Killer Innovations

Segment 1: How to change your perspective and look beyond the obvious

• We all have filters
• We don't even realize we have filters (what is half of thirteen?)
• We need our own internal flags to remind us to change our perspective

Segment 2: Why is the killer innovation approach better?

• Full 360 degree view of possible innovations (Focus)
• Better idea through better questions (Ideation)
• Work on the best ideas (Ranking)
• It all about going from ideas to innovations (Execution)
• Observation skills
• Changing your perspective

Link to June 29th podcast

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Segment 1: Using observation to find the unspoken needs and wants of customers

• Simple approach - Use feedback from customers (complaints, emails, etc)
• Go deeper
• Active Observation - get our of the chair/office and go to where the customers are
• Active Reflection - after the observation, go back and dig deeper in the information you gathered
• Use empathic (observational) design
• In-the-world observations (home, office, where the customers are)
• Trend Safari
• Ethnographic Studies
• Study of customers as a social group
• Customer segmentation/persona
• Structure of the customer tribe
• Wishes/desires of the tribe
• Fears/concerns of the tribe
• Observation of the tribe
• Practice helps improve your observations skills
• People watching
• Are they alone?
• Are they an organized individual?
• Are they married?/Do they have kids?
• Are they a shopper or a buyer?
• Friends - in-house observations
• What is their task in music and art?
• What are their priorities (exercise, hobbies,etc)?
• Is there a gap between their professional and personal personas?
• For the above:
• What tribe do they belong to?
• Who else do you know is in the same tribe?
• How big do you think that tribe is?

Note:  If you want to connect with the community of listeners of this podcast, join the Killer Innovations groups in Facebook and/or LinkedIn.

MP3 of the June 1st Podcast on Observation Skills

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Recorded live April 4th 2008 at the Business Alliance Bootcamp for Growing Companies and Entrepreneurs ...

Change is something we may try to stop but never will.  From the agriculture economy to the manufacturing economy to the knowledge/information economy to that of the creative economy … where wealth creation is dependent upon the capacity of a nation to continually create ideas.  In short, a nation without a vibrant creative labor force does not possess the knowledge base to succeed in the creative economy, and must depend on ideas produced elsewhere.

The creative economy is a new a world in which people work with their brains instead of their hands.   A world in which innovation is more important than mass production.  A world in which investment buys new concepts or the means to create them, rather than new machines.

In this new world … ideas are the new global currency ...

Link to the April 20th Podcast: Creative Economy - Recorded Live

Link to the slides: PPT for Creative Economy

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Key components of an innovation execution approach

• Gated funding model
• Gated milestone management

Gated Funding Model

• Limit funding until key deliverables are met
• Recognize that not all ideas will result in products.  Manage the budget to ensure there are ample funds to see the best ideas through the innovation pipeline

Gated Milestone Management

• Setup gates that answer key questions/challenges in translating the idea to a product/service
• I use four gates .. you should setup gates that make sense to your team/project/organization
• Market Valuation (e.g. how many customers have the problem being solved?)
• Customer Validation (e.g. Do customers agree that the solution address the problem?  Will they pay for the solution?  Does the business case justify the investment?)
• Limited Trial/Test Market (e.g. Will the customer actually purchase the solution?  Does the business case/value chain hold up?)
• Launch!
• How are gates milestone charts created? (Sample)
• Define the groups/teams (e.g. engineering, marketing, sales, etc) needed to translate the idea into a product/service
• Setup "swim lanes" for each group/team vertically along the left side
• For each swim lane, setup the timeline of the deliverables
• Define the gates vertically across the timelines
• A gate is defined as:  "all deliverables to the left of the gate must be completed to satisfy the exit criteria"

How do you setup the Killer Innovation Execution approach?

• Define the gates you will use to manage your innovation programs
• Define the key questions that need to be answered? (e.g. Is the market big enough?).  These will be the gates.
• Define the exit criteria for each gate.
• Make the criteria as objective as possible (e.g. Must have a total addressable market of $x with a sustainable margin of y%, etc.)
• Define the deliverables the would be needed to answer each question and satisfy the exit criteria for each gate
• Break-down the deliverables by the groups/teams
• Setup the gate milestone chart (see above)
• Break-down the funding by gates.  Project out the full project funding need and then revise the outer gates as you gather more information.

