Who Distinguishes Objectives From Solutions? In his book, Lead With a Story, Paul Smith tells about Jayson Zoller’s experience as a student at the University of Central Florida 20 years ago. One of Jayson’s favorite professors often arranged research projects for the class with community leaders. In one such case, the professor described an unusual ...

Fulfilling the Promise of Smart Columbus I am proud to report that my adopted hometown of Columbus, Ohio, is on a roll. About a year ago, Columbus beat 77 cities to win $40 million in the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Smart City Challenge. Other finalists included Austin, Dallas, Kansas City, Pittsburgh, Portland and San Francisco. ...

This event at GBQ, 9/21, is SOLD OUT. However, Urko is speaking at Ohio State University’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship on 9/19. Click here for more info and to register. Email Urko if you want to notified about upcoming events: [email protected]. Learn how market leaders: Dramatically increase new product success rates (2-3X) Create new ...

One Executive’s Perspective on the ‘Jobs-to-be-Done’ Innovation Approach I recently had an opportunity to interview Jeff Baker, head of customer insights, category management and strategy at Valvoline, and a former client of mine (Microsoft and NetJets). There are very few executives in the country who have the depth of experience with the job-to-be-done (JTBD) innovation approach as ...

Using the Jobs-to-be-Done Approach to Get Results This is part 2 in a 3-part interview with Jeff Baker, head of customer insights, category management and strategy at Valvoline and a former client of mine. There are very few executives in the country who have the depth of experience with what’s known as the “jobs-to-be-done” (JTBD) innovation approach ...

Join us for the OSU Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship’s September Workshop: Tuesday, Sept 19 8:30 – 10:00am (Doors open at 8:00am) REGISTER We know from study after study that the key to successful innovation and growth is having a clear understanding of customers’ unmet needs. Yet many leaders struggle with how to innovate, differentiate and grow ...

Misconceptions and Limitations of ‘Jobs-to-be-Done’ Innovation Approach (This is the third in a series of articles initially published in The Business Journals) I recently had an opportunity to interview Jeff Baker, head of customer insights, category management and strategy at Valvoline and a former client of mine. There are very few executives in the country who have the ...

6 Ways that GBQ Partners Drives Growth I recently had an opportunity to interview Darci Congrove, managing director of GBQ Partners, a regional tax, accounting and consulting firm headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. GBQ has an unusual tagline, especially for an accounting firm: “Entrepreneurial spirit. Independent expertise.” And it’s not just a tagline. This helps explain how GBQ ...

On Thursday, 9/21, about 30 executives attended the executive breakfast hosted by Reveal at GBQ Partners – “Rethinking Innovation: How the Jobs-to-Be-Done Approach Delivers Dramatically Better Results.” GBQ’s offices, with their floor-to-ceiling windows and views, open spaces for mingling, and comfortable training rooms, was the perfect venue for the event. Urko started it off presenting ...

Urko was a guest lecturer in Gary Landsettle’s MBA class, New Product Development and Innovation, at Otterbein University on October 2nd, 2017. Urko showed students Reveal Growth Consultants uses the ‘jobs-to-be-done’ innovation approach to deliver dramatically better new product success rates and revenue growth, as well as how the student can adopt jobs thinking. (Private ...