Innovation strategy v1.3

Editor's Notes

1. Have you have ever tackled a substantial question and found an answer, only to discover that no one is particularly interested in it? (I have! I spent a total of about 5 years finding and applying a novel technique for solving diffraction optics problems of much higher complexity than before. Almost everyone was not interested.) Have you ever discovered and applied something only to find that nobody really wants it? (I have! While working on ways to control polarisation effects in optical recording discs. I found a possible way to remove them altogether. I don’t think it is used.) Have you ever dramatically improved something only to be blamed for the side effects? (I found a way to increase the productivity of a plastics processing plant by a factor of 4 to 5. They complained that no one could keep up!) It is all very well to come up with good ideas, but perhaps we would benefit by understanding what people really VALUE. What are we trying to achieve by managing innovation? What does it mean to be more innovative? Presumably we are aiming to generate more value. More value for customers and more value from suppliers. How does this affect our evaluation and selection of developments to pursue. You have the tactical tools, but how do you formulate a strategy for deploying them?
2. Let’s draw a distinction between Strategic and Tactical issues. Consider fishing. With Tactical issues, the outcome is under our control. We can decide what rod and line to use, what bait to use, to depth to set it at. We can cast the line, and can learn to cast further. We can decide where and when to cast it. With Strategic issues, the outcome is not under our control. We can influence the outcome based on our knowledge and experience. But we cannot control it completely. We need to fish where we think the fish are, when we think the fish are there, using the bait that we think they will take at the depth that we think that they will take it. We can use our knowledge and experience to decide which fish to aim for, we can react to the weather, the state of the tide, the seasons and so on. And the boundary between the two is at the baited hook!
3. Let’s draw a distinction between Strategic and Tactical issues. Consider fishing. With Tactical issues, the outcome is under our control. We can decide what rod and line to use, what bait to use, to depth to set it at. We can cast the line, and can learn to cast further. We can decide where and when to cast it. With Strategic issues, the outcome is not under our control. We can influence the outcome based on our knowledge and experience. But we cannot control it completely. We need to fish where we think the fish are, when we think the fish are there, using the bait that we think they will take at the depth that we think that they will take it. We can use our knowledge and experience to decide which fish to aim for, we can react to the weather, the state of the tide, the seasons and so on. And the boundary between the two is at the baited hook!
4. Let’s draw a distinction between Strategic and Tactical issues. Consider fishing. With Tactical issues, the outcome is under our control. We can decide what rod and line to use, what bait to use, to depth to set it at. We can cast the line, and can learn to cast further. We can decide where and when to cast it. With Strategic issues, the outcome is not under our control. We can influence the outcome based on our knowledge and experience. But we cannot control it completely. We need to fish where we think the fish are, when we think the fish are there, using the bait that we think they will take at the depth that we think that they will take it. We can use our knowledge and experience to decide which fish to aim for, we can react to the weather, the state of the tide, the seasons and so on. And the boundary between the two is at the baited hook!
5. Innovation is about novelty or “newness” and the value of that new-ness to someone. Value is in the eye of the beholder. Something is worth what someone is prepared to pay for it. Nothing has any intrinsic value. So here are some questions that might be worth answering. Value of what? In what area are you generating value? There is a wide range, but we can identify some different areas of value. Value to whom? To whom is it valuable? Is it value to us or to our customer (or, perhaps, to someone else) What value? What is the nature of the value that is attributed to what we do? What criteria? What criteria are used to assess that value? by the recipient of the product <Point> If you don’t know where you are going, any road leads there.
6. Innovation is about novelty or “newness” and the value of that new-ness to someone. Value is in the eye of the beholder. Something is worth what someone is prepared to pay for it. Nothing has any intrinsic value. So here are some questions that might be worth answering. Value of what? In what area are you generating value? There is a wide range, but we can identify some different areas of value. Value to whom? To whom is it valuable? Is it value to us or to our customer (or, perhaps, to someone else) What value? What is the nature of the value that is attributed to what we do? What criteria? What criteria are used to assess that value? by the recipient of the product <Point> If you don’t know where you are going, any road leads there.
7. Innovation is about novelty or “newness” and the value of that new-ness to someone. Value is in the eye of the beholder. Something is worth what someone is prepared to pay for it. Nothing has any intrinsic value. So here are some questions that might be worth answering. Value of what? In what area are you generating value? There is a wide range, but we can identify some different areas of value. Value to whom? To whom is it valuable? Is it value to us or to our customer (or, perhaps, to someone else) What value? What is the nature of the value that is attributed to what we do? What criteria? What criteria are used to assess that value? by the recipient of the product <Point> If you don’t know where you are going, any road leads there.
8. Innovation is about novelty or “newness” and the value of that new-ness to someone. Value is in the eye of the beholder. Something is worth what someone is prepared to pay for it. Nothing has any intrinsic value. So here are some questions that might be worth answering. Value of what? In what area are you generating value? There is a wide range, but we can identify some different areas of value. Value to whom? To whom is it valuable? Is it value to us or to our customer (or, perhaps, to someone else) What value? What is the nature of the value that is attributed to what we do? What criteria? What criteria are used to assess that value? by the recipient of the product <Point> If you don’t know where you are going, any road leads there.
