Outside Innovation

What Kills Business Innovation?

Stop thinking about products. Projects are the tails that wag the dogs in business. Think about true innovation: industry redefinition, business model innovation, value chain innovation, and redefinition of customers’ problems to provide end-to-end solutions. Ebay created a new industry--by enabling sellers to find buyers. Apple redefined the business model for the music industry. Dell made build-to-order standard operating procedure. Those are innovations.

The innovations that transform businesses and industries usually aren’t new product ideas. The most profound, game-changing, cash flow-generating innovations are transformational in nature. They transform your business and they change the game in your industry.

Instead of focusing on products, focus instead on customers’ desired outcomes. Get those right and they’ll lead you to transformational business solutions. Don’t sell me a better wrench to repair my car; provide me a car that never breaks because it heals itself. Or, better yet, how about a cost-effective and convenient transportation solution that is guaranteed to get me where I need to go?

APPLE SEIZES THE OPPORTUNITY!

As soon as I heard about Microsoft's Vista debacle and the fact that Vista wouldn't be shipping consumer/home office PCs in time for the 2006 holiday season, I thought: "What a great opportunity for Apple! Too bad it's still not possible to run XP on a Mac Intel machine."

So, Apple's announcement on April 5th that the "Bootcamp" software module was available for download and would be included on all new Mac/Intel machines made me smile.

I am one of the hundreds of thousands of folks who will probably upgrade to a MacBook Pro this year. Why? Because I'm seduced by the Apple multimedia experience and frankly I want the best and coolest tools to do my job. But, I still have concerns about switching over entirely to all-Mac applications. I have a lot invested in 10 years of knowing how to deal with Windows apps. I'll probably make the switch during a vacation. I did this once before. When I switched to a Mac for the first time, I left my PC behind, took my new Mac to Maine, and forced myself to learn my way around it. (No, it's not self-evident for those of us who haven't cut our teeth on the Mac UI). But I can't wait to plunge into the iLife! Apparently, I'm not alone.

What Behaviors to Expect from the G Generation?

While we're on the subject of consumer technology and the need to provide great tools in order to attract and retain employees, there's a great collection of articles about the online gaming world in the April issue of “Wired” magazine. I loved the short piece by John Seely Brown and Douglas Thomas entitled “You Play World of Warcraft? You’re Hired!” In it, they described the benefits that gamers derive from interacting in an "accidental learning" environment as opposed to an intentional learning environment, where you are "learning to be," rather than "learning about."

“When role-playing gamers team up to undertake a quest, they often need to attempt particularly difficult challenges repeatedly until they find a blend of skills, talents, and actions that allows them to succeed. This process brings about a profound shift in how they perceive and react to the world around them. They become more flexible in their thinking and more sensitive to social cues.... The process of becoming an effective World of Warcraft guild master amounts to a total immersion course in leadership. A guild is a collection of players who come together to share knowledge, resources, and manpower. To run a large one, a guild master must be adept at many skills: attracting, evaluating and recruiting new members: creating apprenticeship programs; orchestrating group strategy; and adjudicating disputes.”

Outside Innovation Book Project And Patterns

As I am in the final throes of wrapping up the first draft of the manuscript of Outside Innovation, I realize that the learning has just begun. The process of researching and writing a business book is a "learn-by-doing" process. No matter how much you thought you knew when you began, you find yourself humbled by how much there still is to learn and explore. Luckily, that learning and exploration never stop! And, I appreciate the many of you who have embarked on this journey with me­­­­—offering suggestions, contributing your ideas and your stories, and even in some cases, your prose! I look forward to continuing the dialog.

Whenever I engage in big research projects like this, there are always things that surprise and delight me along the way. Here are a few of my current delights:

Big Momentum around Customer Communities. I was taken by surprise at how important online customer communities have become. These are springing up organically among consumers of all ages, around all kinds of topics. The best ones often start outside of your organization, but by carefully monitoring them, you can learn a huge amount about what customers care about. And, if you are good and careful, you can create your own vibrant customer community. Some of these communities rise and fall, like fads. Others continue for years, with new people joining and others departing. They organize themselves around tasks—e.g., troubleshooting and problem solving, new product ideas and development, marketing and promotion, customer-created products or extensions to share, tips and techniques, and guides and orientation. The more structured they are, the better they seem to work.