TY - JOUR T1 - Time to Innovate: Reflections and Recommendations on Time Management for Innovation Managers JF - Technology Innovation Management Review Y1 - 2013 A1 - Robert J. Crawhall KW - commercialization KW - innovation KW - product development KW - technology KW - time management AB - Effective time management is a critical success factor for most projects; however, it is particularly challenging for projects involving substantial innovation. For most projects, time (i.e., the schedule) becomes a management "red flag" that signals when something goes wrong or gets out of control. The challenge for projects involving significant innovation is that one or more critical activities may be of an unknown duration or involve factors outside the normal design process and require "red flagging" from the outset. Managers of innovation projects have to distinguish between those activities or work packets that are a part of “business as usual” and those that involve innovation. They must identify and quantify the schedule risks and develop strategies to mitigate them. For example, one strategy to manage time-related risk is to decouple the innovation value as perceived by the customer (innovation output) from the technology innovation that is needed to deliver the product value in a cost-effective manner (innovation input). This strategy should take into account the likely consequences of longer-than-anticipated innovation time. Two common risks associated with poor time management for innovation are running out of financial runway to reach sustainable revenue and missing a critical market window. In this article, the author reflects on almost 30 years of experience in the Canadian innovation system across several industry sectors and provides some practical recommendations on time management for innovation managers. PB - Talent First Network CY - Ottawa VL - 3 UR - http://timreview.ca/article/723 IS - 9 U1 - Innoxec Innovation Executive Services Robert Crawhall is Principal Consultant at Innoxec Innovation Executive Services. He works with senior managers of companies and organizations on the development and implementation of innovation strategy. He is Board member with the ArboraNano Business-Led Network of Centres of Excellence, NanoOntario, and the Canadian Association of Security and Intelligence Studies. He is formerly COO of Precarn Inc. a federal pre-commercialization fund for intelligent systems companies, CEO of NanoQuébec, Executive Director of the Ontario Research Network in Electronic Commerce, CEO of the National Capital Institute of Telecommunications. He held three Director roles at Nortel in Strategic Planning, Advanced Research Networks, and Disruptive Technologies as well as four management roles in technology development with BNR and Northern Telecom Electronics. He started his career with General Electric (Canada) in manufacturing engineering and with Sulzer (Canada) in project management for nuclear energy systems. He holds degrees in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering from McGill University in Montreal, Canada, and a PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of Ottawa, Canada. He is a registered professional engineer in the province of Ontario, a member of the IEEE, and a certified project management professional (PMP). ER -