CPEM

Managing Team Communications

Posted on 02.25.21

Have you ever wondered what somebody “really” meant when they said something to you? What was the hidden message? Did they criticize your idea when it was still in the forming phase? In Texas, we might hear, “Bless her heart” and wonder what sarcasm was concealed in a perfectly innocent statement.

Gossip, rumors, criticism, and sarcasm are deadly to innovation and team communications. You can say the words, “What a great idea” but if you roll your eyes at the same time, we know you think it is a stupid idea. On the other hand, if you smile and lean in when you say the exact same words, we know you are interested.

Communicating in a 2D World

Even before the corona-panic, many organizations were switching to virtual team meetings. The rationale was to save money on travel expenses. Another element is based on saving time – in a city like Houston, your travel time to and from a meeting can easily exceed the length of the meeting. So, we use virtual meetings instead.

Of course, we lose body language in our 2D, virtual communications. There are some people who refuse to turn on their cameras – probably because they are multitasking and not paying attention to the meeting anyway. I readily admit to not using my camera during mid-day webinars since I can eat lunch while I listen to the lecture.

However, aside from food crumbs and slurping soup, we can learn to communicate in a 2D world. Even after the corona-panic ends, many of us will continue to use webinars and virtual meetings to reach a larger audience. In fact, in the VTM-Virtual Team Model (Chapter 6 of Leveraging Innovation Constraints), I personally advocate for virtual teams in innovation to increase access to global markets.

One of the practices in the VTM is to ensure you build time into your agenda for team-building. Innovation requires creativity and creativity requires trust. We only trust our teammates when we know them through a personal relationship. These relationships teach us values and principles of other team members as we observe their behaviors. Values and trust are foundational to successful team communications.

Work Styles

While some people are adamant that they will not turn on their camera, others hesitate to speak freely. These behaviors, I believe, are exacerbated in a 2D world and impact our trust ability. While a quiet person finds it difficult to offer a differing opinion in a face-to-face environment, it is even more challenging for her to do so in a virtual conversation.

It is the job of the innovation leader to generate trust and open communication pathways among team members. I like using work style assessments with teams so that each person understands their own communication preferences, strengths, and conflict triggers. When we share our work styles with other teammates, we can explain our values and behaviors with non-judgmental language and build trust more quickly.

Conflict

Most of us don’t like conflict. Many leaders have not been trained in conflict management. So, when a debate arises, it either is swept under the rug to percolate or is blown way out of proportion. Yet, the crazy thing is that we need conflict for innovation and creativity. We need to challenge perspectives, biases, and experiences to create new technical and market opportunities for our customers. Conflict and debate are central to successful ideation.

Manage Your Team Communications

Join me on Friday, 26 February 2021, with the Tucson PMI Chapter to learn more about Managing Team Communications. You might also enjoy listening to a podcast on the same topic here and you can read more here. When we start with each team member’s preferred working style, we can design the jobs of innovation to balance their strengths. This results in healthy conflict where we focus on idea generation to improve new product features and functionality.

Learn More

In addition to the Tucson PMI meeting, join me starting on 29 April for the NPDP Certification and Innovation Best Practices workshop (four weekly, 2-hour sessions). A key topic for success as an innovation leader is managing team communications. Contact me at info@simple-pdh.com if you want to implement effective tools for innovation team communications.

A Division of Global NP Solutions, LLC

Study. Learn. Earn. Simple.

Forecasting for Product Management

Posted on 02.18.21

I live in Texas, so this past week has been interesting. Normally our winters have low temperatures around 40°F. A couple of times each winter, we will experience a “hard freeze” of less than 32°F for more than a couple of hours. Often, the weather forecasters predict lower temperatures and harsher conditions and materialize.

Snow covered palm tree — Image from Flickr (The_Doodler)

This winter, we had a storm of a lifetime. Instead of over-predicting, the weather forecast gave low temperatures 5 to 10°F higher than observed. There was snow and ice in the Corpus Christi area, right on the Gulf of Mexico with low temperatures dipping to just 19°F (-7°C). Thick ice covered every surface, including the wind turbines which were providing about 40% of power to the state. Iced up, they could turn no more, so the state has been gripped in massive power outages, leading to loss of water supply in many places as well.

What is Forecasting?

While we often think of the weather when we hear the term “forecast,” we also make business predictions. A business forecast allows us to plan production, distribution, and resources. These forecasts are usually based on sales projections into the future, sometimes called a “demand forecast”.

