WisconsInnovation

In "The NPD Manager's Quest" (p. 10 of the June 2008 PDMA Visions Magazine posted on the course website) Mukund Karanjikar argues that lower level managers and employees are better positioned than senior leadership to lead NPD efforts.

According to his view, upper managers have little to gain and much to lose by taking an active role in new product development. They prefer to handle "well-set operations" with little chance of failure, and delegate innovation to lower level intrepreneurs (or hire consultants). Such an arrangement can work, he says, as long as front-line managers in charge of NPD are well chosen (Karanjikar lists 5 key intrapreneurial traits) and receive proper attention and resources from upper management.

Historically, perhaps due to typical organizational structures and incentives, a grass roots approach to innovation seems to improve a project's chances for success. To illustrate this observation, the author quotes Vijay Govindarajan who asks "How many revolutions are started by kings?"