Monthly Archives: January 2010
This is the sixth of several ‘Innovation Perspectives’ articles we will publish this week from multiple authors to get different perspectives on ‘What product or sector is in desperate need of innovation?’. Here is the next perspective in the series:by Adam SchorrWhile recent years have been a boon for innovation in various industries such as consumer electronics and automotive, the consumer packaged goods industry seems to be stuck serving up warmed over versions of past innovation. But while product innovation in CPG is badly needed, the true innovation crisis in CPG has to do with the fundamental business model. Although the players have been changing due to industry consolidation, the CPG industry continues to labor under a decades old business model whose foundational truths evaporated years ago.The essence of the CPG business model is as follows: One group of companies manufactures products that are perceived by consumers as significantly better … Continue reading
When Shakespeare said that all the world’s a stage, he probably didn’t have employee performance evaluations in mind. But for anyone who has ever endured a less-than-candid performance appraisal, his words definitely ring true.Giving and receiving feedback is a complex process made infinitely more complicated by our human emotions and reactions. In particular, our fears, uncertainties and doubts about the feedback process can make us very uncomfortable. So when we give or receive feedback, we often appear as though we are on stage, performing a role.Performance evaluations often feature two primary roles: lead actors (the person providing the feedback) and supporting actors (the individual receiving the feedback). Do you recognize any of the following performers in your company?”…and the Oscar goes to…”Leading Actors (providing feedback):The Magician disguises her feedback so that the employee can only guess about the real message. “You did great & here’s one thing to work on, … Continue reading
Too many brands, companies and even vertical sectors assume what they do is, well, what they do. They define their value based on their current tactical, delivered product or service to the market and to their customers. But that’s not at all what they do, of course.People don’t buy a newspaper because it’s printed news. They can get that news from a myriad places today. So what makes newspapers unique? What value do they really serve? I actually read the newspaper more often now than ever, but I don’t subscribe to the print edition. I read online every day, check various reporters’ blogs for intra-day updates, etc.So many sectors, so many businesses need to ask “why” several times over to understand their value to their customers. Why is this important? Why do my customers care? Why is this different and valuable to the marketplace?At the end of those “why” …
This is the fifth of several ‘Innovation Perspectives’ articles we will publish this week from multiple authors to get different perspectives on ‘What product or sector is in desperate need of innovation?’. Here is the next perspective in the series:by Paul HobcraftWhen you look at the question posed it is clear to me the key word here is ‘desperate’. What or whom is desperate for innovation? After such a seismic shift that has taken place in the recent period causing the global recession there is a really good case for many products, sectors or industries as all in need of fresh innovation but are they desperate? Most of us would immediately think of the automotive industry, the insurance sector, the banking and the home ownership sectors as ‘primed’ for desperate measures or more radical innovation thinking but after all the considerable bail-outs by public finance this seems not to have … Continue reading
Some call it a matrix, others a two-by-two diagram. I call them awesome.Two-by-twos allow you to plot complex information in a matter that allows you not only to see the relationship between two things, but also to make better judgments and decisions. I often use these during brainstorming sessions with clients as a way to filter our stacks of great ideas to the fewer, bigger, and better solutions.How to Use Them1. Determine the two important qualities you want to use to measure or filter your ideas.For example: We want to better understand the relationship between employee sales and their customer service scores. This two-by-two would begin something like this: 2. Next, I’ll plot where each team member according to both their sales and their service score.We can see Julia ranks where we hope all of our employees would be – she is making high sales and earning a high customer … Continue reading
One of my partners, an electrical engineer, let out a loud cry a few minutes ago. He was responding to an article I sent him about a new electical gizmo that monitors eletrical usage in the home. He was upset because he came up with a very similar idea about a year ago, but he assumed it was safe to put on hold for a while.This points up an innovation fallacy, and a separate truism. First, the fallacy. Good ideas are rarely conceived in isolation. Even really good ideas often happen in several different places relatively simultaneously. So while you may think your great idea is unique and original, there’s a good chance it isn’t. The truism that follows is that it’s not the individual or team that conceives the idea that wins, it’s the individual or team that commercializes that wins.Let’s look at the fallacy first. As is fairly … Continue reading