Time Frames for Forecasting

Business forecasting covers a wide range of time periods. We use short-term forecasts for immediate job assignments, shipping, and purchasing. Medium-term forecasts also include plans for inventory, warehousing, and raw material supplies. Finally, long-term forecasts involve strategic product planning with potential capital investments.

Role of the Product Manager

A product manager has a broad role, including new product development (NPD) and brand management. Understanding and predicting customer needs means a product manager must be proficient in making demand forecasts. Functional departments look to the product manager for guidance in production, logistics, and purchasing.

Market trends often dictate which products will experience growth and which will experience decline. Additionally, the stage of the product in the overall product life cycle (PLC) also contributes to expected consumer demand. (Recall that the stages in the product life cycle are introduction, growth, maturity, and decline. Read more here.)

Other factors that influence the demand for a new product include competition, technology, and regulatory factors. When the US government banned incandescent light bulbs, demand initially spiked as consumers hoarded a product that was inexpensive and efficient for use. Suppliers, however, ramped up production of fluorescent bulbs. The forecast was tricky to manage – fluorescent bulbs are more expensive, tend to have a longer life, but are far more damaging to the environment if broken. In this case, the product manager’s job is to make an educated guess for light bulbs sales and where to invest product innovation dollars. New technologies, such as LED bulbs, are an optional replacement product.

Types of Forecasts

There are two main categories of forecasting: qualitative and quantitative. Qualitative forecasts use the opinions and intuition of a group of experts. Often the sales team provides valuable input to predict new product sales because they know how their customers feel about existing and competitive products, features, and needs. It is qualitative approach because no mathematical models are explicitly applied to the prediction.

A quantitative forecast, on the other hand, normally relies on historical data to predict future sales. In product innovation, we may use data from similar products or use adoption rates in similar markets. Customer surveys yield data ranges for selling price and volume. We use mathematical models and statistical analysis to predict future product sales.

It’s important to check your assumptions frequently, especially during the product introduction phase. Assumptions and risks are built into any qualitative or quantitative forecast. You’ll also want to validate your predictions with an evaluation of their accuracy to improve all future forecasts.

Forecasting for Product Managers

Because a forecast is a prediction of the future, it will most definitely be wrong. However, product managers need to master the skills of forecasting to manage product development efforts, strategic initiatives, and customer needs. If you under-predict production, customers can be left without products they want to purchase. If you over-predict demand, you might be stuck with a warehouse full of useless products (a situation one client described to me). Balancing customer needs and profitability efficiently is the definition of a successful product manager.

image from 123rf.com license, author kebox.

Learn more about Forecasting for Product Managers in our upcoming online class on Tuesday, 6 April 2021. Check out the full course calendar here and catalog of facilitated and online courses here. Contact me at info@globalnpsolutions.com for more information about Forecasting for Product Managers or any other innovation topic – I love to learn and share!

A Division of Global NP Solutions, LLC

Study. Learn. Earn. Simple.

Customers and Product Development

Posted on 02.11.21

As product development professionals, we often think of our customer. What do customers feel? What do they need? What are their expectations? Our responses, generally, focus on features and functionality of the product.

Of course, we have many types of customers and the best new product development (NPD) processes address customer needs throughout the value chain. Let’s take a look at the various types of customers and their role in NPD.

Types of Customers

One of the fundamental decisions you make in product innovation is who is the customer. We must consider several types of customers.

Internal Customers

First, we have internal customers. These are departments or units that are downstream within a single company. It is folly to ignore logistics or sales during product design and development. No new product makes its way into the hands of a customer without first being manufactured (supply chain logistics), being delivered (distribution), and being purchased (sales).

Supply chain is an internal provider and customer to the NPD effort. Working with the purchasing department early in concept development can reduce costs of raw materials. Perhaps your purchasing department can work a deal that gives a component discount as production ramps up after new product introduction. Your purchasing department should be a partner not an adversary.

You also need your internal customers to provide timely actions to get a new product to market. Legal teams must work with the NPD team throughout design and development for functional patent protection and trademarking of new logos, etc. Many other functional departments serve to assist the development effort as well.

External Customers

External customers are who we typically think of when we hear the term “customer”. These are folks outside the firm that buy the product and consume it (thus, the oft-used, interchangeable term of “consumer”). Our communication with external customers is frequently one-way by telling them about a product’s features.

