Three of the past six years’ winners of the Product Development Management Association’s (PDMA)  prestigious “Outstanding Corporate Innovator” awards have been Launch Institute clients. Yes - three out of six.

These clients are in diverse industries, yet Launch has developed innovation programs that resonate with people, regardless of their industry affiliation.

Many people ask us “How do you do it?”

Our primary work helps companies establish sustainable innovation processes and capabilities. We feel our team’s beliefs, based on the vision of founder David Sutherland, have made all the difference:

1- Sustainable Growth

We believe that innovation is not an episodic venture but rather a systemic organizational competency.  We also believe that this competency is highly responsive to improvement intervention and that natural latent creative energy lies untapped within most organizations.

2 - Clarity of Growth Ambitions

We believe that organizations that are asked to grow organically must first give considered thought to how they will establish a clearly defined growth ambition.  Once this growth ambition is defined, it becomes a beacon for guiding ongoing action and results.

3 - Cycle, Rhythm & Cadence

We believe that innovation efforts must follow a transparent and logical sequence of events that energize the culture of an organization.  While individual events may feel productive, it is the sum total of all necessary events in a logical sequence that defines an innovation cycle.  Continued use of this cycle develops a rhythm & cadence of activity that in-turn, generates a steady flow of results that drives an organization toward its growth ambitions.

4 – Results through Action

We believe that innovation is nothing without action.  Efforts to improve innovation in the areas of culture, process, creativity, portfolio management, etc must be conducted in the context of real world projects on actual growth opportunities to have a meaningful and lasting impact.

5 - Capturing Value

We believe that success is declared only when exciting new concepts make the transition out of the innovation space and into the hands of a funded development team.  Whether this means a transition to an internal line business unit or an open-innovation program with an external collaborator, we know that transition must be finalized in order for an innovation to yield value.