Hacking Innovation: What Innovators Really Do with Chad McAllister, PhD

transcript

www.TheEverydayInnovator.com

WHAT INNOVATORS REALLY DO

HOW BUSINESS OWNERS AND PRODUCT PROFESSIONALS

INNOVATE

THANK YOU FOR ATTENDING!

EVERYONE – RECEIVE PRODUCT INNOVATION EBOOK

3 RANDOMLY SELECTED PARTICIPANTS – RECEIVE $845 E-COURSE AT NO COST TO

PREPARE FOR THE AIPMM “CERTIFIED INNOVATION LEADER”

(CERTIFICATION EXAM REQUIRES A FEE PAID TO AIPMM)

YOU’RE DOING WHAT?

• RV road trip

• RV road trip + interviewing innovators, product professionals, and business owners

– Business owners of large and small organizations

– Executives responsible for innovation

– Entrepreneurs

– Many happy encounters

– Business owners of large and small organizations

– Executives responsible for innovation

– Entrepreneurs

– Many happy encounters

• An itch to scratch

• An itch to scratch• Opportunity to learn from a variety of

practitioners in different contexts– Larger– Small– Entrepreneurs

• Share insights

About Chad

• Electrical Engineering• Software Development• Project Manager• Product Manager• Project, Product, Innovation

Certifications (PMI, PDMA, AIPMM)• PhD – Requirements and

Expectations• Educator• www.ProductInnovationEducators

MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

• Where have you been?

• What is your favorite place?

• What is your RV?

• Do you still like each other?

6 QUESTIONS TO SHAPE INTERVIEWS

1. An example of innovation in your company? What makes this innovative?

2. Where did the ideas come from? Is that normal or are there other sources of ideas also?

3. What made it successful?

4. What is the most innovative person in your organization like?

5. Advice for business owners to be more innovative?

6. What else is important to innovation?

SETTING THE STAGE

• Innovation is…

SETTING THE STAGE

• Innovation is…

SOME LESSONS

• Three areas of innovation focus:– Customer– Process– Differentiation

• Culture• Swim with the best

SOME LESSONS

• Three areas of innovation focus:– Customer– Process– Differentiation

• Culture• Swim with the best

My goal…

provide you with at least one tangible action you can start doing today to be more

successful with innovation.

LESSON: CUSTOMER FOCUS

• Can’t control the tangible product?

• Innovate the customer experience.

LESSON: CUSTOMER FOCUS – MCDONALD'S

• An aggressive focus on customers• Know your customers

– The task or job they want to accomplish– Their perception of value– Make connections

• How can you simply change the customer experience to create a higher value?

LESSON: PROCESS FOCUS – LAUNDROMAT OWNER & SOFTWARE MOGUL

LESSON: PROCESS FOCUS

• Know what the job is• Hire the right people and let them run• Do the right things at the right times

• Do you know what the problem or objective really is?

LESSON: DIFFERENTIATION FOCUS – TIFFIN MOTORHOMES

LESSON: DIFFERENTIATION FOCUS

• Know what customers want• Offer something that competitors are not• Stay ahead of trends – see what is coming next

• When customers think of your product (goods or services), what stands out to them?

LESSON: CULTURE SUBTEXT

• Culture answers:– What is honored?– What is avoided?– What is not tolerated?

• “More important than any of the individual elements, however, is the role played by corporate culture — the organization’s self-sustaining patterns of behaving, feeling, thinking, and believing…” (Booz & Co Global 1000 Report, 2011)

Culture Through the Eyes of Kids

Tiffin Motorhomes

Winnebago Industries

Culture Through the Eyes of Kids

Tiffin• Smiling faces• Craftsmen• Transparent• Personal• Not repeatable• Family operation

Winnebago• Neutral faces• Hourly employees• Secretive• Assembly line• Solid processes• Public corporation

Influence of Culture on Innovation

Tiffin Winnebago

Business Strategy Extraordinary customer service

Minimize quality errors

Culture We are family Consistency

Innovation Service Centers Manufacturing Process

LESSON: SWIM WITH THE BEST

• Find the best people in your industry you can get unbiased guidance from.

• Look for ways to be sharpened and to sharpen others.

• Don’t just learn your trade, master it.

PRODUCT INNOVATION EBOOK

16 Chapters Covering…

It is in editorial review. To receive it when it is published,

register at:

www.theeverydayinnovator.com/win

CONNECT WITH MEWWW.LINKEDIN.COM/IN/CHADMCALLISTER/

CHAD@THEEVERYDAYINNOVATOR.COM

BLOG: WWW.THEEVERYDAYINNOVATOR.COM

TRAINING: WWW.PRODUCTINNOVATIONEDUCATORS.COM

THANK YOU

A FEW RECURRING THEMES

• Trends: SWOTT anyone?• Safety net• Prototype - test - refine - validate• Necessity• Slack time – stepping back

Culture – A Tasty Example

CULTURE – KEY TO INNOVATING AS A CHOCOLATE MAKER

• 45 artisan chocolate makers in the US. Problem – how to stand out?

• Apply 3 Ps:1. Personal: the mission is personally motivating2. Powerful: the story is bigger than themselves3. Persuasive: create raving fans that recommend the

business

• What is the story behind your product?