10 Questions, metrics and actions to help CEOs and their companies assess and accelerate their innovation strategy. Get the presentation by visiting us on the web. http://www.creatinginsanelygreat.com - Based on the book Creating Insanely Great Customers | Always-On Innovation.

1. Creating Insanely Great Customers Accelerating Innovation Culture and Strategy
Accelerating Innovation Strategy & Culture
Michael Connor
Author, Speaker, Catalyst
10 Questions, metrics and actions to help CEO’s assess and accelerate innovation strategy
Creating Insanely Great Customers

2. Creating Insanely Great Customers Accelerating Innovation Culture and Strategy
A Perfect Storm
is blurring the boundaries
between how we engage
customers and innovate!

3. Creating Insanely Great Customers Accelerating Innovation Culture and Strategy
In a market driven by a Perfect Storm
of innovation there is one thing you
must do to stay relevant and grow.
Accelerate the value you create for
your most visionary customers, the
Insanely Great ones.
- Michael Connor

4. Creating Insanely Great Customers Accelerating Innovation Culture and Strategy
Here's to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers,
the round pegs in the square holes... the ones who see things
differently -- they're not fond of rules... You can quote them,
disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you
can't do is ignore them because they change things... they push the
human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy
ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to
think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.
Apple, Think Different Campaign

5. Creating Insanely Great Customers Accelerating Innovation Culture and Strategy
Always-On Innovation Roadmap
• Vision: Reframe your mission to be “Always-On” creation of customer value
• Identify: Identify your most visionary “Insanely Great” Customers
• Develop: Develop “Always-On Innovation Zones” that accelerate customer value
• Engage: Engage customers in “Always-On” marketing and innovation initiatives
• Transform: Transform thinking, processes, and systems to Always-On innovation

6. Creating Insanely Great Customers Accelerating Innovation Culture and Strategy
How do your vision and culture create unique value for
you and visionary customers driving innovation?1 Vision
CEO Acceleration
Metrics
• Company vision embraces Always-On innovation
• Culture focused on accelerating customer value
• Culture rewards engaging visionary customers in innovation
• Marketing, Product Development, and innovation strategies
prioritize needs of visionary customers
• Actively lead re-visioning company for new opportunities
• Set example by continually engaging visionary customers
• Establish culture / compensation / initiatives that focus
company on finding and engaging these customers in
innovation

7. Creating Insanely Great Customers Accelerating Innovation Culture and Strategy
Who are your most visionary customers?2 Identify
CEO Acceleration
Metrics
• Have defined list of visionary customers in each major market
segment
• Focus and align company processes to identify and understand
these thought leaders

8. Creating Insanely Great Customers Accelerating Innovation Culture and Strategy
What areas of innovation and customer engagement
create the greatest value for your most visionary
customers?
3 Identify
CEO Acceleration
Metrics
• Clear map of where these customers are driving
innovation and why
• Assessment of what customer segments & innovation
will drive greatest company growth
• Links established between customer innovation zones
and company strategies for innovation, products,
customer engagement, and vendor partners
• Focus company on identifying customer segments,
innovation zones and engagement practices that
create greatest value for customers and company

9. Creating Insanely Great Customers Accelerating Innovation Culture and Strategy
What unique value do your product, partnering, and
engagement strategies create for your most visionary
customers?
4 Develop
CEO Acceleration
Metrics
• Clear definition and verification of how product, innovation,
partnering, and customer engagement strategies create unique
value for visionary customers within the innovation zones of
highest and growth
• Identification and engagement of innovation partners
• Ongoing assessment and refinement of incoming trends and
technologies and how they influence above
• Focus company on continually assessing and refining and
communicating that value

10. Creating Insanely Great Customers Accelerating Innovation Culture and Strategy
How will innovations in technology and business impact
your most visionary customers and how they value your
solutions and innovation initiatives?
5 Develop
CEO Acceleration
Metrics
• Identification of emerging technologies and business models
• Assessment of risk / opportunity those create for key market /
customer segments and for company
• Assessment, exploration, investment / development roadmap
• Prioritization, funding and support for continual evaluation,
exploration and development of innovative ways to harness the
above to create new value

11. Creating Insanely Great Customers Accelerating Innovation Culture and Strategy
How are your customer insight and market intelligence
programs creating leadership advantage for you and your
most visionary customers?
6 Develop
CEO Acceleration
Metrics
• Ongoing market insight and analysis in place designed to
understand and assist visionary customers in mapping emerging
technology and market opportunities and risks
• Insight initiatives tied to primary innovation zones
• Prioritize analysis in market and customer insight analysis for
visionary customers.
• Evaluating cross organizational sharing and action based on
above.

12. Creating Insanely Great Customers Accelerating Innovation Culture and Strategy
What incremental value do your marketing and
customer engagement strategies create for your most
visionary customers?
7 Engage
CEO Acceleration
Metrics
• Marketing programs focused on thought leadership
• Definitive understanding of the innovation journey / process
needs of visionary customers
• Incorporation of those needs into marketing approach, customer
engagement and materials
• Support and funding for marketing initiatives and engagement
processes focused on thought leadership and visionary
customers
• Validate value being created with visionary customers

13. Creating Insanely Great Customers Accelerating Innovation Culture and Strategy
How do you align team skills, decision making, and
management to support continual collaborative,
customer value led innovation?
8 Transform
CEO Acceleration
Metrics
• Lean company and Agile training, mentoring and methods in
place
• Leadership team with affinity and experience in emerging
technology and trends
• Decision process that focuses on investing in things that create
breakthrough outcomes / value for customer and company
• Advocate for Agile / Lean management
• Build an executive team committed to Agile / Lean
• Accelerate decision making to stay relevant in fast changing
market
• Emphasize time bound initiatives and investments based on
customer validated business outcomes

14. Creating Insanely Great Customers Accelerating Innovation Culture and Strategy
How do you align process improvement with the areas
that create the greatest value for your most
visionary customers?
9 Transform
CEO Acceleration
Metrics
• Process optimization initiatives prioritized on accelerating
delivery of value for visionary customers in customer segments
and innovation zones that create growth and value
• Processes continually refined to support Lean / Agile
• Emphasis on customer value / outcome based metrics
• Support and funding for marketing initiatives and engagement
processes focused on thought leadership and visionary
customers
• Validate value being created with visionary customers

15. Creating Insanely Great Customers Accelerating Innovation Culture and Strategy
How engaged are visionary customers in your
innovation and engagement strategy.10 Transform
CEO Acceleration
CEO Metrics
• Visionary customers engaged in:
• Strategy
• Products
• Innovation
• Marketing & Service assessment
• Act as a role model for engagement through customer advisory
boards
• Engaging in mutual discovery sessions and strategy formulation
• Support / reward teams across company for engaging

16. Creating Insanely Great Customers Accelerating Innovation Culture and Strategy
Creating Insanely Great Customers
“There is a lot written about creating great
companies, but dramatically less about how to
create great customers, customers that fuel your
company’s innovation engine and help drive it to
greatness. This book does that.
Bill Rusitzky,
VP Strategic Alliances & Business Development
Adobe
Creating Insanely Great Customers, takes the
concepts of customer development and puts them
on steroids.
The book helps you identify Insanely Great
Customers, create an environment of "always on"
innovation, and leverage today's technology to
engage customers in Always-On Innovation.”
Steve Johnson
Product management guru, speaker, author
Under 10 Consulting
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17. Creating Insanely Great Customers Accelerating Innovation Culture and Strategy
Mike Connor
Thank You
mike@spicecatalyst.com
Principal Chief Crazy Officer
Creating Insanely Great Customers