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The Tao of
Observation-fueled Product Innovation |
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YIN (passive, accepting side).
Uncovering what comes naturally to people.
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YANG (active, aggressive side).
Having the strength to change the rules.
Yin and Yang of Value Innovation
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Case in Point New Way to
Cook Salmon
Source:
Advanced Systemic Inventive Thinking (ASIT) Network
Many times customers use products in a way their
manufacturers never dreamed of. This is why it's so important to spend time
and money watching the customers while using the product.
To illustrate,
guests at a wedding enjoyed the catering very much, and most of all the
hosts received lots of praise for the salmon dish. Curiously they asked
their caterer how he prepared the Salmon. To their surprise he willingly
revealed his secret... "I cooked it in a dishwasher."
Case in Point
Washing
Machine: New Application
Source:
Advanced Systemic Inventive Thinking (ASIT) Network
Whirlpool washing machines in India was studying the market
for the Whirl products in Northern India. In the northern part of India,
most people consume buttermilk made out of curd.
To company managers'
surprise, many families used their washing machine for stirring curd and
making buttermilk! The reason was simple: washing machines were cheaper than
stirrers and more suitable. The company managers could not believe it!
Case in Point
IDEO
All
IDEO-designed
products were inspired by watching real people. "We are not funs of focus
groups. We don't much care for traditional market research either. We go to
the source. Not the "experts" inside a company, but the actual people who
use the product or something similar to what we're hoping to create. It's
precisely this observation-fueled insight that makes innovation possible.
Uncovering what comes naturally to people. And having the strengths to
change the rules," writes Tom Kelley in his famous book
The
Art of Innovation.
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