Innovation is not something that happens by chance. It’s the result of a system that involves creativity, experiments and testing, collaboration and learning. Innovation is also not something that only a few people can do. As we have noted over the years, it is a skill that can be developed and nurtured in everyone, regardless […]

In 45 years of general and engineering management, I’ve compiled an extensive list that seems to work to improve innovation at all levels of a company. In a recent article, I found it noted that innovation and new products and services are down 14% compared to 2020. I also hear from our industry friends that […]

“Creativity is thinking up new things. Innovation is doing new things.”– Theodore Levitt At the recent Fenestration & Glazing Industry Alliance (FGIA) Annual Conference in San Diego, we held the second annual session on Innovation, titled “Embracing Innovation in the Fenestration industry,” where I served as facilitator. Three award winning organizations presented their innovations in this session. These companies shared […]

The National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC) began a series of webinars in 2021 on products at the intersection of innovation, development and research. This series of webinars and presentations at our annual meetings have been widely popular. Not only is the industry anxious to verify that these technologies are going to be viable product options, […]

I landed upon this recent article by Nicole Spector and after reading it, it does appear that the jury is still out as to whether or not we are really in a recession. Some indicators seem to point toward a recession while others are suggesting the economy is still in good shape. Most of my […]

We are all enjoying a great economy for our door and window products. As the run continues, the need for more innovation to help your competitive position grows. As this need grows, your need to hire innovators grows. So how do you hire the best innovators? A recent blog entry on “Board of Innovation” lists 10 […]

“Most suffering comes from the failure to adapt and a resistance to change.”—Debasish Mridha Innovation requires change, but change is one of the more difficult effects to implement in any company. The fear of job or pay loss, the fear of reduced influence and plain old fear of the unknown has stopped many innovations. This […]

W. Edwards Deming was an innovative American thinker that gave us the modern quality system. He became a national hero in Japan after his ideas helped the country rebuild following the devastation of 1945 and it became one of the best economies on the planet. If you are not familiar with Deming, please spend some […]

My last blog was the first in a series of two related blogs on the topic of innovation. In that first installment we discussed tactics for innovation, including initiating a close collaboration with customers throughout the process. Let’s turn our attention to positioning products that respond to some of the macro-level drivers for new product […]

Product innovation helps companies grow and lessens the risk of one’s products becoming obsolete. Many companies that had previously slashed their research and development (R&D) budgets are again spending money on this critical activity. Most companies reduced their R&D budgets in response to the market downturn. Some companies confess that they have been in “survival” […]