In order to create a truly innovative product
Three things:
Study the tasks people use a product for
Turn those tasks into a series of steps the person follows to get the task done
Finally, start eliminating steps
That’s it. Innovative products eliminate the friction of doing a task.
Source: — Something Really New: Three Simple Steps to Creating Truly Innovative Products, by Denis J. Hauptly
You can’t save your way to innovation
Great post from Allan Cooper
“…if there is something you can do to enhance the creative abilities of your people, it doesn’t really matter how much it costs, or how long it takes. What does matter is if it results in a successful invention, or a compelling design.”
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/cooper-journal/~3/PIw69CLeS1E/you_cant_save_your_way_to_inno.html
On product management
Great quote from Satya Patel (formerly of Twitter):
“Product management isn’t a role or a function, it’s a set of skills. Those skills help remove obstacles and grease the wheels so that the functional experts can do their jobs best. Product management also balances the needs of users, the business and the team and makes the difficult tradeoffs needed to keep pressing ahead. In that way, Product Managers are very similar to CEOs. Very few would argue that a company doesn’t need a CEO. Product managers are simply CEOs of their products. No organization should be without someone who has ‘product management skills’ and works to make everyone else’s lives easier.”
Never get wrapped up in “I can’t”
Love this quote (great article too)
One thing I’ve learned over and over is to never get wrapped up in “I can’t“. Instead, I force myself to ask, “How can I accomplish this?” Even if it takes me days or weeks, living and sleeping and working and reading and eating with that question in mind, good solutions eventually come to me. — Nate Kontny
What every Apple store employee knows
APPLE is an acronym ingrained into every Apple store employee before they ever even step on the retail floor. APPLE:
- Approach customers with a personalized warm welcome
- Probe politely to understand all the customer’s needs
- Present a solution for the customer to take home today
- Listen for and resolve any issues or concerns
- End with a fond farewell and an invitation to return
Source: Apple: My Key to Success