A mistake I see companies making all the time is to try to do new things with the tools that they are comfortable with from their existing businesses. Things like NPV, stage/gate planning, Six Sigma, and conventional budgeting all steer you in the wrong direction when you are trying to do something new. Fortunately, executives can now access some very powerful tools that are right for the innovation job. If you have an interest in hearing about those we think have a lot of promise (which would include discovery driven planning, real options reasoning, new-market-creation tools and opportunity portfolio mapping) I’d be happy to send materials along.