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FrankNigriello
FrankNigriello
Three Simple Steps to Creating Truly Innovative Products
Apr 27 2008, 7:02 AM EDT | Post edited: Apr 27 2008, 7:02 AM EDT
Using a straightforward approach and copious examples, the author explains how focusing on three key questions can help your team to develop breakthrough product ideas that while customers.
The first question to ask yourself is, "What is the (existing) product really used for?" This question helps you to look beyond superficial functional attributes of the existing product, and to focus on the tasks that the customer needs to perform and on identifying their pain points. This can only be discovered through observation, not market research or focus groups.
Question number two asks, "When I know what task the product is really used for, are there any steps that I can remove from the task?” This step is all about dissecting the task into its component steps, and creatively looking for ways to simplify what the customer needs to accomplish.
Question three asks, "What tasks are the very next tasks that the customer will want to perform after using my product?" This question prompts the innovator to look at the entire ecosystem within which the product is used, contiguous tasks (tasks that follow one another in a process), new business models and opportunities for service innovation.
This is a refreshing book which focuses on the wealth of opportunities for transforming your company's product offerings. It includes numerous examples that illustrate the Hauptly’s points and demonstrate that it really is possible to “wow” your customers - if you only take off your blinders and asked the right questions.

Dennis Hauptly’s Something Really New: Three Simple Steps to Creating Truly Innovative Products.
 Do you find this valuable?    

RobMcKay
1. RE: Three Simple Steps to Creating Truly Innovative Products
May 12 2008, 4:59 AM EDT | Post edited: May 12 2008, 4:59 AM EDT
There is an emerging challenge to traditional organisational leadership here. CK Prahalad wrote a paper, 'The Blinders of Dominant Logic' where he argued that the prevailing view of a company keeps it focussed on the expected tasks ahead, but blinds it to new ideas from the periphery of customer-derived value, experience fulfilment and innovation.

The challenge comes from the whole concept of long-term strategy and planning - Prahalds paper was published in the journal Long Range Planning (no 37, 2004). How do we balance keeping an identity and purpose to a firm, to prevent it being blown about by random events and opportunities, without sacrificing the serendipity of new connections, viewpoints and innovations? The skill in business planning, strategising and creating mission statements is in being driven by market outcomes rather than specific objectives; hence Microsoft aimed for 'a PC on every desktop' when they made neither PCs nor indeed desks. Do you find this valuable?    

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