Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
of four and three days. The fi rst block of four days covered innovation strategy
(e.g., platform versus product innovation), marketing strategy (mission, vision,
goals, objectives, market defi nition, SWOT, and market strategy), and market
forecasting (e.g., market size forecasting and temporal pattern). Participants
presented their initial business concept on the fi rst day and then an initial busi-
ness plan on the last day of this four-day block. About half of the time was
devoted to coaching the teams on business case issues. This fi rst four-day block
was mainly intended to “test the business case.” The fourth author was the main
facilitator of the bootcamp and we inserted internal speakers to discuss with
participants' technological hurdles in development and manufacturing, fi nan-
cial management of the fi rm, and pricing.
Besides the further development of the business cases, the fun factor for the
bootcamp participants was also addressed by special team building events
which were very important for the interaction between teams and for energizing
the individual team power and
Innospire
spirit after long sessions of tough team
work and challenging presentations.
The second block of three days, which commenced about four weeks after
the fi rst block, was mostly intended to “further develop and present the business
case.” Beyond work on timing of entry (is the time right? roadmapping) and
NPV (net present value) calculation, all time was devoted to coaching and pre-
sentation training. At the end of the three days, we organized a “dry-run”
attended by two senior business development executives who had never seen
the business plans before, to provide a fresh view.
The innovation bootcamp component served as a key supporting factor to the
success of
Innospire
. It was a unique opportunity to complement participants'
perceived competence and increase their relatedness (through teamwork and
coaching). Furthermore, the collaboration with the fourth author as external
facilitator and dedication of a suffi cient number of days to the innovation boot-
camp sessions was perceived by participants as a signal of high managerial
support for grassroots innovation (through resources, visibility of involvement,
the tangible incentive of the training itself, and the access to external knowledge
and support) and thus as a key incentive for their participation. It is of utmost
importance, however, to make sure that scientifi c and technological questions,
probability of technical success, strengths and weaknesses of the suggested
approach, critical issues, go-no go milestones, and a thoroughly thought through
project plan receive suffi cient attention in the project teams coaching towards
preparation of a fi nal business plan. We have further strengthened these very
important points by adding scientifi c advisory boards for thorough scientifi c
and technological assessment of the proposed ideas. In addition, the teams
received the internal support of the patent and legal departments.
(e) Final idea selection: grand jury event
The fi nal step was a two-day grand jury event. We convened 1 day before the
grand jury meeting for a last “dry-run” of the presentation. After additional
preparation the following day, the teams presented to the combined manage-
ment boards of the chemicals and pharmaceutical business sectors.
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