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 …
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 …
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. …
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 …
How On-Demand Insurance Will Shake Up the Industry On April 6th, 2017, The Wall Street Journal reported that a fintech startup called Trov (“fintech” refers to any technology innovation in the financial services industry) had raised $45 million to bring on-demand services to the property and casualty insurance market. Trov is an interesting case of …
Why Big Data Underperforms at Innovation – Part 2 There’s a simple way for leaders to obtain the customer information they need for innovation, but it’s not big data. In my last article, I argued that big data underperforms at innovation because it does not reveal causality, i.e., why people buy. Even “predictive” analytics does …
Why Big Data Underperforms at Innovation – Part 1 The American Market Association recently estimated that companies will spend approximately $92 billion on big data by 2026. But is big data delivering the return on investment in innovation that leaders want? Forrester reports that only “29 percent of firms are successful at connecting analytics to …
A Better Way to Formulate ‘Blue Ocean’ Strategy Many readers may be familiar with the 2005 global best-selling book “Blue Ocean Strategy” by professors Renee Mauborgne and W. Chan Kim. In the book, they introduced the concepts of red and blue ocean markets, which are still helpful today for leaders operating in competitive markets. Yet, …
There’s a Better Way to “Refresh Your Brand” We know from study after study that the key to successful growth is having a clear understanding of customers’ unmet needs. It’s very hard to innovate, differentiate, and grow if you don’t know where your target customers’ needs remain unmet by your own offerings and your competitors’ …
Forget About Trying to Create Customer Needs Many people believe that the most innovative companies create customer needs with breakthrough new products. Nobody knew they needed an iPhone, the thinking goes, until Apple created the need for it. Hence, if you want to be an innovation leader, you should find ways to create customer needs. …
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