At first glance, the liquor business may not seem in dire need of customer-centric innovation. After all, revenue from the alcoholic beverage market has been steadily rising over the past decade and is projected to continue that way, after a slight dip in the wake of Covid-19. Drinks have become a critical ingredient in many customers’ experiences, whether it’s a casual night out with friends or a more formal occasion. To top it off, the...
Harvard’s Clayton Christensen is famed for several concepts in business such as disruptive innovation, Jobs to be Done, and organizing firm cultures around Resources, Processes, and Priorities. But one contribution of his has been broadly neglected, even if the seminal 2001 article which produced it also made popular the phrase “skate to where the puck will be.” It’s the concept of how cycles of business ecosystem integration and modularity spawn new market opportunities.
On the high seas, 64% of ship sinkings are due to a single phenomenon. They’re not caused by mechanical defects, nor crew error, but by “rogue waves.” These monsters, which can tower over 100 feet tall, form under certain nautical conditions and when large waves combine to magnify their strength. They can swamp even large container vessels, although prepared captains know when the seas are ripe for the danger.
Not that long ago, it would have seemed strange for companies to send their employees into consumers’ homes to observe how they used products and tackled challenges. Now, corporate anthropologists and ethnographers – researchers trained to observe people and cultures – are fairly common, especially among consumer goods companies. The same companies that once led the way in popularizing ethnographic research – customer-centric leaders such as P&G, Intel, Ford, and General Motors – are now...
All companies and entrepreneurs aspire to be innovative and responsive to customer needs. But how do you balance the seemingly endless customer wish list with the very real effects that those “extras” have on your bottom line?
