Innovation should not be complicated. As long as you have a good problem. A really GOOD one: e.g. one that can stand the test of the “5 why’s” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5_Whys).
It’s tempting to start with an exciting opportunity or a new technology. Think drones, or microfinance or blockchain. But there is a risk that this innovative idea will not address a real customer or business need and will not fit in the company’s strategy. Although the idea may be unique, it will likely not get management support and the sustained resources to experiment.
An example: patients often stop taking their chronic medicine. I recall a passionate innovator spending months developing an innovative digital packaging to help customers remember to take their daily medicine – but the real problem was that most customers stopped taking that medicine because they were worried about potential side effects. A great hammer, but the wrong nail…
As Albert Einstein said:
“If I had an hour to solve a problem I’d spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and 5 minutes thinking about solutions”
So, as Innovation Leader, define a good nail, a specific problem, secure agreement from business leadership, communicate broadly and then start looking for those innovators who can come up with the right hammer, or screwdriver, or hopefully something even more innovative.
What do you think?
12 Comments
Michaela Kunert
Hi Wim, congratulation to this great blog and your very first exciting post: it hits indeed the nail on the head! Before we start to sell apparently solutions, we should fix the problem first and this is about understanding what customer really needs and where there painpoint ( the nail in the foot) really is.
Wim
Thanks, Michaela!
Anya Ohavi
Congratulations Wim to this wonderful blog and thank you for this great inspiration about how to build innovation!
Warm regards, Anya
Norman
Hi, Wim,
Great story regarding innovation. Finding the painpoint is critical for the solution.
Congratulations to you!
Best Regards,
Norman
Maqsood Ahmed
Remember very well the concept you introduced of Hammer and the Nail. Very inspirational.
Informative Article,
Thanks.
Lynn Cinelli
Congrats on Post #1. Get to the root cause, the little x. Whichever problem solving methodology this is fundamental (K-T, Six Sigma, etc). Thanks for the reminder to better define the nail, sometimes the best innovation has no “technology”!
Wim Vandenhouweele
Indeed, 100% agree, Lynn!
Dev Dutta
should we not be thinking about creating a hammer that may be “fit for purpose” as well? After all we have seen things like the Bionic wrench (https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwidpJ-koMHeAhVST98KHbo5BIYQjhx6BAgBEAM&url=https%3A%2F%2Fhomefixated.com%2Fbionic-wrench-and-bionic-grip-review%2F&psig=AOvVaw2lLJVO8rCSDddkHaYdpZw_&ust=1541644681405647)
Wim Vandenhouweele
As long as it acts on the right nail, Dev 🙂
Shine
Love the analogy! Can’t agree with you any more! Looking forward for more blogs from you!
Wim Vandenhouweele
Hi Shine, super – coming to you every Wednesday!
Chet
Wim
Great blog. Really like the focus on understanding the problem – before thinking Solutions. Thanks for the blog.