9. -> Context of Innovation - You What are we aiming to achieve by managing innovation? What does it mean to be more innovative? Presumably, we are aiming to generate more value Let’s consider the context in which we operate We have customers and we have suppliers -> Customers - Suppliers These are the external players that we interact with. There may be other players, such as partners and so on, but let’s not complicate matters unnecessarily. Broadly value is provided from suppliers to us and by us to customers, in response to needs which are communicated from customers to us and from us to suppliers. ->Value - Need Within an organisation, our activities can be broadly divided into two areas. One type of activity interacts externally with customers, the other type of activity interacts externally with suppliers. Suggested working labels for these two areas are marketing and engineering. -> Marketing and engineering Different people have different versions of this. Peter Drucker talks of the primary functions of a business being marketing and innovation, which is interesting in this context! But it is a potential concern that this might imply that there is no innovation in marketing! Scott McNealy, a founder of the former Sun Microsystems has said that these are the two areas in which we need “special horsepower” in a business. Yes we need good people in customer service, sales, HR, purchasing, finance and so on. But special brains are needed in marketing and in engineering. Edward Atkin of Avent is a excellent role model for European manufacturing business. He took his family owned rubber goods company and turned it into a world class manufacturer without outsourcing the manufacturing. He says the same. Steve Jobs has said that the great thing about creating Apple’s products is that they are creating products for themselves to use. So they can have the marketing-engineering meeting in their own heads! Now the distinction between the two is that marketing is about the value that customers obtain from the product and engineering is about the value that we put into the product. So the division between the two is the product specification. -> Product Specification Marketing is about relating the product to customers, in both directions Engineering is about making the product. This leads to the well-known split between two areas of innovation. ->Outbound-Inbound So called “product” innovation and “process” innovation. Although these terms are useful, they can be confusing. I prefer to talk about inbound and outbound innovation, depending on who is the recipient of the “new-ness”. <Story> Apple keynotes on new products: iPod, iPhone, iPad, etc... outbound -> videos, interviews BUT also: new range of MacBook: videos of what? interviews about what? machining metal, single piece of aluminium, unibody. -> inbound (process) ->Tactical Includes what we control, on both in and out bound sides. Most activity seems to be in this area. ->Strategic Includes what we do not control. This is the interesting area. Think about the fishing analogy: which fish are we interested in? where are they? - where are we? what do they eat? - what are we offering them? when do they eat? - when are we interacting with them? Not sure exactly how you would like to identify the boundary between tactical and strategic ->Sales-Purchases this is where they bite!
10. -> Context of Innovation - You What are we aiming to achieve by managing innovation? What does it mean to be more innovative? Presumably, we are aiming to generate more value Let’s consider the context in which we operate We have customers and we have suppliers -> Customers - Suppliers These are the external players that we interact with. There may be other players, such as partners and so on, but let’s not complicate matters unnecessarily. Broadly value is provided from suppliers to us and by us to customers, in response to needs which are communicated from customers to us and from us to suppliers. ->Value - Need Within an organisation, our activities can be broadly divided into two areas. One type of activity interacts externally with customers, the other type of activity interacts externally with suppliers. Suggested working labels for these two areas are marketing and engineering. -> Marketing and engineering Different people have different versions of this. Peter Drucker talks of the primary functions of a business being marketing and innovation, which is interesting in this context! But it is a potential concern that this might imply that there is no innovation in marketing! Scott McNealy, a founder of the former Sun Microsystems has said that these are the two areas in which we need “special horsepower” in a business. Yes we need good people in customer service, sales, HR, purchasing, finance and so on. But special brains are needed in marketing and in engineering. Edward Atkin of Avent is a excellent role model for European manufacturing business. He took his family owned rubber goods company and turned it into a world class manufacturer without outsourcing the manufacturing. He says the same. Steve Jobs has said that the great thing about creating Apple’s products is that they are creating products for themselves to use. So they can have the marketing-engineering meeting in their own heads! Now the distinction between the two is that marketing is about the value that customers obtain from the product and engineering is about the value that we put into the product. So the division between the two is the product specification. -> Product Specification Marketing is about relating the product to customers, in both directions Engineering is about making the product. This leads to the well-known split between two areas of innovation. ->Outbound-Inbound So called “product” innovation and “process” innovation. Although these terms are useful, they can be confusing. I prefer to talk about inbound and outbound innovation, depending on who is the recipient of the “new-ness”. <Story> Apple keynotes on new products: iPod, iPhone, iPad, etc... outbound -> videos, interviews BUT also: new range of MacBook: videos of what? interviews about what? machining metal, single piece of aluminium, unibody. -> inbound (process) ->Tactical Includes what we control, on both in and out bound sides. Most activity seems to be in this area. ->Strategic Includes what we do not control. This is the interesting area. Think about the fishing analogy: which fish are we interested in? where are they? - where are we? what do they eat? - what are we offering them? when do they eat? - when are we interacting with them? Not sure exactly how you would like to identify the boundary between tactical and strategic ->Sales-Purchases this is where they bite!
