Strategies for Innovation

by Benj Miller | Jul 9, 2019

Recently, I got to enjoy an innovation workshop led by Stephen E. Wright at New View. 

I was very energized by his approach and the topic as a whole. Here are some of my key takeaways.

There is a fine line between iteration and innovation. The line is so small it can blur and it is easy for a few small iterations to lead to massive innovation. There are a few key types/strategies for innovation:

1. Innovate Problems
   Innovated problems are our biggest opportunity for increased profit.
   Always solve the biggest problem first. This will lead to the biggest impact and largest return. Often these problems lie in the delivery or process more than the finished product.
2. Innovate your Offering
   1. Complaints are the raw material for innovation.
   2. Start by evaluating where your products/services lie in the following quadrants:

Anything in the bottom left quadrant MUST be innovated.

You can then put the value proposition for the offering in one of the following quadrants and evaluate if that is really where it has the most perceived value to the market:

In 2018 the top value(s) the market responded to were: simplicity, convenience, personalization, environmental, deals, affiliation, and uniqueness.

3. Innovate Waste
One of the most profitable ways to innovate is to look at what you produce as waste in your core production. These can be things like hard product, time, and ideas. At some point, someone figured out they could sell sawdust to pet owners and make fake mulch out of used tire scraps. What is your company discarding that could be a treasure?