Sandy McMurray of Corante’s new Apple Matters blog pointed to an interview with HBS professor David Yoffie on Apple’s “hit product” innovation strategy, and Sandy says, “ 'To use a baseball metaphor, Steve Jobs manages a team that is always swinging for the fences. This strategy relies on home runs to win. If the competition hits enough singles and doubles -- or Steve's team strikes out too often -- the memorable home runs won't matter much. (The game is fun to watch though.)' "

I read the whole interview and what struck me was how dated the Apple approach to innovation seems these days. Walloping every ball hoping for home runs makes for better stories than business successes. Today’s trend is to process-ize innovation. And that approach is about the opposite of the “take-me-out-to-the-ballgame” approach Sandy describes. (Another appropriate metaphor I’ve already quoted before for Apple’s approach: innovation-as-religion.)

I was especially struck by the difference between Yoffie’s comments on Apple and a white paper I just read, Innovating For Cash: Lessons From The Handset Wars, which appears to be part of a strategy by Boston Consulting Group to position themselves as the consultants to which companies should turn to manage the “innovation-to-cash” process (on subsequent reference they refer to this as the “ITC process,” so they’re pretty serious about it).

I’m not making fun of this – my company’s business model is based on the innovation-as-process concept, as well – but doesn’t it seem odd that a company that truly represents the spirit of innovation as Apple does would be so behind the curve on managing their innovation processes? That’s just not the way they play the game.