After nine weeks of this course, I
can now say that I have come across a plethora of information that has helped
shape my idea of innovation and how to apply it into my organization. It’s been
a tough nine weeks for me, but I have been able to narrow it down to three memorable
ideas that I will take with me. The first element is that of culture, the
second element is that of ensuring marketing embrace, and the third element is
Ries’ build-measure-learn wheel.
The first
element is that of changing the culture. It is said “culture is the sum of the
values, beliefs and assumptions of human groups. – The culture of your
organization shapes the way people create, think and solve problems.” (McKeown, 2014) What this means is that culture
can make or break the difference between having one that is innovative verses
one that is toxic. The current culture within my organization is that of being
“idea-friendly” where “creativity is welcomed since new ideas are valued.” (McKeown, 2014) Currently if someone proposes an
idea it is welcomed and then discussed on viability. However this alone isn’t
enough, but instead we must be “idea-hungry.” We need to actively seek out
ideas from outside the organization so that we can thrive on the ever-growing
demand placed on us. People won’t know how to submit their ideas unless we
extract it from their brains ourselves.
The second
element is ensuring that our innovative ideas are embraced by the market place.
I actually learned about this before in a previous course, but to be able to
refresh my learning on the idea has been mind opening and refreshing. The basic
idea was that in order to take over the large market (early/late majority), you
must first focus on the innovators and early adopters. (Moore, 1991)
Aim the product and marketing techniques at these individuals first, because
the majority of the market won’t switch unless its already been proven by other
members of the market. McKeown talks about the same life cycle in his book
stating, “the more you understand what makes an idea attractive, the better
chance you have of making people make room for your innovation in their lives.”
(McKeown, 2014) This speaks perfectly with how
we would have too approach new ideas in my organization.
The third
element is Ries’ build-measure-learn wheel. The idea here is to “learn faster
than the situation is changing. So fast that you can see an opportunity, test
that opportunity and then adapt to make the most of that opportunity.” (McKeown, 2014) In other words, you need to
learn what it is you have to do, build what it is that solves the problem, then
ask for customer feedback so that you can make another round of improvements or
changes. In a way this is incredibly iterative and gets the customers involved,
so that there is no disconnect between developers and customer needs.
The three
elements that I most value in this course that I learned include the importance
of changing the culture, ensuring that ideas are embraced by the marketplace,
and finally Ries’ build-measure-learn wheel. While these aren’t all the best
ideas that I’ve learned, these are the three that I plan to take with me to my
organization and implement right away. In a way the leaders before me have
already set up the environment, now its my turn to ensure that it stays that
way and lives on with the generations after me.
References
McKeown, M.
(2014). The Innovation Book. Pearson.
Moore, G. (1991). Crossing the Chasm. Harper Business
Essentials.
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