11. -> Context of Innovation - You What are we aiming to achieve by managing innovation? What does it mean to be more innovative? Presumably, we are aiming to generate more value Let’s consider the context in which we operate We have customers and we have suppliers -> Customers - Suppliers These are the external players that we interact with. There may be other players, such as partners and so on, but let’s not complicate matters unnecessarily. Broadly value is provided from suppliers to us and by us to customers, in response to needs which are communicated from customers to us and from us to suppliers. ->Value - Need Within an organisation, our activities can be broadly divided into two areas. One type of activity interacts externally with customers, the other type of activity interacts externally with suppliers. Suggested working labels for these two areas are marketing and engineering. -> Marketing and engineering Different people have different versions of this. Peter Drucker talks of the primary functions of a business being marketing and innovation, which is interesting in this context! But it is a potential concern that this might imply that there is no innovation in marketing! Scott McNealy, a founder of the former Sun Microsystems has said that these are the two areas in which we need “special horsepower” in a business. Yes we need good people in customer service, sales, HR, purchasing, finance and so on. But special brains are needed in marketing and in engineering. Edward Atkin of Avent is a excellent role model for European manufacturing business. He took his family owned rubber goods company and turned it into a world class manufacturer without outsourcing the manufacturing. He says the same. Steve Jobs has said that the great thing about creating Apple’s products is that they are creating products for themselves to use. So they can have the marketing-engineering meeting in their own heads! Now the distinction between the two is that marketing is about the value that customers obtain from the product and engineering is about the value that we put into the product. So the division between the two is the product specification. -> Product Specification Marketing is about relating the product to customers, in both directions Engineering is about making the product. This leads to the well-known split between two areas of innovation. ->Outbound-Inbound So called “product” innovation and “process” innovation. Although these terms are useful, they can be confusing. I prefer to talk about inbound and outbound innovation, depending on who is the recipient of the “new-ness”. <Story> Apple keynotes on new products: iPod, iPhone, iPad, etc... outbound -> videos, interviews BUT also: new range of MacBook: videos of what? interviews about what? machining metal, single piece of aluminium, unibody. -> inbound (process) ->Tactical Includes what we control, on both in and out bound sides. Most activity seems to be in this area. ->Strategic Includes what we do not control. This is the interesting area. Think about the fishing analogy: which fish are we interested in? where are they? - where are we? what do they eat? - what are we offering them? when do they eat? - when are we interacting with them? Not sure exactly how you would like to identify the boundary between tactical and strategic ->Sales-Purchases this is where they bite!
12. -> Context of Innovation - You What are we aiming to achieve by managing innovation? What does it mean to be more innovative? Presumably, we are aiming to generate more value Let’s consider the context in which we operate We have customers and we have suppliers -> Customers - Suppliers These are the external players that we interact with. There may be other players, such as partners and so on, but let’s not complicate matters unnecessarily. Broadly value is provided from suppliers to us and by us to customers, in response to needs which are communicated from customers to us and from us to suppliers. ->Value - Need Within an organisation, our activities can be broadly divided into two areas. One type of activity interacts externally with customers, the other type of activity interacts externally with suppliers. Suggested working labels for these two areas are marketing and engineering. -> Marketing and engineering Different people have different versions of this. Peter Drucker talks of the primary functions of a business being marketing and innovation, which is interesting in this context! But it is a potential concern that this might imply that there is no innovation in marketing! Scott McNealy, a founder of the former Sun Microsystems has said that these are the two areas in which we need “special horsepower” in a business. Yes we need good people in customer service, sales, HR, purchasing, finance and so on. But special brains are needed in marketing and in engineering. Edward Atkin of Avent is a excellent role model for European manufacturing business. He took his family owned rubber goods company and turned it into a world class manufacturer without outsourcing the manufacturing. He says the same. Steve Jobs has said that the great thing about creating Apple’s products is that they are creating products for themselves to use. So they can have the marketing-engineering meeting in their own heads! Now the distinction between the two is that marketing is about the value that customers obtain from the product and engineering is about the value that we put into the product. So the division between the two is the product specification. -> Product Specification Marketing is about relating the product to customers, in both directions Engineering is about making the product. This leads to the well-known split between two areas of innovation. ->Outbound-Inbound So called “product” innovation and “process” innovation. Although these terms are useful, they can be confusing. I prefer to talk about inbound and outbound innovation, depending on who is the recipient of the “new-ness”. <Story> Apple keynotes on new products: iPod, iPhone, iPad, etc... outbound -> videos, interviews BUT also: new range of MacBook: videos of what? interviews about what? machining metal, single piece of aluminium, unibody. -> inbound (process) ->Tactical Includes what we control, on both in and out bound sides. Most activity seems to be in this area. ->Strategic Includes what we do not control. This is the interesting area. Think about the fishing analogy: which fish are we interested in? where are they? - where are we? what do they eat? - what are we offering them? when do they eat? - when are we interacting with them? Not sure exactly how you would like to identify the boundary between tactical and strategic ->Sales-Purchases this is where they bite!