Managing the execution ...

• Make each gate a "hard" gate with a "time box" (date when the gate will be completed)
• Have the teams perform "gate reviews" at each gate.
• Review the gate and its deliverables
• Status against the exit criteria
• Walk through findings and insights learned during the gate
• Status against funding
• Define deliverables and exit criteria for next gate
• Update funding for next gate and total funding requirement
• Ask for "go" or "no go" approval to move forward

Sample Gate Milestone Chart - PDF Version  (License: CC - Non-commercial, Attribution)

MP3 of the April 13th Podcast:  Execution - Translating Ideas To Innovations

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Segment 1: Ranking Your Ideas

• The purpose of ranking is to ensure you are working on the ideas that will have the most impact
• Step 1: Rank the best ideas (most impact)
  • Rank each of the following ideas (0 = lowest, 5 = highest)
    • Will this idea change/improve the customer experience/expectation?
      • How does it improve the experience/expectation?
      • How could you measure this improvement?
      • Does the customer value the improvement?
    • Will this idea change the competitive landscape?
      • How does this idea re-position you against the competitors?
      • What would the competitive reaction be?
      • Does the idea create a sustained barrier to entry for competitors (does the change have long lasting benefit)?
    • Will this idea change the economic structure of the industry?
      • What is the current value chain? (position, margin, etc)
      • What would be the new value chain? (position, margin, etc)
      • How easy/hard would it be to get the ecosystem partners/value chain to change?
  • For this question where at least one of the questions had a 4 or a 5 ... ask the following three question ...
    • Do you have a contribution to make?
      • Is this aligned with the general space you are in? (direct or adjacency)
      • Is this aligned with your core expertise and capabilities?
    • Will this idea generate sufficient margin?
      • Is the TAM (total addressable market) big enough?
      • Can you price the product to secure sufficient margin?
      • Does the overall return (total lifetime R&D compared to lifetime margin) exceed the hurdle rate?  (e.g. min 5 times return of margin against R&D)
  • Now rank the ideas and come up with a short list (top 10 or top 20) ...
  • Ask the following questions to determine if your organization is ready to take on the project (ability to execute) ...
    • Can we get our teams excited?
      • Is there enough sizzle with the steak? (vision)
      • Is there a way to "demo" what the end result to be so that executives can "see" it?
    • Will senior management support it?
      • Is the total investment aligned with the overall ability to fund?
      • Is this generally aligned with the direction & strategy of the business?
    • Do we have the skill and expertise to pull this off?
      • What skills are needed?
      • What skills are missing from the organization?
      • Could we free up critical skills to work on this project?
    • Can we access the customers preferred channel?
      • What channel does the customer purchase from?
      • Do we have GTM (go-to-market) to this channel or do we need to created a new GTM approach?
  • Now rank your ideas against these question (top score is 20)
  • Take the top 2 to 3 ideas and prepare "idea pitches" and present to a number of groups within the organization ... taking input and improving the pitch each time.
    • Pitch should be 10/20/30 (as defined by Guy Kawasaki)
      • 10 slides
      • 20 minutes max
      • Nothing less that a 30 point font

MP3 of the March 30th podcast

Link to slides that go with the audio

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I finally got around to creating a group on LinkedIn for the listeners of the podcast.  Join and connect with others who are passionate about creativity and innovation.

Killer Innovations Group on LinkedIn

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Segment 1: Ideation - Creating Killer Ideas

• The current method ... simple questions get simple answers
• Better questions get killer ideas
• Explore beyond the obvious - SCAMPER
• Idea Quota
• Characteristics of the best killer ideas
  • The ideation session has a purpose
  • Consider timeliness in setting the focus and the session
  • Recruit for diversity (executive level, age, background, experience)
  • Look for people who have a different perspective
  • Build a culture of collaboration
• Last but not least - suspend disbelief

Link to February 24th Podcast

Link to slides

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Segment 1: Having A Focus For Your Innovation Search

Where to focus?

