Innovation and Product Development Thinking

Chad McAllister's professional experiences have made him broadly skilled in many business functions, such as product development, operations, information systems, marketing, and sales.  As a result, he has an integrated perspective of business that few others can offer that includes triple-bottom line sustainability sensibilities.   His professional love is product development  and he holds certifications from PDMA and PMI.  He is also licensed to provide New Product Development Professional (NPDP) training on behalf of PDMA.  He is the founder of Product Innovation Educators.

1. No ability for mark-up. I want to use e-books just as I use traditional books. This includes the ability to write on the book -- underline, highlight, and make notes in the margin or over the text itself. I was hopeful with a touchscreen display that the iPad would make this possible. However, without support for a writing stylus the ability to take notes in an e-book is not practical.
    
2. Backlit LCD screen. Now that we have been introduced to electronic ink displays, such as Kindle, why would I want to take a step backward and read on a traditional computer screen? An IEEE article explains well why the iPad is no Kindle killer because of the display.
    
3. Publishers. The number of publishers will no doubt increase, but the list is currently rather small. Further, with my teaching hat on I want to see textbook publishers support eBook readers. Until my first objection is addressed and we can "write" on our eBooks, electronic textbooks will continue to have low appeal.

• Great form factor -- just like a piece of paper.
• No keyboard -- why waste the space when you have a touchscreen.
• Weight -- less than most books I carry.
• Battery life -- read all day without recharging.
• Music -- enjoy music while reading.
• Price -- $499 is very reasonable if this was my dream eReader.

What do you want in your dream eReader? Please let me know your thoughts in the comment area below.

1. Pursuing profits because that creates a strong organization that can be responsible to the planet and people. Without profit we can't finance the other two important and necessary Ps.
2. Caring for the planet by interacting with the environment in a way that creates a sustainable (long-term) and responsible business model -- often this can reduce costs.
3. Treating people and communities with respect because these are current and future employees and customers.

1. Business and Product Strategy
2. Product Development Process
3. Portfolio Management
4. Leading, Managing, and Working with Teams and People
5. Project and Product Tools and Metrics
6. Market and Customer Research

• pursuing profits because that creates a strong organization that can be responsible to the planet and people.
• interacting with the environment in a way that creates a sustainable (long-term) business model -- often this can reduce costs and create sources for new profits. 
• treating people and communities with respect because these are current and future employees and customers.

I started my career as an engineer.  Like many of my young colleagues at the time, I tended to be a bit arrogant, believing engineering was the center of all that is good in an organization!  While  Marketing, Sales, Operations, etc. must have served a purpose, the really interesting work was leading product innovation -- that is what engineers did.  A few years later I found myself working very closely with Sales and I saw a different world and gained new perspectives.  Much to my surprise, I found a book on sales to provide fodder for my innovation thinking.  The book is "Solution Selling" and seminars by the same name were popular in the mid-90's.  Although it is somewhat dated now, its utility for creating a customer centered approach to innovation remains.

Imagine my surprise -- a sales book that is not focused on selling a product but rather focused on meeting the needs of customers.  That means we have to know a lot about the customers and what they need -- be a true consultant.  As an engineer, I had been fortunate to work closely with customers throughout my career.  However, this book provided a framework for examining customers needs, identifying what the real problems are, and judging how significant these problems are to a larger group of people.

When I was working on research for why we misunderstand requirements for software systems, I consulted with requirements engineering expert Al Davis.  During our initial discussion, he recommended the Solution Selling book as a resource to stimulate thought.  Go figure -- someone else who believes understanding the customer is important.

These experiences had many valuable lessons, including that if we want to transform an organization and create a culture of innovation, we need to look outside at customers and markets instead of inside at ourselves.

The  differences between leadership and management are not merely academic.  How an organization thinks about leading and managing provides insights into its culture.  Further, it significantly impacts their ability to create sustainable innovation that is driven by a culture of innovation.

An insightful case study that examines how one organization changed their thinking was shared in "Transforming Your Leadership Culture" published by Jossey-Bass.  The organization engaged people from all levels and discussed the differences between what it means to lead vs. manage.  The resulting objective was for employees to shift their focus towards leading.  They defined the shift from "manage" to "lead" in terms of several pairs of activities to change:

• engage instead of direct
• influence instead of control
• question instead of listen
• learn instead of instruct
• motivate instead of dominate
• integrate instead of separate
• multiple rights instead of I'm right
• dialogue instead of argue
• invite instead of command

This is an organization preparing for sustainable innovation.  They are creating a culture that embraces questioning, dialogue, and collaboration. 

Could India be facing an employment crisis in the future?  A Deloitte VP recently shared concerns that there may be a coming talent shortage in Corporate India.  He points out that the current education system needs to focus on more innovation skills and that managers must learn soft skills, such as communicating effectively. 

What caught my attention about this topic was that the educational system is not adequately preparing people to be innovative.  I expect educators and employers in other countries have similar concerns -- many organizations are dealing with the development of a culture of innovation.  Teaching "innovation" means doing more than explaining an innovation approach such as Blue Ocean Strategy or Outcome-Driven Innovation.  This is a good start, but people need more than knowing how to apply and manage innovation methodology.  They also need to develop personal mastery and leadership skills that promote collaboration, sharing of ideas, asking different questions, taking risks, honoring failures that educate, fearlessly considering if "that's how we have always done it" is good enough, and promoting organization learning.  Without these "softer" skills, it is likely that our organizations will continue to use the same thinking they always have.  Albert Einstein cautioned that "we cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them." 

For India and other countries who wish to promote innovation for the purpose of improving organizational performance, education and experience in both technical and soft skills must be pursued.