From the monthly archives:

December 2008

Innovation rule #7: Never say “always” or “never”

December 18, 2008

Yeah, I just broke my own rule. But the rule only took effect after I wrote this. I have had many discussions about the future state of the world with various people who often say “but people will always…” or “people will never…” Whenever I hear that, I know that person is in for a […]

Read the full article →

Innovation rule #6: Don’t confuse measurement with wisdom

December 17, 2008

Many times have I heard the wise saying that “what gets measured gets done.” It is a wise saying. There is definitely truth in it. But it can also be a lazy and unintelligent way to avoid trying anything new. Look, you already know how to measure what you’re doing today. Those testing methodologies have […]

Read the full article →

Innovation rule #5: Don’t fight gravity

December 16, 2008

I can’t tell you how many times, as a marketer, I’ve heard discussions that start with “how can we get consumers to…” Usually those sentences end with a desire on the part of the company to have consumers change in some way that is clearly beneficial to the company but of dubious benefit to the […]

Read the full article →

Innovation rule #4: Don’t forget humanity

December 15, 2008

Amidst all of the interesting and good work on innovation processes, techniques and tools, I fear that we have lost sight of the fact that innovation comes from people. People are naturally wired to try and understand and gain mastery over their environment. They are curious. They are playful. They seek excellence. If this doesn’t […]

Read the full article →

Innovation rule #3: Do ignore cannibalization

December 14, 2008

New initiatives are often evaluated looking only at the incremental sales they will generate. The cannibalized sales are subtracted off of the total sales to yield the incremental size of the new business opportunity. This does not make sense. It relies on an untenable assumption and will force you to undervalue innovation opportunities. The assumption […]

Read the full article →

Innovation rule #2: Do see the system

December 13, 2008

Organizations are machines. The various parts work together to generate the desired output. Sometimes the parts work well together and sometimes the machine is poorly designed and there is misalignment. In either case, it makes no sense to modify one part of the machine and pretend that change will have no impact on the rest […]

Read the full article →

Innovation rule #1: Do respect the uniqueness of ideas

December 11, 2008

It seems to be the nature of large institutions to kill interesting ideas. Whether those institutions are governments or large corporations, there is an inexorable march towards blandness. Think of an idea or vision as a crystal. It has a distinctive shape marked by jagged edges and depressions. Whether you think it good or bad, […]

Read the full article →

Seven rules for innovation

December 11, 2008

Unless you’ve been living in a wifi-proof bubble over the last few years, you’ve been inundated with articles, podcasts, blogs, emails, conferences and tweets about innovation. If you work for a large company like I do, you’ve also been subjected to a swarm of consultants, all of whom are eager to share their unique point […]

Read the full article →

Is a brand a cause or an effect?

December 11, 2008

It would seem they are both. Brands are sets of associations and impressions in the minds of consumers. Brands are the cumulative effect of the actions that marketers engage in with respect to their products and the experiences that consumers have as a consequence (direct or indirect) of those actions. Brands are, in a sense, […]

Read the full article →

Next Entries →