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# Innovation Execution – Translating Ideas Into Real Products
- URL: https://www.philmckinney.com/execution-translating-ideas-to-innovations/
- Published: 2008-04-13T16:42:56.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-07T18:29:23.000Z
- Author: Phil McKinney
- Tags: Past Shows, Studio Sessions, executing ideas, executing innovation, ideas, Innovation, Innovation Execution, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-03-26 05:08

Download [KI\_20080413.mp3](http://media.libsyn.com/media/philmckinney/KI%5F20080413.mp3?ref=philmckinney.com)

As I've said a thousand time, ideas without execution are a hobby and true innovators are not in the hobby business. True competitive advantage comes from those that can take an idea and turn it into a real innovation that has impact. Innovation execution is a core ability that organization must build and support if they are to win the creative economy.

## Key components of an innovation execution approach

- Gated funding model
- Gated milestone management

\[shareable\]Ideas without execution are a hobby and true innovators are not in the hobby business.\[/shareable\]

## Gated Funding Model

- Limit funding until key deliverables are met
- Recognize that not all ideas will result in products. Manage the budget to ensure there are ample funds to see the best ideas through the innovation pipeline

## Gated Milestone Management

- Setup gates that answer key questions/challenges in translating the idea to a product/service
- I use four gates .. you should setup gates that make sense to your team/project/organization  
    - Market Valuation (e.g. how many customers have the problem being solved?)
    - Customer Validation (e.g. Do customers agree that the solution address the problem? Will they pay for the solution? Does the business case justify the investment?)
    - Limited Trial/Test Market (e.g. Will the customer actually purchase the solution? Does the business case/value chain hold up?)
    - Launch!
- How are gates milestone charts created? ([Sample](https://www.philmckinney.com/content/files/killerinnovations-com/download/killer%5Finnovation%5Fmilestone%5Fgate%5Fprocess%5Fsample%5Fver2.pdf))  
    - Define the groups/teams (e.g. engineering, marketing, sales, etc) needed to translate the idea into a product/service
    - Setup “swim lanes” for each group/team vertically along the left side
    - For each swim lane, setup the timeline of the deliverable
    - Define the gates vertically across the timeline
    - A gate is defined as: “all deliverables to the left of the gate must be completed to satisfy the exit criteria”

## How do you setup the Killer Innovation Execution approach?

- Define the gates you will use to manage your innovation programs
- Define the key questions that need to be answered? (e.g. Is the market big enough?). These will be the gates.
- Define the exit criteria for each gate.  
    - Make the criteria as objective as possible (e.g. Must have a total addressable market of $x with a sustainable margin of y%, etc.)
- Define the deliverables the would be needed to answer each question and satisfy the exit criteria for each gate
- Break-down the deliverables by the groups/teams
- Setup the gate milestone chart (see above)
- Break-down the funding by gates. Project out the full project funding need and then revise the outer gates as you gather more information.

## Managing the innovation execution …

- Make each gate a “hard” gate with a “time box” (date when the gate will be completed)
- Have the teams perform “gate reviews” at each gate.  
    - Review the gate and its deliverables
    - Status against the exit criteria
    - Walk through findings and insights learned during the gate
    - Status against funding
    - Define deliverables and exit criteria for next gate
    - Update funding for next gate and total funding requirement
    - Ask for “go” or “no go” approval to move forward

[Sample Gate Milestone Chart – PDF Version](https://www.philmckinney.com/content/files/killerinnovations-com/download/killer%5Finnovation%5Fmilestone%5Fgate%5Fprocess%5Fsample%5Fver2.pdf) (License: CC – Non-commercial, Attribution)