13. -> Context of Innovation - You What are we aiming to achieve by managing innovation? What does it mean to be more innovative? Presumably, we are aiming to generate more value Let’s consider the context in which we operate We have customers and we have suppliers -> Customers - Suppliers These are the external players that we interact with. There may be other players, such as partners and so on, but let’s not complicate matters unnecessarily. Broadly value is provided from suppliers to us and by us to customers, in response to needs which are communicated from customers to us and from us to suppliers. ->Value - Need Within an organisation, our activities can be broadly divided into two areas. One type of activity interacts externally with customers, the other type of activity interacts externally with suppliers. Suggested working labels for these two areas are marketing and engineering. -> Marketing and engineering Different people have different versions of this. Peter Drucker talks of the primary functions of a business being marketing and innovation, which is interesting in this context! But it is a potential concern that this might imply that there is no innovation in marketing! Scott McNealy, a founder of the former Sun Microsystems has said that these are the two areas in which we need “special horsepower” in a business. Yes we need good people in customer service, sales, HR, purchasing, finance and so on. But special brains are needed in marketing and in engineering. Edward Atkin of Avent is a excellent role model for European manufacturing business. He took his family owned rubber goods company and turned it into a world class manufacturer without outsourcing the manufacturing. He says the same. Steve Jobs has said that the great thing about creating Apple’s products is that they are creating products for themselves to use. So they can have the marketing-engineering meeting in their own heads! Now the distinction between the two is that marketing is about the value that customers obtain from the product and engineering is about the value that we put into the product. So the division between the two is the product specification. -> Product Specification Marketing is about relating the product to customers, in both directions Engineering is about making the product. This leads to the well-known split between two areas of innovation. ->Outbound-Inbound So called “product” innovation and “process” innovation. Although these terms are useful, they can be confusing. I prefer to talk about inbound and outbound innovation, depending on who is the recipient of the “new-ness”. <Story> Apple keynotes on new products: iPod, iPhone, iPad, etc... outbound -> videos, interviews BUT also: new range of MacBook: videos of what? interviews about what? machining metal, single piece of aluminium, unibody. -> inbound (process) ->Tactical Includes what we control, on both in and out bound sides. Most activity seems to be in this area. ->Strategic Includes what we do not control. This is the interesting area. Think about the fishing analogy: which fish are we interested in? where are they? - where are we? what do they eat? - what are we offering them? when do they eat? - when are we interacting with them? Not sure exactly how you would like to identify the boundary between tactical and strategic ->Sales-Purchases this is where they bite!
14. -> Context of Innovation - You What are we aiming to achieve by managing innovation? What does it mean to be more innovative? Presumably, we are aiming to generate more value Let’s consider the context in which we operate We have customers and we have suppliers -> Customers - Suppliers These are the external players that we interact with. There may be other players, such as partners and so on, but let’s not complicate matters unnecessarily. Broadly value is provided from suppliers to us and by us to customers, in response to needs which are communicated from customers to us and from us to suppliers. ->Value - Need Within an organisation, our activities can be broadly divided into two areas. One type of activity interacts externally with customers, the other type of activity interacts externally with suppliers. Suggested working labels for these two areas are marketing and engineering. -> Marketing and engineering Different people have different versions of this. Peter Drucker talks of the primary functions of a business being marketing and innovation, which is interesting in this context! But it is a potential concern that this might imply that there is no innovation in marketing! Scott McNealy, a founder of the former Sun Microsystems has said that these are the two areas in which we need “special horsepower” in a business. Yes we need good people in customer service, sales, HR, purchasing, finance and so on. But special brains are needed in marketing and in engineering. Edward Atkin of Avent is a excellent role model for European manufacturing business. He took his family owned rubber goods company and turned it into a world class manufacturer without outsourcing the manufacturing. He says the same. Steve Jobs has said that the great thing about creating Apple’s products is that they are creating products for themselves to use. So they can have the marketing-engineering meeting in their own heads! Now the distinction between the two is that marketing is about the value that customers obtain from the product and engineering is about the value that we put into the product. So the division between the two is the product specification. -> Product Specification Marketing is about relating the product to customers, in both directions Engineering is about making the product. This leads to the well-known split between two areas of innovation. ->Outbound-Inbound So called “product” innovation and “process” innovation. Although these terms are useful, they can be confusing. I prefer to talk about inbound and outbound innovation, depending on who is the recipient of the “new-ness”. <Story> Apple keynotes on new products: iPod, iPhone, iPad, etc... outbound -> videos, interviews BUT also: new range of MacBook: videos of what? interviews about what? machining metal, single piece of aluminium, unibody. -> inbound (process) ->Tactical Includes what we control, on both in and out bound sides. Most activity seems to be in this area. ->Strategic Includes what we do not control. This is the interesting area. Think about the fishing analogy: which fish are we interested in? where are they? - where are we? what do they eat? - what are we offering them? when do they eat? - when are we interacting with them? Not sure exactly how you would like to identify the boundary between tactical and strategic ->Sales-Purchases this is where they bite!
