Our Approach to Innovation
Having learned a few lessons over the last 24 years, our approach is disciplined. We are mindful of the saying: “There are no failures, only lessons.” Well, let us just say we have taken a few lessons.
Ideas for innovation tend to come from three sources:
- Clients
- Friends
- Colleagues
Before our “lessons”
We gave too much weight to an idea. We still love ideas, but we no longer let ourselves get carried away by them.
After our “lessons”
To be considered now, an idea must be pitched by its sponsor(s) to our Product Development Team, which is made up of a cross-section of disciplines and temperaments. We want to bring many vantage points to the pitch. The pitch needs to describe the product or productized service, its addressable market, why the market needs it, and how the market will buy it.
If the Product Development Team finds the pitch persuasive, the idea is greenlighted for the next phase of the process, which means a pitch deck with wireframes, etc. is created, and a multi-disciplinary team of three pitches the offering to prospective buyers. Not “focus groups,” but rather real, prospective buyers. Their feedback is reviewed by our Product Development Team and, if the Team finds the feedback encouraging, we will advance the idea to the next stage of the process, and so on.
We try to walk the fine line between methodical and flexible. We have a bias for action and try to push back on the fear of failure. After all, that would only mean another lesson! If the product or productized service makes it all the way to the end of our process, it has been through several checkpoints, presents the potential to be material to our business, is something we would all be proud of, is not over-built, and is easy to use. We like simplicity for the sake of cost-effectiveness and easy adoption. Our solution will be useful and used.
