18 Metrics for Managing Innovation: Lessons From Growth Leaders ^Top Which Innovation Metrics for a Dashboard? D espite the benefits of a well-conceived and insightful innovation dashboard, most companies are poorly served by the haphazard array of innovation metrics they use. This conclusion comes from a survey of 1,075 senior managers in global companies the Mack Institute conducted in 2008 with McKinsey & Co.17 In this survey firms were asked about their innovation strategies and performance, the metrics they used, the connection between metrics, culture and incentives, and their satisfaction with their ability to manage their innovation portfolios with these metrics. The survey began with questions about the respondent’s innovation strategy (how important a priority) and their reasons for using metrics. Next the survey asked which innovation metrics they used from a list of 27 possibilities. (This list is shown in Figure Two, and was in turn drawn from a longer list of 58 metrics we had identified.) This list was compiled from best practice surveys and personal interviews with innovation leaders in diverse companies. These metrics were divided into three sequentially ordered categories: • Inputs such as R&D spending as a percentage of sales, number of R&D projects, number of ideas or concepts in the pipeline, and the percent of ideas sources from outside the company. • Process measures including patenting activity, percent of projects hit- ting their gates on time, budget verses actual spending, average time to market, and the percent of projects that are major improvements. 17 These data came from a sample of the McKinsey Quarterly global database of 18,700 executives (55% were C-suite). The survey was sent to 4,520 potential respondents, with a 26.6% response rate. Respondents said they were knowledgeable about the overall innovation portfolio and how it was as- sessed. This was truly a global study with 34% of respondents from North America, 27% from Europe and 28% from Asia. We are grateful for the assistance and inputs of the McKinsey organization in the design and implementation of this study.