However, the most successful innovators use two-way communication with external customers. We must know the thoughts and feelings of our customers to design and develop new products. External customers provide infinitely valuable feedback on our ideas and concepts. They test prototypes and lead us to the designs that will best satisfy their needs.

External customer feedback is at the heart of the WAGILE process. WAGILE takes the best of the traditional waterfall development processes and the best of Agile design to create a disciplined yet flexible customer-focused NPD process. Register here for our interactive WAGILE product development course (online 18 and 19 February 2021).

End-Users

Not all customers are end-users. Most of the time, a consumer purchases a product and uses it herself. There are many situations, though, in which other people use the product after it is purchased by someone else.

The easiest example of a non-purchasing end-user is a child. Mom and Dad buy toys, books, games, and snacks for Little Johnny often without his input. Of course, Little Johnny does not have money (and sometimes doesn’t know how to talk yet), so he is incapable of buying a product. However, Little Johnny does play, read, and eat so he “consumes” the product.

In product innovation and in the WAGILE process, we test not only the market response of the decision-maker (see below) but also the end-user. If :ittle Johnny prefers to play with the box instead of the toy inside, should we proceed with development of that particular product? We also might find that parts and components need different assembly for children than in a product built by adults. The end-user is an important customer in NPD.

Decision-Maker

Little Johnny’s mom and dad are the decision-makers in this scenario. Naturally, other products and services have customers that are decision-makers different from the end-user. Medicine has tons of examples.

For example, your insurance provider (private or government) determines which physicians you can afford to visit. Insurance companies often pay for pharmaceutical drugs but not naturopathic therapies. They may tell you which hospital is okay for you to go to for a knee surgery, regardless of the distance from your home.

Decision-makers are likely to look primarily at cost for a new product. Effectiveness and satisfaction by the end-user (unless it’s Little Johnny) may not be the defining characteristic of a purchase. For corporate decision-makers, “average performance” might be more important than delivering a quality experience to the ultimate consumer.

Who is Your Customer?

As you design a new product innovation, you must consider the customer. It is extremely unwise to ignore your internal customers. Use the various departments in your firm as partners to find the best solutions (especially for supply chain and distribution).

One our external customers, likewise, often are ignored. Why wouldn’t you want to test concepts and ideas with the person whom you ultimately want to sell? Customer feedback is essential to successful product innovation.

Finally, don’t confuse the decision-maker with the end-user. Satisfying the needs of both of these customers might mean a trade-off in cost versus quality. Make sure your NPD process involves testing for all external customers, including decision-makers and end-users.

Learn More

I’m excited to share my podcast interview with Kevin Brennan. You can listen to a summary of WAGILE here. Then, register for the interactive online WAGILE Product Development course on 18 and 19 February 2021 (register here). You will have homework because you must understand customer needs to be successful in product innovation! Contact me at info@Simple-PDH.com for more information.

A Division of Global NP Solutions, LLC

Study. Learn. Earn. Simple.

Lessons for Creative Leadership

Posted on 12.09.20

I love to travel. I enjoy seeing new places and trying different foods. It is fun for me to learn what is unique about a city or town. I also enjoy visiting familiar places – in Seattle, I have a favorite coffee shop and in Phoenix, I must go to a special place for tacos!

Travel incorporates the lessons of creative leadership. As innovation professionals we trial, test, and enjoy both the new and the familiar. The three common themes between travel and innovation are: vision, learning, and decision.

Vision

When you visit a new place, you see it differently than if it is familiar. You may notice that street names change every few blocks or that the city has a lot of billboards. When you are familiar with the town, these elements fade into the background.

As an innovation leader, you must envision your products and services with fresh eyes. Imagine that you have never considered buying your own product. Does the packaging strike you as interesting or is it boring? Does the product name describe what it does? Is the product unique or are there lots of competitors?

A drawback of working within one brand or category is that we become too familiar with our products and services. We need to see features and benefits as if we’ve never seen the product before. One way to get a fresh vision for your products and services is through a focus group or lead user group. Real customers provide the feedback that an internal new product development (NPD) team may miss.

Learning

And with vision comes learning. When I first visit a new place, I like to get a road map. I’m old fashioned and like to have a paper street map. It gives me the whole view of a town or city instead of turn-by-turn directions. I get a sense of what is to the north or east, as well as how far away different attractions are.

