I’ve spent nearly 20 years working in R&D. As an engineer myself, I love to solve problems and develop new products. Engineers solve problems like a hammer looking for a nail to pound into place. The question is whether they are solving the right problem for the right reasons. R&D isn’t academic. Solutions have to scale and show commercial viability, solving real problems for real people.
Innovation is what keeps industries and companies alive. It is also hard to get right, and most attempts do not survive. Getting a technology to perform just right, making sure the business case holds up, and confirming the market is ready all require commercial focus and high-quality technical development.
So here is the engineer’s playbook I use, for myself and my team, for developing commercially viable solutions.
- Cross-functionally charter innovation projects. This creates business and technical alignment.
- Give the technical teams face time with customers. This means inviting engineering, R&D, and front-end innovation team members to customer meetings.
- Lead so that failure produces learning instead of blame. This keeps teams willing to take real risks.
Developing a Project Charter
Customer needs should be at the forefront of every project. That doesn’t mean we stop trying new ideas in the lab. A new discovery could be a breakthrough to a solution that solves an industry problem. Many great inventions were accidental discoveries. The way to ensure alignment between the lab and the business is a project charter. The charter lets us all agree on the priorities and objectives.
A project charter stems from a culture of being business minded. The charter’s purpose is to capture the high-level business case and the technical requirements. As a cross-functional alignment tool, the charter template forces the “path to money” question at the outset. It defines who the solution is for, what they need, and what commercial success looks like. The charter document also has a clear statement of work.
Once we know the business case and who the work is for, then there needs to be clarity on the targets. Engineers need objectives and targets to work towards, otherwise you are asking them to boil the ocean. These targets are only established through commercial and technical collaboration and dialogue.
Leadership begins with teaching and coaching engineers how to write robust project charters. Leaders can train first, and then ask critical questions that ensure alignment between the work and the business objectives.
Keeping Customers at the Forefront
I’ve had many meetings with customers over my career. I’ve also had my commercial colleagues tell me how nervous they were about bringing along a technical person. One wrong thing said could derail years of relationship building.
It is at these customer meetings that valuable insight is gained. The technical person gets to hear firsthand the customers’ needs and challenges. They also get to ask critical questions that can change the trajectory of their work.
The best meetings my team has been part of were the ones where the customer brought a cross-functional team to talk through their needs with mine. The commercial and technical aspects of the need were discussed openly.
Early in my career, I was invited to present a new product concept to buyers at two big box retailers. I learned what they were looking for, which was a way to differentiate themselves from each other, but that maintaining price point was more critical due to an economic downturn. That was not something I would have picked up secondhand, and it led to the project being paused for several years.
Train engineers on the rules of the road in these customer-facing meetings. Give them boundaries for the things that they are allowed to say and are not. Give them context for the customer relationship.
Sharpening Leadership Through the Innovation Journey
The innovation journey is fraught with challenges and failures. Leaders support their teams by helping them stay focused and know what resources they have available. When tough times come, leaders work with their team to navigate the complexity. Leaders can pull their team out of the minutiae and guide them towards success. My method is to ask thought provoking questions, help the team define objectives and pathways, and steer rather than direct.
My experience is that the best leaders celebrate both the wins and the decisions to quickly cancel projects that are not meeting the business case. Helping technical team members understand the rationale for stopping a project helps them to think with their business hat on, which trains them to ask, “what is the path to money?”
Engineers tend to fall in love with their ideas and solutions. Leadership is about helping them understand the reason for moving on to the next venture.
My approach is to talk through the rationale. It is a learning experience for all involved. As a junior engineer I saw projects die and never understood why. I would have appreciated more insight from both the business and technical leadership in a post-mortem analysis. When leaders take a hypothesis-driven approach to innovation, the “failure” is actually a data-driven decision. Innovation is about managing risks and learning, not blaming individuals or teams for failure.
Understanding How to Bring Value
Engineers who understand how to bring value to customers and the business become a powerful asset. They learn where to place the nails before hammering them into place. They also get comfortable with pulling a nail out and relocating it. Business-minded engineers solve both the technical and business case. Training, teaching, and engaging engineers in the business side of innovation brings higher value to your customers and your company.
What is one action that your company can take today that will enhance your R&D and technical team’s delivery?
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