Karl Ulrich, CIBC Professor of Entrepreneurship and e-Commerce at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania

Summary: In this interview, Karl Ulrich discusses principle four of World Class IT with Metis Strategy. Some of the topics discussed include How despite its natural tie to creativity, innovation can be driven through structured processes, which he explains in his book, Innovation Tournaments How the organizational structure, administration, and governance of innovation will be highly idiosyncratic to industry structure and firm dynamics The differentiation between external and internal facing innovation, and how each type necessitates different attention The five modes of the stage gate process that are crucial for new product development, and how to transition creative sparks into actionable opportunities The five areas a manager should focus on to influence the culture of innovation: incentives and recognition, transparency of decision making, the physical arrangement of the workplace, the recruiting process, and the allowance for creative “slack time” How measuring the success of innovation is, above all else, about creating economic value The benefits and potential risks of engaging third parties in the innovation process- be it vendors or customers- and how the exercise of opening up innovation is only practical depending on the industry