But as I walk around for a few hours (or days), I find that I don’t need the map anymore. I have learned where to turn and how long it takes to get somewhere.

Innovation leaders also focus on learning – not simply to transfer a vision into the boring and familiar. Yet, learning as a method of transforming customer needs into features and attributes brings satisfaction to consumers and profits to companies.

Learning, in innovation, is crucial. They say that whoever is not innovating is dying. A harsh statement. What it means is that successful leaders are constantly identifying needs and pain points while working to resolve them. It is easier and quicker to navigate without a street map – when the route is familiar. Our job, as innovation leaders, is to make product selection and use as quick and as easy as possible for our customers.

Decision

Vision and learning are important, yet without action you don’t go anywhere. I often daydream about where I want to go on vacation. I research places on the internet and buy travel books to learn about parks and attractions in a new area. But, until I buy an airline ticket, I have not committed to the travel. When I book my air travel, I demonstrate a decision to visit one place over another. Effective decisions are crucial for innovation leadership. One arena in which I see a lot of failure in NPD is a failure to make a decision. Many, low-value projects linger on the books. These projects consume valuable (and scarce) resources. Worst, ho-hum projects do not invigorate your customers or your team members.

The best way to make new product decisions is through portfolio management. Join me in 2021 for a special hands-on, interactive course to streamline your product innovation portfolio – 100 Days to PPM. You will learn to make the critically important decisions necessary to compete effectively. Join as an individual leader or bring your whole team!

The Traveling Innovator

Whether you love to travel (like me), or you’d rather be a hermit, innovation professionals must practice the three critical skills: vision, learning, and decision. With vision, you view a product or service from your customer’s perspective. You learn what is easy, or difficult, for consumers so you can improve new product designs. And, finally, you act by making prudent and efficient decisions with product portfolio management.

Don’t forget to register here for 100 Days to Effective Product Portfolio Management. Space is limited.

About Me

I am inspired by writing, teaching, and coaching. I tackle life with an infusion of rigor, zeal, and faith. It brings me joy to help you build innovation leaders. Teresa Jurgens-Kowal is an experienced innovation professional with a passion for lifelong learning with a PhD in Chemical Engineering and an MBA in Computer and Information Decision Making. My credentials include PE (State of Louisiana), NPDP, PMP®, and CPEM, and I am a DiSC® certified facilitator. Contact me at info@simple-pdh.com or area code 281 + phone 787-3979 for more information on coaching for entrepreneurs and innovators.

A Division of Global NP Solutions, LLC

Study. Learn. Earn. Simple.

What Innovation Leaders Do Differently

Posted on 11.19.20

In a lot of ways, innovation is a mystery. It does not happen spontaneously, but it occurs in an instant. Innovation is not the work of a lone genius, but it requires independent hard work. It is not easy, but it is rewarding.

Because it is so hard to characterize, innovation is also hard to define. Is innovation just something new? Or is innovation only a new use for something old? Does innovation make life easier for some and bring profit to others? Can innovation happen on the micro-scale as well as in the macro-environment?

The answer is “Yes” – yes, to all these questions and more. Innovation is the art and science of creating a new product, service, or technology that brings value to both customer and provider. Innovation is leading greatness.

Leadership and Innovation

While companies often struggle with repeatable innovation success, I argue that success with innovation is bound by leadership. True leaders recognize and nurture the growth of innovation in their teams. Innovation leadership is more than funding R&D or designing a clever marketing program. Leadership in innovation requires an in-depth understanding of the organization’s culture, your customers, and even of yourself. There are four levels to building innovation leadership: learning, adopting, transforming, and sustaining.

Learning

A learning organization is one that recognizes the importance of long-term, sustained innovation. Yet, they don’t know how to get there. These organizations inherently appreciate that standing still and hoping for our “old normal” isn’t going to happen. But they don’t know what to change to take advantage of the next phase of economic growth.

Learning organizations focus on strategic development, opportunity identification, and market insights. Strategy integrates vision, mission, and values of the organization. Where do you want to go, how will you get there, and what are your common beliefs? Market insights mean you have an in-depth understanding of customers, trends, markets, and competition in your industry.

