What is Idea Execution in Innovation? A Detailed Guide

Idea execution plays a crucial role in the innovation process. It is the driving force that takes an idea from concept to reality, transforming it into a tangible innovation with the potential for success.

Without it, the innovation process is quite simply, incomplete. Come to think of it, it's almost like baking a cake but skipping the frosting—a bit of a letdown, right? Well, idea execution is like the frosting of the innovation process. Without it, even the most brilliant ideas and concepts will stay just that—ideas and concepts that never progress beyond the ideation stage.

Background to Idea Execution

Idea execution is most simply defined as the action part of innovation. It is the moment when you take an idea and turn it into something tangible that has the potential to become a successful innovation.  In short, it is the key to making things happen! 

Steve Jobs famously said “Ideas are worth nothing unless executed”, and the idea execution process will ensure that employee-generated ideas are actively given a chance to be developed further. The aim is to support success and also ensure early elimination of failures. 

The success of idea execution can be largely attributed to three different factors, which are;

• Methodology: Employing a methodology that is focused on idea execution and data-driven idea validation is crucial for success.
• Ownership: Instilling ownership in the ideator, by helping them to become the "CEO" of their own idea.
• Support: Supporting the innovator throughout the process, through internal and external partners, coaches etc.

The Importance of Idea Execution in Corporate Innovation 

The importance of idea execution in corporate innovation cannot be overstated. Without the effective execution of ideas, even the most innovative businesses will struggle to maintain their relevance. Adopting a multifaceted approach that includes a focus on idea execution, allows companies to turn hypotheticals into reality. While ideas may fail for many reasons, including operational incompetence or a poor understanding of the market, a defined execution strategy can help overcome some of these hurdles.  

What is the Difference Between Idea Execution and Innovation Management?

Idea execution and innovation management should work together to help organizations generate more ideas before subsequently focusing their attention on the most promising ones.  The key differences between these two concepts are;

1. Active vs passive approach

Executing an idea is an active process and focuses on implementing the right steps to guide an idea from start to finish. Conversely, idea management tends to focus on the process and theory.

2. Customer-centric vs non customer-centric

While innovation management is often product-centric, idea execution defines success and failure by customer results. The fact that innovation often revolves around customer-centric ideas highlights its importance further.

3. Every idea gets a fair chance vs. dead ideas

In idea management, ideas often get rejected based solely on the opinions of business unit leaders or executives. These are called 'dead ideas'. When following an idea execution-based approach, every idea gets a fair chance. This means that employees are given an adequate, yet realistic time frame during which they can evaluate and test their ideas as well as the appropriate tools to help them validate these.

4. Killing off bad ideas early vs. Zombie ideas

Idea execution identifies bad ideas early because of the active steps taken during the validation phase. And when an idea is identified which does not look promising, it can be killed and learned from. This is better than having a graveyard of Zombie ideas floating around.

Idea execution can be considered an important part of the innovation process for many reasons. As well as killing bad ideas early, it drives cultural transformation by creating psychological safety (thus removing one of the biggest reasons for innovation failure) while also boosting employee engagement.

When employees take ownership of their ideas while also receiving guidance through an innovation program, the focus shifts towards finding suitable solutions rather than focusing too much on the problem. In turn, innovation is able to thrive.

How Do You Know Which Ideas to Execute?

While a company-wide approach to innovation will statistically yield more ideas, knowing which ideas to execute is an essential ingredient in the recipe for success. Ultimately, the key things to remember are;

• Data beats opinion, which is why evidence obtained from the market or customers should guide decisions.
• You have to be bullish and kill bad ideas early. You can learn from the failures and subsequently spend more time on better ideas.
• There is a need to act with consistency and confidence. If more experimentation is needed in the validation phase, let it be.

For employees to come up with the right ideas and discover early on which of these should be further pursued, leading ultimately to idea execution, organizations will need to support employees through the validation phases and beyond, by putting the right innovation management and idea programs in place.