Author Archives: Mark Prus
If you have kids, you know that they all pass through the “Why Phase,” where they keep asking “Why?” until you ultimately resort to the conversation-ending phrase “Ask your Mother (or Father).” Continue reading
This is the third of several ‘Innovation Perspectives’ articles we will publish this week from multiple authors to get different perspectives on ‘How should firms identify innovation opportunities and predict market potential at very early stages and in new areas (“green fields”) and ambiguous environments?’. Here is the next perspective in the series: Where the Heart Leads, the Head (and the Wallet!) Will Follow by Mark Prus Identifying and evaluating market potential of very early stage innovation opportunities is definitely more art than science. As such, it is difficult to have an algorithm that says “input A leads to result B if conditions C are present.” However, an assessment of whether an idea has a “heartbeat” can often lead to opportunities that can be successfully developed. A well-known sales principle is that people buy on emotion and then justify the purchase with logic. In my experience, the same holds true … Continue reading
This is the seventh of several ‘Innovation Perspectives’ articles we will publish this week from multiple authors to get different perspectives on ‘What are three specific actions that a non-innovative company can take to become more innovative?’. Here is the next perspective in the series: by Mark Prus Not Innovative? No Problem. Just Apply The Three I’s To Your Business In the Corporate world, I’ve had the privilege of leading my business unit through numerous strategic planning exercises and innovation processes. I’ve found that the process of becoming innovative can be simplified into what I call the 3 I’s. INTROSPECTION – Defined as self-examination. Before you can become innovative, you (and your management team) really need to re-examine your business with the intent of understanding what business you are in. As a marketing consultant with over 25 years in the consumer goods industry, I am admittedly biased, but I would … Continue reading
This is the third of several ‘Innovation Perspectives’ articles we will publish this week from multiple authors to get different perspectives on ‘How should firms collaborate with customers and/or value chain partners to co-create new products and services?’. Here is the next perspective in the series: by Mark Prus Collaborating With Your Consumers for Innovation… Good Idea? Bad Idea? I have been a Marketing Director, an Innovation Director, and a Market Research Director at a top tier consumer packaged goods company. So I guess I can answer this question from three different perspectives. If I wear my Market Research Director Hat, I want to believe that consumers have all the answers and if I design the proper research I can get at those answers. Alas, when it comes to Innovation that is not easily done. At our company Market Research was involved in very early stage Innovation work (to gain … Continue reading
A recent article on the Harvard Business Review blog site discussed how you can kill innovation by asking too many questions. Having spent over 25 years in Corporate America, I can relate. I have seen many novel ideas get ‘Murdered by Management’ through a steady stream of questions. I have even seen Management use the “question everything about a project I don’t like” technique as a means of wearing out the proposer and making the project go away.I do agree with the article’s conclusion that you can often “…substitute early action for never-ending analysis.” It is always a good idea to start small, gain experience, tweak and try it again. But I am not sure I agree with the premise that asking questions is bad. After all, isn’t curiosity a foundation of the innovation process?When I was running the innovation function of my business unit, I was used to getting … Continue reading
Lessons in Insights & Innovation From Anti Monkey Butt Powderby Mark PrusI am a professional name developer, and I like to gather opinions about product names. Earlier this year I posted a Twitter Poll to gather opinions on Anti Monkey Butt Powder… Good Name or Bad Name? The results indicated that about 70% of people thought Anti Monkey Butt Powder was a bad name.However, the real learning came from the comments I received about the posting. The people who thought it was a bad name were making fun of the name and the product. The people who thought it was a good name were people who suffered from what might be described as a “chafed butt” due to extended horseback riding or motorcycle riding or truck driving. Several claimed to be consumers of the product and they were very defensive about the name… they thought it was perfect.So what is … Continue reading