15. -> Context of Innovation - You What are we aiming to achieve by managing innovation? What does it mean to be more innovative? Presumably, we are aiming to generate more value Let’s consider the context in which we operate We have customers and we have suppliers -> Customers - Suppliers These are the external players that we interact with. There may be other players, such as partners and so on, but let’s not complicate matters unnecessarily. Broadly value is provided from suppliers to us and by us to customers, in response to needs which are communicated from customers to us and from us to suppliers. ->Value - Need Within an organisation, our activities can be broadly divided into two areas. One type of activity interacts externally with customers, the other type of activity interacts externally with suppliers. Suggested working labels for these two areas are marketing and engineering. -> Marketing and engineering Different people have different versions of this. Peter Drucker talks of the primary functions of a business being marketing and innovation, which is interesting in this context! But it is a potential concern that this might imply that there is no innovation in marketing! Scott McNealy, a founder of the former Sun Microsystems has said that these are the two areas in which we need “special horsepower” in a business. Yes we need good people in customer service, sales, HR, purchasing, finance and so on. But special brains are needed in marketing and in engineering. Edward Atkin of Avent is a excellent role model for European manufacturing business. He took his family owned rubber goods company and turned it into a world class manufacturer without outsourcing the manufacturing. He says the same. Steve Jobs has said that the great thing about creating Apple’s products is that they are creating products for themselves to use. So they can have the marketing-engineering meeting in their own heads! Now the distinction between the two is that marketing is about the value that customers obtain from the product and engineering is about the value that we put into the product. So the division between the two is the product specification. -> Product Specification Marketing is about relating the product to customers, in both directions Engineering is about making the product. This leads to the well-known split between two areas of innovation. ->Outbound-Inbound So called “product” innovation and “process” innovation. Although these terms are useful, they can be confusing. I prefer to talk about inbound and outbound innovation, depending on who is the recipient of the “new-ness”. <Story> Apple keynotes on new products: iPod, iPhone, iPad, etc... outbound -> videos, interviews BUT also: new range of MacBook: videos of what? interviews about what? machining metal, single piece of aluminium, unibody. -> inbound (process) ->Tactical Includes what we control, on both in and out bound sides. Most activity seems to be in this area. ->Strategic Includes what we do not control. This is the interesting area. Think about the fishing analogy: which fish are we interested in? where are they? - where are we? what do they eat? - what are we offering them? when do they eat? - when are we interacting with them? Not sure exactly how you would like to identify the boundary between tactical and strategic ->Sales-Purchases this is where they bite!
16. -> Context of Innovation - You What are we aiming to achieve by managing innovation? What does it mean to be more innovative? Presumably, we are aiming to generate more value Let’s consider the context in which we operate We have customers and we have suppliers -> Customers - Suppliers These are the external players that we interact with. There may be other players, such as partners and so on, but let’s not complicate matters unnecessarily. Broadly value is provided from suppliers to us and by us to customers, in response to needs which are communicated from customers to us and from us to suppliers. ->Value - Need Within an organisation, our activities can be broadly divided into two areas. One type of activity interacts externally with customers, the other type of activity interacts externally with suppliers. Suggested working labels for these two areas are marketing and engineering. -> Marketing and engineering Different people have different versions of this. Peter Drucker talks of the primary functions of a business being marketing and innovation, which is interesting in this context! But it is a potential concern that this might imply that there is no innovation in marketing! Scott McNealy, a founder of the former Sun Microsystems has said that these are the two areas in which we need “special horsepower” in a business. Yes we need good people in customer service, sales, HR, purchasing, finance and so on. But special brains are needed in marketing and in engineering. Edward Atkin of Avent is a excellent role model for European manufacturing business. He took his family owned rubber goods company and turned it into a world class manufacturer without outsourcing the manufacturing. He says the same. Steve Jobs has said that the great thing about creating Apple’s products is that they are creating products for themselves to use. So they can have the marketing-engineering meeting in their own heads! Now the distinction between the two is that marketing is about the value that customers obtain from the product and engineering is about the value that we put into the product. So the division between the two is the product specification. -> Product Specification Marketing is about relating the product to customers, in both directions Engineering is about making the product. This leads to the well-known split between two areas of innovation. ->Outbound-Inbound So called “product” innovation and “process” innovation. Although these terms are useful, they can be confusing. I prefer to talk about inbound and outbound innovation, depending on who is the recipient of the “new-ness”. <Story> Apple keynotes on new products: iPod, iPhone, iPad, etc... outbound -> videos, interviews BUT also: new range of MacBook: videos of what? interviews about what? machining metal, single piece of aluminium, unibody. -> inbound (process) ->Tactical Includes what we control, on both in and out bound sides. Most activity seems to be in this area. ->Strategic Includes what we do not control. This is the interesting area. Think about the fishing analogy: which fish are we interested in? where are they? - where are we? what do they eat? - what are we offering them? when do they eat? - when are we interacting with them? Not sure exactly how you would like to identify the boundary between tactical and strategic ->Sales-Purchases this is where they bite!
17. Technology value is about technical values. A material that is stronger, lighter or more flexible. Functionality is about behaviour characteristics and the performance of them. In this area, more functionality is better. How can it not be? The more value obtained from the same technology the better. So, in a sense, the less technology for the same functionality, the better. Experience is about the feeling one gets. Price becomes less important. The less functionality the better. “Less is more”. How many buttons does an iPod have? It does one things very well. Less is more 80% is better than 150% Book: The Inmates are running the asylum Alan Cooper. Interview Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, Gates listed functionality, Jobs started with experience. Overall: Each area of value trumps the lower one.
