The biggest breakthroughs in the history of
business—and the history of the world—are never
the result of conventional thinking, says Maria Ferrante-Schepis, a veteran
in the insurance and financial services industry who now consults Fortune 100
companies such as GE with innovation agent, Maddock Douglas, Inc.
“To echo Harvard Business School professor Theodore
Levitt back in 1960, ‘In every case, the reason growth (in business) is
threatened, slowed or stopped is not because
the market is saturated. It is because there has been a failure of management.’
Many of the world’s biggest companies are simply riding on inertia,” says
Ferrante-Schepis, author of “Flirting with the Uninterested,” coauthored by G.
Michael Maddock, which explores innovation opportunity through the lens of the
insurance industry.
“There’s a great saying in the South: ‘You can’t
read the label when you are sitting inside the jar,’ ” says Maddock, CEO of
Maddock Douglas. “It’s hard to see a need and invent a way to fill that need
when you’ve been inside one business or industry for a long time.”
Recognizing those needs requires stepping outside
of the jar and viewing things from the outside, adds Ferrante-Schepis.
“You can’t innovate from inside the jar, and if you
aren’t innovating, you’re just waiting for the expiration date on your
business,” she says.
Ferrante-Schepis and Maddock bust five myths
relating to corporate innovation:
Myth 1: The preference of four out of five dentists doesn’t necessarily matter
Many years ago, when the Maddock Douglas firm
consulted with P&G to develop new oral healthcare products, Crest was
recommended by most dentists. However, it turns out the market had shifted;
consumers became more interested in bright smiles than healthy gums. Many
industries make the mistake of getting their insights from their own experts
rather than asking the consumer.
Myth 2: Giving all of your love to those who already love you
In the interest of preserving customer morale, too
many companies focus on those who already love their service. But that’s not
what companies need to work on; they need to focus on what’s not working in order to improve. The haters very
often offer well-targeted insights that can tremendously improve products,
customer service and/or operations.
Myth 3: “We tried that idea. It didn’t work.”
What idea, exactly? People who are in the jar
interpret new ideas based on how they last saw them. You may think you’ve tried or tested an idea, but if you
applied it in a conventional way, the way it’s always been used, you haven’t
really tried it. Consider the term “auction”—in-the-jar thinkers envision
Sotheby’s and not the more practical and innovative eBay.
Myth 4: Trying to impress with insider jargon
Communication is a huge part of innovation.
Policies in the health-insurance industry, for example, include language that
may make sense to insiders, but say nothing to the average middle-class
customer, which is prohibitive. Be very careful about the language you use. In
this case, “voice of the customer” should be taken literally. Customers
recognize, respond to and build from their own words more than from yours.
Myth 5: Staying at your desk and in the office
Doubling down on what already has not worked for
you is not innovative. Get outside your office and act like an anthropologist.
Spend time with your customers and bring an expert interpreter and a couple
members of your team. Compare notes; you’ll be shocked at how differently you
all see the situation.
Summary
Website reference : http://expertaccess.cincom.com/2013/06/5-mistakes-that-quash-corporate-innovation/
All innovation products or services are about what customers want. Not what companies want. Talk and discuss with customer and survey what are they are looking at to improve their inconveniences.
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