Why Most Innovation Efforts Fail and How to Fix It

Innovation isn’t about a one-time spark of genius—it’s an engine. A systematic, repeatable process that moves organizations from idea to execution. Yet, despite massive investments, many companies fail to translate innovation into measurable business impact.

The reason? A lack of structured product innovation processes.

The Innovation Engine Framework

Building on Marv’s foundational principles, an effective innovation engine requires structured steps across six key phases: Framing, Scanning, Forecasting, Visioning, Planning, and Acting.

1. Framing: Understanding the purpose, audience, and objectives of the innovation initiative.
2. Scanning: Evaluating the market landscape, customer needs, and technical feasibility.
3. Forecasting: Identifying key drivers and uncertainties to map possible future scenarios.
4. Visioning: Defining the ideal future state and strategic direction.
5. Planning: Laying out the roadmap, allocating resources, and creating execution strategies.
6. Acting: Communicating results, tracking progress, and institutionalizing innovation.

How to Apply It

The Concept Engineering Process from Table 6.1 ensures that innovation is grounded in customer needs, systematically validated, and refined before major investments. Table 6.2 ensures that product definitions align with business goals, technical feasibility, and market realities.

Companies that master these steps don’t just create products; they create market leaders.

Checklist for Product Managers & Their Leaders

For Product Managers:

? Do you have a deep understanding of customer needs? ? Have you mapped the competitive landscape? ? Have you translated customer insights into actionable requirements? ? Have you identified key risks and trade-offs? ? Have you validated concepts through customer testing? ? Have you aligned product direction with business strategy?

For Leaders & Managers:

? Have you secured buy-in from cross-functional teams? ? Are you allocating the right resources to the innovation pipeline? ? Are you balancing innovation with execution discipline? ? Are you tracking the right success metrics for product innovation? ? Have you institutionalized a repeatable process for innovation?

Final Thoughts

Innovation is not magic—it’s process-driven. By embedding structured frameworks like Concept Engineering into your product development lifecycle, you ensure that your teams don’t just build products, but build products that matter.

Are you ready to rethink your innovation engine? Let’s discuss in the comments. ??