attractive activities have a need. How are the “squeeze it in” part time solution approaches to execution glitches working out for your business? Any improvement usually takes far longer than assumed and many times ends up on a slow path to cancellation. If a product execution issue is to be resolved it must be a real project with assigned resources, a plan, visibility, traceability and emphasis. Period!

“You don’t drown by falling in the water; you drown by staying there.”
– Edwin Louis Cole