Ideas are usually a creative response to some problem that does not have a present day solution. People create them as they consider what they have to do to solve their unique problems, and in doing so they draw inspiration from the scenarios they find themselves in day to day. What is often forgotten, though, is that neither their problems, nor the stimuli they draw their solutions from are exclusively unique to them. Many people face the same problems, in much the same situations, at the same time. The result is they’ll almost always come up with similar solutions.
This is the reason you regularly find the same idea sprouting up in multiple places at the same time, even though the creative people proposing it don’t know each other at all.
It seems logical to conclude, given this, that if you want to increase the success of your innovation efforts, getting more ideas will probably not have the result you’re looking for.
Many people argue that what is actually needed is a systematic process which allows creative people to generate a track record of big product hits. This follows from the fact that it isn’t ideas which are important to the innovation process, but the execution which follows them. Clearly, there are limited resources available in any organisation, so focussing on big ideas must be a good idea.
This, of course, is the strategy that’s been followed by Apple, and other companies of its ilk. First, it released iPod, a massive hit that redefined the way that music is sold. Then it released iPhone, a device which redefined the way that people expect to use their mobile by making the competitive game about apps. And recently, it’s released iPad, which it hopes will redefine the way customer acquire and use the products of the liberal arts.
None of these products are especially innovative, and they certainly aren’t category unique. It is hard to say they are, by themselves, innovative. But they are designed beautifully, and each has built its success on the last.
That, ultimately, is the hallmark of a successful innovation effort.
Would you like to create a track record of hit products? The easiest way to do it is start an innovation program with a systematic focus on what works. James Gardner’s free online innovation book will help you start.
Tags: Apple, business, computers, innovation, ipad, iPhone, iPod, new product development, NPD, sales, strategy, technology
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