• Moving into new competitive arenas
• Expansion into new geographies
• Improvement in industry structure
• Innovation in value delivery system
• Innovation in products and services
• New or existing customers

What customer segments that should be the focus of the innovation?

• YUPPIES
• YUFFIES
• MOBY/DOBY
• WOOFS
• SKIPPIES
• "Sandwichers"

Listen to the podcast to hear the definitions of the above segments.

For a more complete list of customer segments, see the post on Power of Customer Segment

Link to January 21st Podcast

Link to slides that go with the audio

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Segment 1:  Why do current methods not work?

• Most ideas are either incremental or unrealistic
• Not confidence that there aren't better ideas
• Lack of follow-through form the list of ideas generated
• Lack of executive and management support

Segment 2: Is there a better way? Killer Innovation Approach

• Tools
  • Focus the innovation search
  • Ideation by using killer questions
  • Rank the ideas
  • Execution
• Skills
  • Empathic design
  • Observation skills

MP3 of the December 16th Podcast

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Segment 1: Why is innovation important?

This is part 1 of the re-created audio for the workshop slides.

• Innovation acceleration
• Technology Adoption
• Innovation Reality
• Innovation Gap
• Innovation Delay
• Innovation Impact
• Executive View of Innovation
• The Challenge of Innovation
• The Value From Innovation

Link to Nov 12th podcast

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Segment 1: Finding and Keeping Innovation Champions

What are innovation champions?

• Passionate about an idea
• Will do almost anything to see the idea become a reality

Why are they iimportant?

• Give me a person with passion and I can build a team that will succeed
• An innovation champion, in many cases, is the difference between success and failure

How do you find them?

• Ask people "what are you working on that is exciting?".  The passion will come out ...
• Look for people with a unique voice on their passion (blogs, social network sites, etc)

How do you keep them?  What motivates them?

• They want to realize their dream
• Protect them from the corporate anti-bodies
• Give the champion the authority to be the advocate for the vision
• Use proper resource management (constrained innovation) to ensure success 

Be careful to avoid the "1 hit wonders"

• Be aware that champions go through ups and downs depending on the cycle of their projects
• Think two the three projects ahead of your champions
• Challenge them with "hard problems" for them to solve on their next projects

If you are a champion, how do you make yourself known?

• Share your authentic passion
• Contribute to existing projects (show off your passion)
• Create your portfolio

Segment 2: Creativity Exercise - The McGyver/Apollo 13 Method

You are given a problem/objective

Open your desk drawer, purse, briefcase

Only use items you have

Create as many ideas within 20 minutes

Task

• You got to work and realized your forgot to get a gift for co-workers upcoming wedding
• Use only items within your reach
• Each idea you develop must be practical (describe its uses)
• Each idea must be made from two or more items

How many can you come up with in 20 minutes?

List your ideas in the comments ... send me photo's and I will post them ... 

Segment 3: Listener Question

How do you find adjacencies for an innovation? (Byron) 

MP3 for the October 10th Podcast

Flickr photo by edwin11_79

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Segment 1: Overcoming the Mid-Project Blues

• Project go through three phases
• Start-up Enthusiasm
  
• Mid-Project Blues
• End-of-Project Euphoria (blog entry on recent launch)
• How do you overcome?
• Remind yourself why you started the project (e.g. go back to you notebooks and re-live the start)
• Take break ... go on vacation
• Come up with new ideas for the project (e.g. develop the plans for after launch)

Segment 2: Listener Question

"I'm a creative person.  How do I get a job that is a better fit?" 

Segment 3: Creativity Exercise 

For this exercise, you will need:

• - Paper or something else to write on (e.g. index cards)
• - Pen or pencil
  
• - A stop watch or egg timer

Exercise:

• - imagine you were just given a pen made of clear plastic
• - There is one issue - it has no ink.
• - In one minute, how many ideas can you come up with?

The most I've seen is about a dozen or so ..... all in one minute. 

MP3 of the September 30th Podcast

Flick photo by Violator3 

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Segment 1: One Dimensional Innovations - Getting out of the innovation rut

• "One Dimensional Innovations" are when you are stuck in a rut and focusing your innovation efforts in the same area as your competitors
• Why is it so hard?

