Friday, December 20, 2013

A Message from the PDMA Chapter President - Randy Rossi, Bally Design



It was another great year for our Chapter! I'd like to extend a sincere thank you to PDMA members, students, guests and sponsors for your support throughout 2013.  Your participation and engagement throughout the year, coupled with the dedication and leadership from our Board Members, help us accelerate the contribution that innovation makes to the economic and professional growth of people, businesses and societies in our region.

We continue to strive to bring you the latest thinking and insights into the issues and topics most relevant to anyone involved in product development.  Innovation excellence is a phenomenon that every company wants more of and yet, whether large or small, public or private companies struggle with what it is and how it happens. It's a dichotomy - on one hand, innovation comes from the relatively loose "fuzzy" front end but also requires a highly structured and disciplined back end. Although organizations look to put innovation policies, processes and practices in place, there is still ambiguity, disconnects and limited sustainable success.

One of the new developments from PDMA (in conjunction with the Total Innovation Management (TIM) Foundation) that we are really excited about is the introduction of the "International Innovation Management Standard."  This new standard is designed to help organizations pragmatically organize all innovation activities to improve innovation performance.  It provides structure with uniform guidelines, tools, processes and terminology, but can be tailored to meet a company's unique needs. Our Chapter will roll out more information on the International Innovation Management Standard in 2014, so please check the website and event calendar in the months ahead to learn more.

As we look ahead to 2014, our Programming Committee has another excellent slate of events coming up.  We will be starting the year off with a regional premiere of the documentary "Design & Thinking."  We've also assembled a panel of design professionals to discuss the film and the design process immediately following the movie. This event is scheduled for January 29th, and if you register before December 23rd, you'll have a chance to win two tickets to the December 29th Steelers Game. 

Other future program topics include open innovation, the use of accelerators, and using Big Data to address customer needs. Please plan to join us for these relevant and valuable Innovation Forum events. Look for dates and times on the website, via our Chapter emails, and on Twitter, LinkedIn and the PDMA blog.

Whether you are a seasoned veteran, an emerging professional or a student, I encourage you and your colleagues to join the innovation conversation through PDMA.  Follow us on social media.  Become a member.  Participate in our events.  Consider a local or corporate sponsor.   If you are interested in learning more, please feel free to contact me at randyr@ballydesign.com


On behalf of the Pittsburgh Chapter Board Members, I want to wish you and your families a Happy Holiday Season and best wishes for a Healthy and Happy New Year. 

 
I look forward to seeing you "at the movies" in January!   

 
Randy Rossi

President, PDMA Pittsburgh
President, Bally Design 





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