18. Technology value is about technical values. A material that is stronger, lighter or more flexible. Functionality is about behaviour characteristics and the performance of them. In this area, more functionality is better. How can it not be? The more value obtained from the same technology the better. So, in a sense, the less technology for the same functionality, the better. Experience is about the feeling one gets. Price becomes less important. The less functionality the better. “Less is more”. How many buttons does an iPod have? It does one things very well. Less is more 80% is better than 150% Book: The Inmates are running the asylum Alan Cooper. Interview Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, Gates listed functionality, Jobs started with experience. Overall: Each area of value trumps the lower one.
19. Technology value is about technical values. A material that is stronger, lighter or more flexible. Functionality is about behaviour characteristics and the performance of them. In this area, more functionality is better. How can it not be? The more value obtained from the same technology the better. So, in a sense, the less technology for the same functionality, the better. Experience is about the feeling one gets. Price becomes less important. The less functionality the better. “Less is more”. How many buttons does an iPod have? It does one things very well. Less is more 80% is better than 150% Book: The Inmates are running the asylum Alan Cooper. Interview Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, Gates listed functionality, Jobs started with experience. Overall: Each area of value trumps the lower one.
20. How do people react to newly available things of potential value? When we encounter anything new, we adopt it according to a process of stages. This is well known, and sales people know all about this! The stages can be given various names such as: know, like, trust, buy. Know: based on information about identity and its associations. No opinion yet Like: Advantages Trust: Benefits, overall, including disadvantages. Thinking: if I needed one, that is the one that I would probably buy Buy: we have a need and the resources so we choose the one that we trust You attribute ifferent levels of value to different providers AND you do this differently for different products THEREFORE, the same people rate you differently for different products “I trust you to do this, but I didn’t even know you had that” <Story> House is on fire: trust the fire brigade to put out Afterwards: investment advice <Point> You segmentation the market, but the market segments you
21. How do people react to newly available things of potential value? When we encounter anything new, we adopt it according to a process of stages. This is well known, and sales people know all about this! The stages can be given various names such as: know, like, trust, buy. Know: based on information about identity and its associations. No opinion yet Like: Advantages Trust: Benefits, overall, including disadvantages. Thinking: if I needed one, that is the one that I would probably buy Buy: we have a need and the resources so we choose the one that we trust You attribute ifferent levels of value to different providers AND you do this differently for different products THEREFORE, the same people rate you differently for different products “I trust you to do this, but I didn’t even know you had that” <Story> House is on fire: trust the fire brigade to put out Afterwards: investment advice <Point> You segmentation the market, but the market segments you
22. How do people react to newly available things of potential value? When we encounter anything new, we adopt it according to a process of stages. This is well known, and sales people know all about this! The stages can be given various names such as: know, like, trust, buy. Know: based on information about identity and its associations. No opinion yet Like: Advantages Trust: Benefits, overall, including disadvantages. Thinking: if I needed one, that is the one that I would probably buy Buy: we have a need and the resources so we choose the one that we trust You attribute ifferent levels of value to different providers AND you do this differently for different products THEREFORE, the same people rate you differently for different products “I trust you to do this, but I didn’t even know you had that” <Story> House is on fire: trust the fire brigade to put out Afterwards: investment advice <Point> You segmentation the market, but the market segments you
23. How do people react to newly available things of potential value? When we encounter anything new, we adopt it according to a process of stages. This is well known, and sales people know all about this! The stages can be given various names such as: know, like, trust, buy. Know: based on information about identity and its associations. No opinion yet Like: Advantages Trust: Benefits, overall, including disadvantages. Thinking: if I needed one, that is the one that I would probably buy Buy: we have a need and the resources so we choose the one that we trust You attribute ifferent levels of value to different providers AND you do this differently for different products THEREFORE, the same people rate you differently for different products “I trust you to do this, but I didn’t even know you had that” <Story> House is on fire: trust the fire brigade to put out Afterwards: investment advice <Point> You segmentation the market, but the market segments you
24. How do people react to newly available things of potential value? When we encounter anything new, we adopt it according to a process of stages. This is well known, and sales people know all about this! The stages can be given various names such as: know, like, trust, buy. Know: based on information about identity and its associations. No opinion yet Like: Advantages Trust: Benefits, overall, including disadvantages. Thinking: if I needed one, that is the one that I would probably buy Buy: we have a need and the resources so we choose the one that we trust You attribute ifferent levels of value to different providers AND you do this differently for different products THEREFORE, the same people rate you differently for different products “I trust you to do this, but I didn’t even know you had that” <Story> House is on fire: trust the fire brigade to put out Afterwards: investment advice <Point> You segmentation the market, but the market segments you
