My innovation bookshelf overfloweth, but I'll add another one anyway. It just looks too good to pass up. Thanks to Innovate Forum for the tip!

What Customers Want: Using Outcome-Driven Innovation to Create Breakthrough Products and Services by Anthony Ulwick, CEO of Strategyn, describes an approach for "outcome-driven innovation" that challenges existing customer-driven paradigms and promises to turn innovation from an art to a science. The secret, he claims, is to stop listening to the customer's verbalized needs, focusing instead on the customers' desired outcomes -- the  "metrics that customers use to measure success when executing the jobs, tasks or activities they are trying to get done." The book is based on scads of case studies indicaticating a good research base for the theories, and has an impressive list of endorsements headlined by Clayton Christensen (The Innovator's Dilemma, The Innovator's Solution, Seeing What's Next).

The concept makes sense intuitively. I'm reminded of my early years in software architecture-- what was then called a "programmer/analyst". At first I applied the skills that served me well as a student: following directions. I realized quickily that when I gave my internal customers what they asked for, they were never happy. Some might see this as terrific job security, but I've never been one to enjoy repetition, no matter what it paid. Over time I learned to "gather requirements" by listening carefully to users, asking friendly questions about their jobs overall, observing them doing real work. By truly analyzing their underlying needs, I was able to give them what they actually wanted instead of what they merely asked for. The mental shift from my student experiences was surprising, but the results were undeniable as happy customers asked for my help in progressively more challenging tasks.

12:54:25 PM    
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