What happens when an innovative project team learns that its project is no longer aligned with corporate objectives, and is about to be cut? 

Effective leaders recognize that they need frequent alignment with corporate objectives. The seek regular advice from organizational executives, and when steering off course, work for an alignment.

Leaders need to gain support for their ideas, and correct their direction when they see that the organization will not support their current path.

"Gaining Support for Your Projects," a full-day workshop for engineers and engineering managers. You will learn how to build an effective communication plan and to incorporate the corporate ojectives into your plan, creating a natural alignment. For more informatio. request schedule

"Instilling an Innovative Mindset," a full-day workshop for individual contibutors. You will learn

• to promote and foster an environment where innovation flourishes,
• to step back, look at trends and the big picture, and analyze what the trends indicate
• to adapt, learn new things and grow
• to inspire others with your personal passion

For more information, request schedule

"Leading Innovation," a two-day workshop for engineering managers, delivered by Leslie Martinich. Participants will learn practices listed above as well as

• how to build an innovation ecosystem
• the role of relationships, networking and customers
• the skills required for participation in an innovation hub
• dealing with failure
• how to manage an innovation portfolio
• metrics to measure

For more information, request schedule

"Managing Innovation," a one-hour presentation for engineering organizations, Speaker: Leslie Martinich. request schedule

"Commercializing and Managing Innovations," Leslie Martinich, white paper 2004.

Radical Innovation: How Mature Companies Can Outsmart Upstarts

by Richard Leifer, Christopher M. McDermott , Gina Colarelli O'Connor , Lois S. Peters, Mark P. Rice, Robert W. Veryzer, Mark Rice
Harvard Business School Press, 2000

"Managing innovations, standards and organizational capabilities," L. Martinich, Proceedings of the 2002 IEEE International Engineering Management Conference.

Abstract
Innovations and new product development provide the fuel for economic growth and the source for competitive advantage. Managing software innovation requires one set of organizational capabilities at the innovative, entrepreneurial phase and another set at later phases. Some early phase capabilities, such as flexibility, inherently conflict with some later phase capabilities, such as repeatability. The capability to manage both discontinuous, disruptive innovations and continuous, incremental innovations provides a sustainable competitive advantage. Technology managers who understand the phases of innovation, the critical role of standards and the various and sometimes conflicting capabilities needed to manage both new and mature product development, can better compete in today's rapidly changing environment. This paper describes a capability framework for managing both innovations and mature technology, grounded in both the literature and in the experience of successful and unsuccessful practices in start-up and mature software companies.