????成功企業的最佳新創意來源總是驚人地一致，盡管每家公司使用的工具和程序不同。以卡特彼勒（Caterpillar Inc.）為例。這家公司的創新策略不在于率先向市場推出最新、最好的技術，而在于充分利用客戶反饋等工具來了解市場需求。卡特彼勒首席技術官塔納?尤特利強調了這一點：“如果不能緩解某個客戶痛點，就沒有令人信服的理由把它投入生產。”

????卓越的執行就是確定哪個創意能變成適銷產品，但同時，時機也很重要。工具制造商安捷倫科技公司（Agilent Technologies Inc.）之所以成功，就是因為他們保證在適當的時間向市場推出適當的技術。為此，該公司在確定哪個項目應該開發、哪個項目應該否決的問題上下了大工夫。

????這個過程必須縝密，安捷倫科技公司首席技術官達琳?所羅門說：“ ‘我們對這項技術的吸引力比六個月前更大了，還是更小了’我們不斷地問自己，我們對這個問題有何了解？我們對市場有何了解？……這個世界上有哪些東西可以幫助我們確定這項技術現在是更有價值還是變成了模仿他人的技術？’”

????我們在調查中發現，研發支出最多的100家公司在這個階段取得成效的可能性只有研發支出較少者的一半，因為他們常常缺乏把產品迅速投入研發的能力。

????我們的調查顯示，使創新策略與自身能力相匹配的公司比那些沒有這么做的公司表現更加出色。成功的創新并不需要社交網絡等華麗的新技術，只需要知道什么能奏效，什么不能奏效，同時擁有堅持這些原則的決心。

????巴瑞?雅魯澤爾斯基是博斯管理咨詢公司的高級合伙人，John Loehr和Richard Holman是該公司的合伙人。

????編者按：惠普和卡特彼勒都是博斯管理咨詢公司的客戶。

????譯者：千牛絮

????Where the best new ideas come from is surprisingly consistent among successful companies, although the tools and processes each company uses varies. Consider Caterpillar Inc. (CAT), whose innovation strategy depends not on being first to market with the latest, greatest technology, but rather on understanding what the market wants by making good use of tools like customer feedback. Tana Utley, Caterpillar's chief technology officer, underscores this point: "If it doesn't relieve a particular customer pain point, then there's no compelling case to pull it through all the gates into production."

????Excellent execution are just as choosing which ideas to develop into marketable products, but timing is essential as well. The success of instrument maker Agilent Technologies Inc. (A) depends on making sure that the right technology gets into the marketplace at the right time, so the company works hard at deciding which projects to develop and which to kill.

????The process has to be rigorous, says Darlene Solomon, Agilent's chief technology officer. "We constantly ask ourselves, 'What have we learned about the technology that makes it more or less attractive than [it was] six months ago? What have we learned about the market, … and what's going on in the world that might help us decide whether the technology is now even more valuable or perhaps becoming a "me-too" technology?' "

????In our study, we found that the 100 biggest R&D spenders are just half as likely as smaller ones to be effective at this stage, because they often lack the ability to move products into development quickly.

????Our study shows that companies with enough discipline to match their innovation strategy with what they are capable of pulling off perform considerably better than those companies who do not do this. Successful innovation doesn't require flashy new techniques like social networking, just the knowledge of what works and what doesn't, and the determination to stick to these principles.

????Barry Jaruzelski is a senior partner and John Loehr and Richard Holman are partners at Booz & Company.

????Editor's note: Hewlett-Packard and Caterpillar are clients of Booz & Company.