Transforming a new idea into a successful product on the market takes several years in many organizations—too long in the eyes of most managers. Attempts to speed up projects—especially top-down initiatives—often yield little success. Yet, sometimes the solution is surprisingly simple.

Start the project earlier!
This may sound cynical, but it’s a serious suggestion.

A cross-industry survey of over 130 companies in German-speaking countries revealed that in more than half of these organizations, new product ideas wait 4 to 6 months or longer for a serious evaluation and decision (see the chart below).

We’re losing months before we even launch a new product project. What’s holding us back from addressing ideas as soon as they arise?

One potential reason is a lack of resources. No one in the company is sitting idle, waiting for the next big idea to demand their attention. However, we must ask ourselves whether a time savings of four to six months might justify allocating resources specifically for the early phases of innovation.

In some cases, a good idea may need time to mature before it’s ready for rigorous evaluation at Gate 1. Yet, with the right methods, this maturation process can be significantly accelerated. For this, we recommend the Innovation Project Canvas (www.innovationprojectcanvas.com). Using this tool to refine and detail an idea not only shortens the time to a well-founded evaluation but also accelerates the subsequent concept phase within the project.

If shortening your time-to-market is a priority, take a close look at what happens (or doesn’t happen) before the project starts and redesign this phase. We’re happy to support you in this endeavor 😊.