The 16 Rules Of Innovation
The danger for organisations is for them to become phlegmatic as they are gradually lulled into a false sense of security and hence the status quo is no longer questioned. It seems enough to merely keep improving one's products rather than keeping one's eyes, ears and mind open for new, radical and innovative ideas. And yet this is exactly what you should be doing - and at the same time, this is one of the most challenging tasks facing every industry.
Precious resources are squandered when companies, as if hypnotised, observe every step the competition takes and then slavishly copies them a short time later, thereby overlooking the fact that their rivals are themselves often bogged down in the past. And it is clear where this leads: it results in almost identical (which means interchangeable) products and services at almost identical prices. But what happens when innovators break into such an environment with their fresh ideas? Just remember how the established television networks in the United States reacted to Ted Turner's announcement of his new idea for a 24-hour news channel: CNN was ridiculed as the 'Chicken Noodle Network' and Ted Turner was seen as a crackpot and not as a serious innovator.
The coffee shop chain Starbucks is a world-wide success story. In the United States, Starbucks is so successful that it has more loyal customers than any other retailer in the country. On average, a Starbucks customer visits a Starbucks 18 times per month. But where was Nestlé, the producer of Nescafé, the world's best-selling coffee, when Starbucks got going? Why didn't Nescafé come up with a concept for a world-wide network of trendy coffee bars? It knows the coffee market better than anyone else, after all. What were the people at Nestlé thinking about while the Starbucks chain was being established? Presumably they were debating the colour of their packaging or the shape of the jars to be placed on the supermarket shelves, or wondering how they could finally outpace their competitors at Procter & Gamble.
Rule 1 The 360° view: glean inspiration from other industries.
Rule 2 Dead centre: get out of those middle-of-the-market segments
- fast!
Rule 3 Travel light: cut the ballast.
Rule 4 Out of the box: create completely new markets.
Rule 5 Maxi size and mini size: place no geographical limits
on your success.
Rule 6 Mix it! Conquer new markets with innovative combinations.
Rule 7 Product DNA: question the existing product concepts.
Rule 8 Design matters: design as a competitive factor.
Rule 9 Experience inside: create an experience, trigger emotions.
Rule 10 Offer clarity, cut out the frills to make your product
irresistible.
Rule 11 Price DNA: question the established price models.
Rule 12 Price polarisation: send your prices skyrocketing or
plummeting and win!
Rule 13 Pricing in-between: be smart - position yourself in the
middle of the market.
Rule 14 The Rockefeller Principle: give away the lamp and sell
the oil.
Rule 15 Personalised price: let the customer set the price.
Rule 16 Free price: offer freebies to your customers and let
others foot the bill.