The Product Pulse

About a month ago I participated in the Frost & Sullivan 6th Annual Global Innovations in New Product Development Conference in Anaheim, California, home of that hallowed House of Mouse, Disneyland. Like many of you, I've experienced more conferences, summits, huge trade shows, user conferences, etc., etc., ad nauseam, than I care to remember. Few stand out as exceptional. This event, however, did exactly that.

It began on a high note with a networking breakfast chock-full of leaders of innovation and new product development. Also, Frost & Sullivan did a great job of organizing the event and truly making it interactive. Everyone was a participant, not just an attendee. Sponsors, keynotes, and attendees all came together as equals, eager to share, collaborate, learn, and make new connections.

There was a wealth of content about driving innovation, measuring the maturity level of a company with regards to capturing and managing the voice of the customer, breakout sessions and general sessions that demonstrated what these leaders are doing today to drive innovation and accelerate product development in their organizations.

While many of the presentations I heard were valuable, the one that truly stood out was from Malcolm De Leo, Vice President of Innovation at Daymon Worldwide.

Malcolm is an engaging presenter and has transformed the culture at Daymon Worldwide with his "from Innovation to Activation" approach. With a goal of making Daymon more innovative to drive partnerships, value and ultimately more revenue, Malcolm's approach makes innovation a truly collaborative effort by decentralizing the teams and creating a team of interacting innovators that all have a stake in the process and its success.

The process and culture change he and his team have put into action is unlike anything I have seen before. His innovation strategy is a targeted approach from culture to customer. His vision is to make Daymon the innovation network for all of its partners. A truly visionary approach but a practical one based on the work and videos he shared with the event participants.

I think every organization that really is committed to driving innovation across the enterprise can benefit from the work that Malcolm and his team have accomplished. To connect with him, just visit www.innovationmuse.blogspot.com, www.videobio.com/mdeleo, or www.twitter.com/innovationmuse.