Tag: Customer Relationships

Robert G. Cooper On Creating Value Through Innovation

by Bright Osadiaye, posted in Improve Academy, Innovation Management, Leadership, Management, Workplace Learning

‘The best innovators have four times the sales from new products and more than double the success rate as the worst performers. But why the huge differences?’

‘A superior and differentiated product– one that delivers unique benefits and superior value to the customer- is the number one driver of success and new product profitability.’

‘Building in the voice of the customer is one of the strongest drivers of new-product profitability, and also of time efficiency. But the great majority of companies miss the mark here- with insufficient VoC and no fact-based customer insights.’

‘People don’t know what they’re looking for until they see it or experience it. So get something in front of the customer or user fast- and keep repeating these tests all the way through to formal product testing or field trials. Multiple iterations and product validations- spirals development- are essential when facing fluid markets with customers that are uncertain about their needs.’

‘Manage risk by breaking the process into increments. When the uncertainties and unknowns are high, keep the spending low.’

‘If you want speed to market, then focus– resource your projects properly.’

‘Of the five most important drivers of businesses’ new-product performance, idea management has the strongest impact.’

‘Customer visit teams are valuable for gaining real insights into the customer’s world: the ability to identify and focus on customer problems and unspoken needs, a vital source of product ideas.’

‘Innovative customers are quite likely to have the industry’s next new product, and this lead-user method is one way to uncover what it is.’

‘Your own employees are excellent potential sources of new-product ideas. Yet all too often, internally generated ideas are either mundane or not acted upon. But there are ways to change that.’

‘How does one design a system that integrates many activities and multifunctional inputs and fosters a cross-functional team approach?’

Source:

Robert G. Cooper (2017). Winning at New Products: Creating Value Through Innovation

How To Compete And Succeed ‘In A Flat World’

by Bright Osadiaye, posted in Improve Academy, Innovation Management, Management, Personal Development, Workplace Learning

Whether you are in business or not, you are always competing. We are always competing.

Because life is about doing things. To compete and succeed in today’s world, you have got to be really good at what you are doing.

And you have to be different. And you also have to be authentic. If not, you are just kidding yourself.

If you want to win, you must reach out to people who can help you get better, who can help you move to your next level.

Because we don’t know everything. ‘The company’s strength lies not as much in the competencies that it possesses as much in the competencies it can connect to. This means that the capability to connect to competencies- the capability for network orchestration- and the capability for learning might be becoming as important as any firm-specific capabilities.’

‘Build the company around the customer- balancing customer needs with a profitable business. To build your business, give it to your customers. The more the business focuses on the concerns of the customer and customer’s customer, the faster it will grow.’

‘In a flat-round world, our actions need to balance the ideal and the reality, to take advantage of the opportunities the flat world presents without overlooking the limitations and opportunities of the round world.’

‘The challenge is to ride the wave of consumer market growth without getting too far ahead or behind.’

‘By rethinking the supply chain and transforming the customer from a passive recipient to an active participant, companies have an opportunity to create and capture more soft dollar value.’

‘Interaction with other customers in other parts of the world gives suppliers a broader view of the context of their projects and a more creative solution set.’

‘Customer needs might change, but a flexible organization with a flexible supply network can reconfigure itself to meet the changes of its customers.’

‘The purpose of stretch objectives is to make managers and employees uncomfortable, to push them to do more than they think is possible.’

‘Stretch targets result not only in transformation of the business, but in tremendous gains in performance.’

‘Compliance in this world is much more about carrots than sticks (although there is combination of both). The focus is primarily on setting clear guidelines, offering education, and then inspecting to ensure results.’

‘Are you more focused on filling your capacity or serving customers?’

Source:

Victor K. Fung., William K. Fung., & Yoram (Jerry) Wind (2008). Competing in a Flat World: Building Enterprises for a Borderless World