Perhaps the first question should be whether “standard” and “innovation” should even be in the same sentence. However, I feel very strongly that there are certain systematic approaches to managing innovation that might not guarantee you’ll end up with a string of guaranteed innovations, but you’ll stand a much better chance of success if you apply some best practice.

Every day we hear calls to innovate our way out of the current crisis, but there is little practical, step-by-step how-to for organisations to apply. It was with great enthusiasm that I participated within a group to help the NSAI draft a National Workshop Agreement on a Guide to Good Practice in Innovation and Product Development Processes. It’s not a perfect document. How could it be after two day-long meetings? It is a start and highlights the need for a practical approach and more practical tools.

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We are very proud to co-sponsor the William H Walsh memorial lecture again this year. The speaker is James Woudhuysen, a provocative and inspirational speaker who has probably done more than any other individual to raise the profile of the design sector in the UK but is also its sternest critic.

The event is being organised with great efficiency by the IDI as part of Design Week and takes place at 1430 in the the Digital Exchange in Crane Street, Dublin 8.

We have seen James talk a few times and can promise you that you will walk away entertained and challenged and knowing twice as much as when you walked in.

When helping SMEs understand the benefits of design-led innovation, we often rely on a standard roster of case studies from multinational players. The latest Innovation Leaders survey by Innovaro is a veritable “who’s who” and even though there are great approaches in there, as well as the Eleven Lessons published by the Design Council, I fear we alienate smaller organisations. Are we painting a picture that only the largest companies can afford meaningful innovation and effective design management?

It was breath of fresh air to hear Irena Fonda discuss her choice to invest in design to drive their family-owned fish business forward in Slovenia at the DME Conference. Fonda feeds their fish by hand (only the best food) for four years before going to market. Since they control the feeding, their fish can have 13 times less mercury than wild fish.

Working with LUKSstudio, Fonda incorporated family values and created a brand around old family photos. The “mustache” in the final logo is applied to the family portrait in a humorous and memorable way. You can purchase fresh, tagged fish on the Internet and have it shipped directly to you in a packaged experience. A panel of Italian chefs preferred their sea bass to that caught in the wild in taste tests and within a year of the launch, their fish appears branded on menus in the best restaurants in Ljubljana. Quality product. Authenticity. Design. That should put an end to the term “fishy business.”

Irena referred to design as one of many business tools, and she made the decision to spend on design. That’s a story to get out to other small operations looking for the right investment when spending (literally) their own money.

(The Fonda site is currently not available in English.)

Th UK Design Council recently published a rich qualitative study of design in action at eleven leading global organisations.

The study looked at the way design is used in these firms, how designers work with staff from other disciplines and how the design process is managed to deliver consistently successful results. How is design managed across complex, global, product and brand portfolios … we asked leading design teams how they select and organise their designers, and when they bring designers into the product or service development process. We also wanted to find out what skills today’s designers need in order to succeed.