The Big Idea
The reality is most “operational excellence,” efforts of one kind or another have been very process centric. Whether you call it operational excellence, continuous improvement, TQM, lean six sigma, or anything else—at the core has been process. Even Design for Six Sigma has historically been about the design process—not the design concept. As more and more companies have adopted these methods, their power has been demoted from that of competitive advantage, to that of necessity. So while we are still strong believers in the need for exceptional processes, we also find that more needs to be done to reassert, or initially create, competitive advantage. And at BMGI, we believe the answer lies in design and innovation.
Our Principles
We often deal with larger companies where counting on a few exceptional people to deliver the big ideas isn’t a scalable approach to business. So while we encourage you to take advantage of your so-called, “creative geniuses,” if you have them, we also encourage you to look closely at how you can develop design and innovation capability across the entire enterprise.
At BMGI, we believe all people are creative, and it is only their style, or approach to creativity, that varies. In fact we measure each individual’s problem solving style using the Kirton Adaption-Innovation inventory.
We also believe design and innovation is a process, and there are many tools not taught in traditional engineering programs that offer great insights. Insight, of course, is the first of the three “I’s that are at the core of BMGI’s design and innovation programs.
Insight Into customers, markets, and future technologies Innovation The ability to translate insight into new products and services Investment The prioritization of opportunities to facilitate the allocation of capital and other scarce resources
Our Practices
Because most companies have either an R&D group and\or a design process (sometimes called the , "new product introduction" process, or "product development," or any of a dozen other names), the scope of wants and needs among our clients varies tremendously.
Innovation Portfolio Assessment: We recommend starting with an assessment of your innovation portfolio. Needs vary based on industry and competitive landscape, so we use competitive benchmarking to establish a desired portfolio, and then we evaluate your portfolio against the benchmark. A mix of short term and long term innovations, representing everything from small, incremental innovations to grand breakthroughs should be spread across an appropriate mix of product, service, and business model innovation.
Innovation Culture Assessment: Dr. Clayton Christensen of the Harvard Business School discusses the unique innovation styles that companies exhibit and how that style is most often a reflection of the leadership. In addition to defining several classic innovation archetypes, Christensen's research emphasizes that companies can’t simply become whatever they want. Understanding a company’s innovation style and improving upon that style leads to much more success than trying to adopt an entirely different style. Understanding your style is crucial.
Rapid Innovation Events
Based on the principles touted in The Innovator’s Toolkit: 50+ Techniques for Predictable and Sustainable Organic Growth (Wiley, 2008), Rapid Innovation events use a Kaizen-like approach to quickly develop new products, services, processes and business models. Through the effort of teams inside your company, Rapid Innovation Events follow a structured approach to defining and prioritizing needs, idea generation, concept development, prototyping and execution. While each event is unique, a typical event cycle includes 9-days over the course of two months:
Session 1: Define Opportunity Identification (3-days)
Session 2: Discover Idea Generation (3-days)
Session 3: Develop Idea vetting, refinement, and selection (3-days)
D4 Design and Innovation Projects
Based on BMGI’s D4 Methodology, Design and Innovation Projects generally take place over the course of several months. Run as a project by either one of your BMGI-trained innovation leaders, or a member of the BMGI team, 
D4 projects are designed to deliver significant breakthroughs. If you already have a robust product development process, D4 adds the “juice” you need to conceive truly unique and powerful results. If you lack a satisfying process, D4 provides a framework that stands on its own to fill that gap. Either way, the results will be breathtaking.
You’ll find details of BMGI’s training programs here.
For specific help designing a lean six sigma program, or for on-site training, consulting, or facilitation, call a BMGI expert today at +1 303-827-0010.