CHAPTER 2
Creating an Efficient and Effective Innovation Process
Every year, hundreds of millions of dollars—and thousands of jobs—are lost in what we call “the innovation abyss,” the place where seemingly promising new ideas go to their justifiable deaths.
While some companies have mastered nailing the right insight and consistently delivering evolutionary or revolutionary ideas against it—and create the 10 percent of new products that actually succeed—others spend their time creating new products and services that are at best irrelevant and expensive—and career ending.
If you find yourself struggling with your innovation efforts from time to time, you are probably tempted to ask, “what gives?” The answer—which we’ve learned by working with hundreds of clients over the last 20 years—is relatively easy to explain.
In this chapter, we will detail how industry-changing ideas and products are delivered into the marketplace. Simply put, the companies and marketers we see thrashing about don’t fully understand how cost effective innovation occurs. And even those who have had some success are usually starting in the wrong place and would be more successful—and far more profitable—if they modified their approach. The fact is, there is a proven method to safely and consistently deliver game-changing ideas. But it dosen’t begin where you think.
The Big Three: How Does Industry-Changing Innovation Happen?
Innovation occurs at the synchronized intersection of:
1. A meaningful insight or ...
