Tools and instruments 

 INNOVATION

The Business Innovation Audit

The Business Innovation Audit is a practical business improvement tool. Its aim is to assess, expand and release your organisation's innovating potential.

The tool is designed for sophisticated senior managers and advisers, especially in HR, with responsibility for how well the organisation performs and want to increase its innovating potential.

It contains a set of ten self-assessment questionnaires covering different aspects of your organisation - its culture, reward system, development, etc. Each questionnaire is accompanied by advice; this helps readers complete the questionnaire as well as offering suggestions for subsequent improvement. The result is that organisations can then be managed in ways that allow creativity and innovation to flourish.

The audit is not designed directly to develop individuals' creativity, though among other things it does assess how the organisation manages this process.

First published in 1997 as 'The Business of Innovation', the revised and updated edition was published in 2003.

An electronic interactive version of 'The Business of Innovation' is available at www.cymeon.com/INN-Ia/

 EXECUTIVE SELECTION 

Executive-Match

A 16-page consumable selection tool that helps top managers identify and specify the profile of the executive they are looking for. As a second stage, it then helps them plan how to go about assessing various candidates' strengths against this ideal. Users of the instrument record their pre-interview decisions and views in the space provided alongside each prompted question.

The tool may be used by, say, a managing director with a vacancy. Or it can be used by someone working on his/her behalf - a personnel manager of executive search agent. The tool is comprehensive and is recommended only for those who are prepared to invest considerable thought in the selection-planning phase. Its use is advised because of the difficulty in selecting an executive with confidence that he/she will prove ideal for the job. Here are some typical problems which may not receive full consideration early enough:

Once realised, selection 'mistakes' are a source of sleepless nights. They cost a lot of trouble and expense to undo. Bosses kick themselves, asking "why didn't I think to check up on that?" You can read about selection processes and pitfalls in text books and then try to remember them when the time comes to recruit. But a better way is to have the key questions that you need to think about in front of you at the time you have a vacancy, with space to record your thoughts and plans.

Price: £16 per instrument. Includes p&p and VAT.

 INCLUSIVE RELATIONSHIPS 

Building Tomorrow's Company

The materials developed for the BBC for Business video series Building Tomorrow's Company contain auditing tools. Each pack includes an assessment questionnaire devoted to the theme of the video:

1. Leadership
2. The Customer Relationship
3. The Employee Relationship
4. The Investor Relationship
5. The Supplier Relationship
6. The Community Relationship
7. Performance Measurement
8. Communication

View a sample from the Leadership pack.