In a recent issue of APICS Magazine you will find The Road to Innovation (registration required) which consists of an interview with Elbert “Burt” Rutan, president of Scaled Composites LLC and a leading innovator in aviation, whose accomplishments include the production of Voyager – the first airplane to fly nonstop around the world without refueling – and SpaceShipOne – the first privately funded craft to reach space and winner of the 2004 Ansari X PRIZE.

Burt Rutan makes some very good points about the nature of innovation in the article. In addition to traveling the road less traveled, you need to take risks and you need to be aggressive. You’re more likely to get your money’s worth when you take a few risks.

However, achieving innovation isn’t easy. It requires the right mindset, the right processes and hard work in addition to risk-taking and aggressiveness. This week we’re going to discuss some characteristics of innovative companies and some metrics you can use to measure your innovative achievements.