Competition between Google and IBM is an unusual business rivalry because the two rarely compete in the same markets or for the same customers. In truth, it is a rivalry for technical rather than market dominance. Yet much like Apple vs. Microsoft, it's likely to determine much about how technology shapes our world.
Read More »Product Innovation
Dismantle the Business Model
When companies want to innovate, there are three things they can change – products, services, and business models. Products are usually the first, second and third priorities. Services, though they have a tighter connection with the customer and are more lasting and powerful are, sadly, fourth priority. Business models are the superset and the most powerful of all, yet...
Read More »Chasms, Criteria… and Innovation
The concept of the ambidextrous organization is gaining traction. It describes companies who can innovate in the current business at the same time as creating new business options for the future. This is achieved through...
Read More »Storytelling for Product Management and Innovation
To learn more about the value of storytelling and using it to share ideas and persuade others to join you, I spoke with Michael Margolis. He is the CEO and founder of Get Storied, which serves leaders, innovators, and trailblazers who have a world-changing agenda. He helps those who are inventing the future and need to get their story straight because ideas don’t sell themselves. His work has been featured in Fast Company, TIME, and Wired.
Read More »Welcome to the New Era of Automation
When Netflix put the Video Rental Retail stores in their coffins, there was still a sizable segment of people who missed the convenience, were suspect of a mail-order or streaming subscription service, or simply didn’t have the connectivity to enjoy it. Enter, RedBox. A new smart-automated adaptation of the Blockbuster model, scaled down to be easy-to-manage, easy-to-implement, and easy to ...
Read More »Amazing PLM Governance
In this blog series, I provide insights as to why PLM has true potential to be so transformational for life sciences companies, but many aren’t getting there. We have come a long way – we have developed a defensible strategy, picked technology, and developed a change campaign. Now we need effective governance models in place to help mitigate risk, remove obstacles and ...
Read More »Keep Faith in the Steady Progress of Innovation
We must continue to have faith and invest in Science, Engineering, Technology, Research and the Innovation of our Enterprises. They and the steady march of improvement are what will deliver a better future.
Read More »Why Less is More: Product Strategy
Anxiety floods the boardroom, the conference rooms, every decision. Costs are rising. Returns are flat. Margins are thinning. Now, private label competitors are beating us in every area: technology, price, placement, design, and sales. Worse, they have turned the category that we invented...
Read More »Kärcher’s Process for Developing a New Product that Captured the Market
Where does this product story start? It begins with Kärcher North America, the market leader in carpet extraction cleaning. The core product line was 15 years old and in need of innovation. Chad McAllister interviews Bill Ott, Executive Vice President of the product development organization at Kärcher.
Read More »Succeeding with Outsourcing? Time to Reinvest for Success!
With a hypersensitivity towards profit margins, too often companies justify outsourced manufacturing with lower costs and better-looking accounting numbers. But this cost-cutting craze is at odds with many apparel companies' long-term focus on being or becoming market leaders. While efficiency is important and outsourcing can help to reduce manufacturing costs, these companies can't cut their way to creating the next design trend. Instead...
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