Chesney Bradshaw
Start-up and small business owners usually make a breakthrough with products and services based on a small incremental improvement on an existing product. In fact, there is an old rule of thumb that says to make something commercially viable in the market it’s best that it not be more than about 15% different than what is already available on the market. Continue reading “Girl invents flashlight powered only by the warmth of your hand”
I was reading an expose in an entertainment magazine how an executive producer has been responsible for a long-standing TV soapy going from 1,653,000 to 569,000 viewers in one year.
The executive producer is still in her job. Long-standing fans complain about the pathetic storylines. The executive producer doesn’t even seem to be involved in the early stages of production as she should be. Top actors are leaving the show. The show has gone from winner to loser.
There are a lot of questions to ask about such a dismal failure. Where does one start? Why have things gone so bad? Continue reading “How to destroy creative capital”
You’ve thought of a new product idea but don’t believe that it will match up to what the so-called professionals can concoct. An idea hatched in a bedroom studio, kitchen table, backyard shed or garage doesn’t seem to have the lustrous glamour of those that come from research and development laboratories, test kitchens and design fests.
With so many new ideas out there in any one year, how will your idea stand up to the hining brilliance of others with much more professional experience in coming up with new products and services? Continue reading “Can you come up with ideas that are as good as the professional idea generators?”
The experts will tell you that if you want to create new ideas all you need to do is get out a pen or pencil and stare at a blank sheet of paper and write down your ideas.
Has this ever worked for you?
I’ve found that it’s very difficult unless you come prepared to you blank sheet and at least have some questions in hand that can spur your imagination. Continue reading “When you’re stuck for ideas, try these three questions”
I’ve got a problem I just can’t seem to solve. I have been at it for some time but there is no clear-cut solution. Nothing seems to work. I’ve used various idea-generation techniques (attribute listing, mind maps or think bubbles, the 20-Idea Method) but alas no simple solution. I’ve discussed the challenge with people and researched the Internet but I’m still waiting to connect the dots.
I don’t think it’s because the idea-generation techniques in themselves are not working. I’ve just come up against a massive challenge that has no easy solution. It’s not as bad as something like Rittel’s wicked problems because I can at least find that but it’s wickedly difficult to solve. Continue reading “What happens when ideas just won’t come?”
The other evening I went to buy supper at a new burger joint that’s been introduced into the local market. The queue was amazingly long. This is after the burger place has been on the market for a few weeks. The most amazing thing is the demand for this product probably because it’s new to the market.
It makes you think about these big burger operations and what their innovation is really all about. They’ve been able to create a manufacturing and assembly operation in your neighbourhood and roll it out to anywhere in the world. The branding, hype and advertising makes it all seem so desirable. The innovation is really in the business model which produces high revenue from relatively small real estate space. Continue reading “Can a burger joint be innovative?”
Living in an instant society we want things NOW. We want things to happen straight away. It seems that patience has become a precious commodity.
Like growing tree or garden, developing a new idea from the seed of a concept or notion takes time. If you have a fairly simple product, you may be lucky to get it off the ground within a few months. But for the most part developing and testing an idea from its origination to market can take up to a year or more.
I’m sure there are exceptions and I don’t want to put you off but let’s look realistically at what is involved in developing and testing and introducing a new product or service. Continue reading “How long does it take to develop your product for market?”
People stand in a long queue on a Saturday afternoon to buy a lottery ticket. Everyone looks serious. It’s a big decision. To spend a small amount and to win untold riches. But nobody is laughing at you when you stand in that lottery ticket queue. No one is poking fun at you. No one is sneering.
In your circle of friends and family have you ever met anyone who had made a fortune from buying a lottery ticket? I don’t know about you, but I have never met anyone who has won a massive amount from the purchase of a lottery ticket. The only person that comes to mind was a hardware store owner in a coastal town where I grew up who was said to have won a lottery ticket and closed down his hardware store. Continue reading “No one laughs at you when you stand in line to buy a lottery ticket but if you’ve got a new idea…”
A recent cover from Bloomberg Businessweek depicted some relics from the past with a tongue-in-cheek approach. The cover showed a “fearsome weapon” dating back to 2000 BC, which was a stone arrow from the Americas. Another depicted a sun-shaped disc, dating back to 3600 BC, from the Nile Delta. In the right bottom corner of the cover was a belt-fixed messaging tool, dated 2010 A.D., from Canada. Continue reading “Smart lessons from “stupid” cellphone”
Some time back I moved into a new house and there was a snaglist of about 20 items that needed fixing in the place. I was able to get hold of a handyman who had been in the business for a few years because he had been retrenched early from a government bank. This repairman got stuck in and did the repairs and minor renovations very well.
Afterwards he completed a whole lot more repairs and renovations. But unfortunately a friend of his died and he got such a fright that he decided to drop all the handywork and go on an extended one-year holiday. When he came back from his travels, he was no longer interested in repair and renovation work because he wanted to life to the full.
That’s an example of a outstanding supplier who went way beyond the norm and delivered quality that is seldom seen from home suppliers. He was so superb that you wanted to give more and more work. There were no comebacks. No mumbles about payment. In fact, he made sure that you were 100% satisfied with his work before he presented you with an invoice. He worked on the repair and renovation jobs quickly and left absolutely no mess. All round it was an extremely pleasant experience. Continue reading “The dark side of supplier relationships”
