Although 66 percent of companies con-sider innovation to be one of their most important business strategies, fewer than half of executives are satisfied with the financial return on their investment in innovation, according to Boston Consulting Group's (BCG) Innovation 2008 senior management survey. BCG determined the percentage of satisfied executives has fallen in each of the last three years – from 52 percent in 2006, to 46 percent in 2007, to 43 percent in 2008.

“Executives consider lengthy development times, a risk-averse corporate culture, difficulty selecting the right ideas to commercialize and a lack of internal coordination – all of which are directly under their control – to be the biggest factors driving down return on innovation spending,” the survey says.

Overwhelmingly, however, the survey found most companies have an abundance of great ideas – only 20 percent of firms considered a shortage of ideas a problem. The majority of companies consider their strengths to be in developing a deep understanding of customers, partnering effectively with suppliers and fostering a culture of innovation. When you combine these strengths with the abundance of great ideas that is out there, innovation success is almost guaranteed.

Every month, Manufacturing Today features business strategies that encourage growth and innovation. In this issue, we are combining our wealth of information for executives with a preview of what to expect at National Manufacturing Week, happening September 22-25. Use the ideas presented in Manufacturing Today when you are at the conference, meeting customers and networking with suppliers. Your satisfaction with your company's financial return on innovation might just improve.