According to a study carried out by the Galileo Consulting Group in the year 2006, "Excellence of Innovation in German Industries (EIGI)," the clarity of an innovation strategy, the level of network competence and the level of planning detail are among the most critical success factors when developing innovation. As part of the study, 116 large German companies, the majority of which have the highest revenue in the country, were surveyed:

1. Define clear ownership and responsibility for innovation
Innovation is first and foremost a leadership topic. There can be no results without leadership. If the roles and responsibilities aren't clearly defined, such as the job description or annual goals of the appropriate managers, innovation can hardly take place. The exception is if ideas and suggestions for improvement made by individual employees resonate well with management and are then evaluated and implemented. In reality, they often get lost along the way for various reasons. Not innovating can cost an organization its existence in the medium term.

2. Create a goal-oriented, integrated innovation process
Innovation today can only take place in an organization as part of a process. In other words, there must be division of labor with specific dovetailing of different functions. If these functions aren't well integrated, the innovation process will become fragmented and possibly counterproductive. If that occurs, competition between different business units and departments can arise, possibly resulting in self-induced paralysis.

3. Benefit from external perspective
An essential success factor in innovation management is insight from an external party. Best practices from other industries and countries are just as important as input from customers and sales channels and observation of trends and economic/technological developments. Because the possibilities inside an organization are often limited (inadequate expertise and innovation transfer from other industries, insufficient project experience, etc.), support from an external company is extremely helpful.

4. Draw a connection to your business model
Innovations can be exploited most when they are market-relevant and complement the core competencies of an organization. They also have to be marketable. Innovations aren't always a good strategic or operational match for a company. Investing in them is highly risky.

5. Ensure measurability
How should an organization decide if innovation plan A, B or C will be implemented? What are the parameters? Are internal investments perhaps higher than medium-term returns? A general cost-benefit analysis will not help here. But rather a specific scoring system should be developed, which can make the result of an investment in the context of your organization measurable and thus calculable.

6. Make innovation a priority
Daily business takes time. Problems that arise require your attention. Long-term success loses out to short-term necessity. Time is therefore the greatest luxury commodity an entrepreneur has. Considering the importance of innovation for an organization, it is often given too little time and status.

7. Leave your comfort zone
Innovation means invention and implies daring to do something new, leaving that which is familiar for unknown territory. Uncertainty and fear of making mistakes, of failure and of change keep many people in their comfort zone. Even after having been encouraged by success coaches to leave it and liberate themselves, many employees are too fond of the nests they have been building for years.

8. Define your visions
Many entrepreneurs know intuitively what is good and what is not so for their company. They have experiences, ideas, goals and strategies, but aren't able to communicate them in such a way that they become reality.

9. Be market and customer-oriented
Only when a market honors an innovation, will the company profit. Some companies however don't know their existing and target customers well enough. As a result, innovations aren't based on concrete knowledge of the market and customers. A better product, a differentiating service, a new and relevant product application are difficult to develop in this situation.

10. Evaluate market acceptance
Would our customers buy this? What price would they pay? Are we a credible provider of this type of service? These questions and many others aren't easy to answer, which can lead to reservations about innovation projects. This in turn can weaken the innovative strength of a company and turn former market leaders to market followers.