25. *The stages of adoption also apply to communities and populations. *Different people play different roles in the population DIFFUSION: Everett Rogers - Diffusion of Innovations Later: Geoffrey Moore - Crossing the Chasm These are idealised categories, they do not exist! Value: Innovators: futuristic Early adopters: advantages, can work out other factors for themselves, not expecting interoperability Early majority: benefits (balance of disadvantages) able to decide for themselves, lik Late majority: safety in numbers Laggards:hanging on, long time. Same innovation takes different forms at different stages: Becomes more embedded <work backwards> Laggards can also be a market: Munich consultant -> Sperry Univac Sage advertisment: easy to use, popular, saves you money (also does CRM, HR, ...) -> late majority (not saying that it does a good job) <Story> Nokia 09 event Apple/Nokia: market maturing, new entrants, new wave of products, Android or Nokia outselling Apple -> volume is much higher in new wave <Point> Important to understand your place in the market
26. *The stages of adoption also apply to communities and populations. *Different people play different roles in the population DIFFUSION: Everett Rogers - Diffusion of Innovations Later: Geoffrey Moore - Crossing the Chasm These are idealised categories, they do not exist! Value: Innovators: futuristic Early adopters: advantages, can work out other factors for themselves, not expecting interoperability Early majority: benefits (balance of disadvantages) able to decide for themselves, lik Late majority: safety in numbers Laggards:hanging on, long time. Same innovation takes different forms at different stages: Becomes more embedded <work backwards> Laggards can also be a market: Munich consultant -> Sperry Univac Sage advertisment: easy to use, popular, saves you money (also does CRM, HR, ...) -> late majority (not saying that it does a good job) <Story> Nokia 09 event Apple/Nokia: market maturing, new entrants, new wave of products, Android or Nokia outselling Apple -> volume is much higher in new wave <Point> Important to understand your place in the market
27. *The stages of adoption also apply to communities and populations. *Different people play different roles in the population DIFFUSION: Everett Rogers - Diffusion of Innovations Later: Geoffrey Moore - Crossing the Chasm These are idealised categories, they do not exist! Value: Innovators: futuristic Early adopters: advantages, can work out other factors for themselves, not expecting interoperability Early majority: benefits (balance of disadvantages) able to decide for themselves, lik Late majority: safety in numbers Laggards:hanging on, long time. Same innovation takes different forms at different stages: Becomes more embedded <work backwards> Laggards can also be a market: Munich consultant -> Sperry Univac Sage advertisment: easy to use, popular, saves you money (also does CRM, HR, ...) -> late majority (not saying that it does a good job) <Story> Nokia 09 event Apple/Nokia: market maturing, new entrants, new wave of products, Android or Nokia outselling Apple -> volume is much higher in new wave <Point> Important to understand your place in the market
28. *The stages of adoption also apply to communities and populations. *Different people play different roles in the population DIFFUSION: Everett Rogers - Diffusion of Innovations Later: Geoffrey Moore - Crossing the Chasm These are idealised categories, they do not exist! Value: Innovators: futuristic Early adopters: advantages, can work out other factors for themselves, not expecting interoperability Early majority: benefits (balance of disadvantages) able to decide for themselves, lik Late majority: safety in numbers Laggards:hanging on, long time. Same innovation takes different forms at different stages: Becomes more embedded <work backwards> Laggards can also be a market: Munich consultant -> Sperry Univac Sage advertisment: easy to use, popular, saves you money (also does CRM, HR, ...) -> late majority (not saying that it does a good job) <Story> Nokia 09 event Apple/Nokia: market maturing, new entrants, new wave of products, Android or Nokia outselling Apple -> volume is much higher in new wave <Point> Important to understand your place in the market
29. *The stages of adoption also apply to communities and populations. *Different people play different roles in the population DIFFUSION: Everett Rogers - Diffusion of Innovations Later: Geoffrey Moore - Crossing the Chasm These are idealised categories, they do not exist! Value: Innovators: futuristic Early adopters: advantages, can work out other factors for themselves, not expecting interoperability Early majority: benefits (balance of disadvantages) able to decide for themselves, lik Late majority: safety in numbers Laggards:hanging on, long time. Same innovation takes different forms at different stages: Becomes more embedded <work backwards> Laggards can also be a market: Munich consultant -> Sperry Univac Sage advertisment: easy to use, popular, saves you money (also does CRM, HR, ...) -> late majority (not saying that it does a good job) <Story> Nokia 09 event Apple/Nokia: market maturing, new entrants, new wave of products, Android or Nokia outselling Apple -> volume is much higher in new wave <Point> Important to understand your place in the market
30. *The stages of adoption also apply to communities and populations. *Different people play different roles in the population DIFFUSION: Everett Rogers - Diffusion of Innovations Later: Geoffrey Moore - Crossing the Chasm These are idealised categories, they do not exist! Value: Innovators: futuristic Early adopters: advantages, can work out other factors for themselves, not expecting interoperability Early majority: benefits (balance of disadvantages) able to decide for themselves, lik Late majority: safety in numbers Laggards:hanging on, long time. Same innovation takes different forms at different stages: Becomes more embedded <work backwards> Laggards can also be a market: Munich consultant -> Sperry Univac Sage advertisment: easy to use, popular, saves you money (also does CRM, HR, ...) -> late majority (not saying that it does a good job) <Story> Nokia 09 event Apple/Nokia: market maturing, new entrants, new wave of products, Android or Nokia outselling Apple -> volume is much higher in new wave <Point> Important to understand your place in the market
