Commentary by Lynda Curtin

2010 R&D Team Winner: Hormel Foods

FoodProcessing.com recently posted a terrific article profiling their 2010 R&D Team Winner: Hormel Foods. You must make time to read it if you are interested in learning how other companies approach innovation.

Phillip Minerich, Vice President R&D, is interviewed for this article. Here are two quotes from the article that reinforce the role big goals and skills (lateral thinking) play in the innovation process:

1. Billion Dollar Challenge

"Our CEO Jeff Ettinger challenged our team with the Billion Dollar Challenge--between 2000-2009, he wanted to add $1 billion of sales from products that did not exist before." recalls Minerich. "We reached the goal two years early, in 2007" During those eight years, overall sales grew 80 percent, to $6.1 billion, with 37 percent of that growth from products that didn't exist before 2000.

2. Skills--the Freedom to Explore and Be Creative

"All the responsibility and accountability is built on trust and encourages the freedom to explore and be creative. One of our team members, Dan Hirst, is a trained leader in Edward de Bono's lateral thinking training, which makes remarkable use of several skills that encourage not only out-of-the-box thinking, but removing the box barriers entirely. Everyone in R&D and many in the corporate office have been trained in this program."

To read the entire article: click

http://www.foodprocessing.com/articles/2010/rd_hormel.html

Enjoy the article. Read it a few times. There is a lot to digest.

Until next time ...

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