• People tend to focus the innovations in areas where they think they are getting measured (customer, press reviews, etc)
• Its not about results but about innovating in the portion of the value chain that your competitors are not.

• So .. what can you do??

1. Research and understand your value chain (your supply chain is only a portion of your value chain)
2. Look for ideas that attack multiple steps in the value chain not normally looked at by your competitors
3. Look for ideas that eliminate steps in the value chain
4. Look for ideas that add/replace steps in the value chain that customers will value and compensate your for
5. Rank your ideas against your customers un-spoken needs and wants

Segment 2: Killer Question

What are the spoken and un-spoken assumptions that your business and/or industry operate under?

What is the default value chain your business and/or industry operate under?

Segment 3: Listener Question

How do you find help with an idea? (submitted by "Clay")

• Avoid the "for fee" companies that want to charge you evaluating your idea and possibly securing you a license for your idea.  They are not worth their time.
• Can I help??  I'm swamped with my current job - but feel free to send me an email and I will try to respond (no promises)
• Search our a local mentor
• Someone who has had some success in translating and idea into market success
• They have local knowledge, expertise and contacts
• Take the idea to your customers for validation

Link to Sept 16th podcast

Flick photo by Lance & Erin 

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Section 1: The IQ (Innovation Quotient) Test

1) Which of the following can you honestly say is a true statement about yourself (check all that apply)

a) I know the colors of all my friends eyes
b) I am comfortable with ambiguity
c) I know what all of the options on my iPod are for
d) I often change the option son my iPod and can tell the different

2) True or False: I routinely solicit, listen to and act upon feedback from a wide range of people - not just friends, family or direct co-workers.

3) Every day you take a walk outdoors.  You carry with a notebook and pencil.  After a month, your notebook is filled with (select one):

a) Thoughts and opinions
b) Several "to do" lists
c) Drawings and doodles
d) Phone number and email addresses

4) Bellow are four statement.  Rank each statement depending on how true the statement is about you.  "4" means generally true while "1" means generally false.

a) In conversations, I frequently use the words "totally", "always", "must", "never" and "absolutely"
b) I frequently end conversations with an unanswered question
c) I frequently use the words "maybe", "perhaps", "depends". "sometimes" and "relatively"
d) I frequently end conversations with a definitive statement

5) To help get money for a project, I should (select one):

a) consult with my boss and follow the official procedure
b) ask my boss, then if I don't get an outright "no" - work my connections to make it happen

6) True or false 

a) In 1993, two executives from Rubbermaid toured an exhibit of Egyptian antiquities at the British Museum.  They came away with 11 specific ideas, including some derived from Pharaoh's kitchen utensils.
b) a 3M employee cam up with the idea for Post-It notes after using slips of papre to mark the hymn's he sang in church.
c) The first woman known to become a millionaire from one of her ideas was African American  named Madam C.J. Walker.  She invented hair straightener in 1905.
d) The actress Hedy Lamare, an innovator of on-screen nudity, received a patent in 1942 for helping to invent the radio controlled torpedo.

 Answers are in the "extended entry"

Section 2:  Listener Questions

1. The value of participating in the PDMA (Product Development Management Association)
2. Finding it difficult to come up with wild/disruptive ideas, especially for services rather than tangible products.
3. How do you manage o have a podcast among everything else you do both professionally and personally?

Link to August 19th podcast

Fickr photo by flattop341 

Read the full transcript of "Podcast: The New IQ - Innovation Quotient" »

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Segment 1: Five Hats Method To Finding Hidden Ideas 

• Get out of the rut of how you look/evaluate/organize your ideas 
• Use the "Five Hats" approach
• Alphabetical
• Time
• Location
• Continuum
• Category
• Look for ...
• Non-obvious patterns
• Strange combinations of ideas appearing next to each other
  

Segment 2: Killer Question Of The Week

"What are the assumptions under which my industry operates?"

1. Define the assumptions
2. Apply the Five Hats 
3. Come up with 5 new ideas for each of the Five Hats

Segment 3:  Closing Thought

"Creativity can solve almost any problem.  The creative act, the defeat of habit by originality, overcomes everything"  George Lois

MP3 of July 29th Podcast

Flick photo by linnybinnypix

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