31. *The stages of adoption also apply to communities and populations. *Different people play different roles in the population DIFFUSION: Everett Rogers - Diffusion of Innovations Later: Geoffrey Moore - Crossing the Chasm These are idealised categories, they do not exist! Value: Innovators: futuristic Early adopters: advantages, can work out other factors for themselves, not expecting interoperability Early majority: benefits (balance of disadvantages) able to decide for themselves, lik Late majority: safety in numbers Laggards:hanging on, long time. Same innovation takes different forms at different stages: Becomes more embedded <work backwards> Laggards can also be a market: Munich consultant -> Sperry Univac Sage advertisment: easy to use, popular, saves you money (also does CRM, HR, ...) -> late majority (not saying that it does a good job) <Story> Nokia 09 event Apple/Nokia: market maturing, new entrants, new wave of products, Android or Nokia outselling Apple -> volume is much higher in new wave <Point> Important to understand your place in the market
32. *The stages of adoption also apply to communities and populations. *Different people play different roles in the population DIFFUSION: Everett Rogers - Diffusion of Innovations Later: Geoffrey Moore - Crossing the Chasm These are idealised categories, they do not exist! Value: Innovators: futuristic Early adopters: advantages, can work out other factors for themselves, not expecting interoperability Early majority: benefits (balance of disadvantages) able to decide for themselves, lik Late majority: safety in numbers Laggards:hanging on, long time. Same innovation takes different forms at different stages: Becomes more embedded <work backwards> Laggards can also be a market: Munich consultant -> Sperry Univac Sage advertisment: easy to use, popular, saves you money (also does CRM, HR, ...) -> late majority (not saying that it does a good job) <Story> Nokia 09 event Apple/Nokia: market maturing, new entrants, new wave of products, Android or Nokia outselling Apple -> volume is much higher in new wave <Point> Important to understand your place in the market
33. *The stages of adoption also apply to communities and populations. *Different people play different roles in the population DIFFUSION: Everett Rogers - Diffusion of Innovations Later: Geoffrey Moore - Crossing the Chasm These are idealised categories, they do not exist! Value: Innovators: futuristic Early adopters: advantages, can work out other factors for themselves, not expecting interoperability Early majority: benefits (balance of disadvantages) able to decide for themselves, lik Late majority: safety in numbers Laggards:hanging on, long time. Same innovation takes different forms at different stages: Becomes more embedded <work backwards> Laggards can also be a market: Munich consultant -> Sperry Univac Sage advertisment: easy to use, popular, saves you money (also does CRM, HR, ...) -> late majority (not saying that it does a good job) <Story> Nokia 09 event Apple/Nokia: market maturing, new entrants, new wave of products, Android or Nokia outselling Apple -> volume is much higher in new wave <Point> Important to understand your place in the market
34. Can you identify actual characteristics which are important for your product? What People talk about their opinions and report their outcomes: “buzz” Advertising of brand, but also sources of info on the progress of innovation Synthesio in Paris: examples: multiple sources: social media + newspapers, trade press multiple techniques: automatic (natural language), also Humans -> mention, positive or not, sentiment, intent multiple languages: They shared with me examples of food products, business schools and pharmaceutical products The common theme is that people believe and value information from their peers and people ahead them in the adoption sequence, much more than they value information from us What does it mean to be more innovative? More selective or less selective? Move to earlier category: or move to later category <Story> Amazon Web Services presentation customers saying: “my boss wants to see the server with his data in it’ CTO (Werner Vogels): described security of supply (inbound) but dealt with customer questions with technical performance statements Why not say: “does your financial officer keep the cash in his desk drawer or in the bank”
35. Can you identify actual characteristics which are important for your product? What People talk about their opinions and report their outcomes: “buzz” Advertising of brand, but also sources of info on the progress of innovation Synthesio in Paris: examples: multiple sources: social media + newspapers, trade press multiple techniques: automatic (natural language), also Humans -> mention, positive or not, sentiment, intent multiple languages: They shared with me examples of food products, business schools and pharmaceutical products The common theme is that people believe and value information from their peers and people ahead them in the adoption sequence, much more than they value information from us What does it mean to be more innovative? More selective or less selective? Move to earlier category: or move to later category <Story> Amazon Web Services presentation customers saying: “my boss wants to see the server with his data in it’ CTO (Werner Vogels): described security of supply (inbound) but dealt with customer questions with technical performance statements Why not say: “does your financial officer keep the cash in his desk drawer or in the bank”
36. Overview Recap questions and some possible answers. <Story>Example: Japanese car manufacturers long-term trends lower bonnet height sounds easy but has many requirements suspension more compact engines tipped on their side Generate Pull based on understanding what the recipients of innovation value MAIN POINT: IT IS ABOUT THEM, NOT ABOUT US!
37. Overview Recap questions and some possible answers. <Story>Example: Japanese car manufacturers long-term trends lower bonnet height sounds easy but has many requirements suspension more compact engines tipped on their side Generate Pull based on understanding what the recipients of innovation value MAIN POINT: IT IS ABOUT THEM, NOT ABOUT US!
38. Overview Recap questions and some possible answers. <Story>Example: Japanese car manufacturers long-term trends lower bonnet height sounds easy but has many requirements suspension more compact engines tipped on their side Generate Pull based on understanding what the recipients of innovation value MAIN POINT: IT IS ABOUT THEM, NOT ABOUT US!
39. Overview Recap questions and some possible answers. <Story>Example: Japanese car manufacturers long-term trends lower bonnet height sounds easy but has many requirements suspension more compact engines tipped on their side Generate Pull based on understanding what the recipients of innovation value MAIN POINT: IT IS ABOUT THEM, NOT ABOUT US!
40. My thoughts