Adopting

Once you understand the market space and your unique approach to customer needs, then you – as an innovation leader – make decisions about projects and pathways to achieve goals. We all have more ideas than time, resources, and money. Adopting innovation leaders apply tools, like new product development (NPD) processes, to frame decisions for generating value. Great leaders are willing to accept calculated risk. Winning the war is more important than 100% success in every small battle. Failure in innovation is treated as learning and not as a time to blame or punish. (Note that NPD processes cover a wide range of frameworks and approaches. Read more in The Innovation ANSWER Book, Chapter 3.)

Transforming

Many organizations stop once they have systems and processes in place to manage product innovation projects. That’s okay but it’s not leadership. Innovation leaders seek to transform the organization to drive higher level creativity and more satisfaction with customers. Again, this is a decision-making process, but instead of focusing on each step in executing a project, transformative leaders aim to drive change in the culture and behaviors of team members. Open cultures that tolerate constrained risk and defined exploration tend to be more innovative. Train your teams in creative processes (like design thinking) and allow them freedom and autonomy to discover new and interesting relationships among customer needs, technologies, and market trends. (Join our virtual Design Thinking workshop here.)

Sustaining

One success is good. Two or three successes is great. Repeatable innovation success is terrific! The way to achieve fantastic results in satisfying customers with continued innovation is by sustaining learning and growth. Innovation leaders and teams need ongoing support and challenge for continued success.

Because product innovation is often an isolated role within companies, many innovation leaders use a master mind or other peer support group to challenge their growth and curiosity. Master mind groups allow innovation leaders to share with like-minded peers to speed learning for implementation success. Trust among members allow you to go beyond your own constraints and boundaries as you both give and receive help.

Innovation Leaders are Different

Operational managers and functional department heads are judged on hitting easily measurable targets, such as cost of production or number of widgets manufactured. Success of innovation leaders is not as clear cut and success is defined by strategic objectives and customer satisfaction. Thus, the goal posts are constantly moving.

However, innovation leaders can build success for themselves, their teams, and their organizations by creating a framework for long-term change. Innovation cultures learn from the opportunities presented to them, adopt industry best practices, and transform their organizations with defined decisions. Truly successful innovation leaders continue the journey by sustaining growth and learning to establish cultures and relationships that support creativity and freedom.

What is Your Level of Innovation Maturity?

Take the Innovation Health Assessment™ to identify your organization’s innovation maturity level. (Free registration here to maintain integrity of the database.) If you are a learning organization, what is your strategy? If you are an adopting organization, what are your decision-making processes? If you are a transforming organization, how can you further build teamwork and creative collaboration? If you are a sustaining organization, how do you give your innovation leader support?

One way to gain cross organization knowledge of product innovation is through the New Product Development Professional (NPDP) certification. Register here for our next course in January 2021.

About Me

A Division of Global NP Solutions, LLC

Study. Learn. Earn. Simple.

This was first published on the blog at www.Simple-PDH.com. Follow me on Twitter @globalnpd.

Tools for Product Innovation

Posted on 07.09.20

I love my hobbies. Hobbies give us an escape from the stress of daily life and restore our inner peace. They also allow us an opportunity to explore new ideas and to be creative. My longtime followers, friends, and colleagues know that my favorite hobby is scrapbooking.

One of my great pleasures that enriches my hobby is attending craft shows. I am desperately hoping our newly tyrannical governments will once again allow such crowded, busy, and fun events! At craft shows, I watch vendors demonstrate new tools and techniques. I rub shoulders with other creative people sharing my hobby. This encourages me to try new things and it expands my own creativity. (Yes, there’s a reason I have glitter on my shoes!)

As product innovation professionals, we also need to expand our creativity and learn new things. Perhaps more important, we must maintain our ability to generate new ideas and to examine our product portfolios with new perspectives. And, just like the coolest news stamping platform or die cut machine for scrapbooking, we need to try new tools for creating, designing, and developing new products.

Ideation Tools

The earliest stage of the product design and development process is ideation – kind of a fancy word for idea generation. (Read more about the stages in the Product Design Process here.) Formally, ideation is defined as a “creative process to generate and communicate ideas and concepts within the new product development (NPD) ecosystem”. Let’s look at a few common ideation tools.

SCAMPER

SCAMPER (read more here) is an acronym that uses verbs to stimulate new viewpoints toward a product solution. You can apply the SCAMPER technique to an existing product, a new product, or a general customer problem. The acronym is:

S = Substitute
C = Combine
A = Adapt
M = Modify
P = Put to Another Use
E = Eliminate
R = Reverse

Check out my Skillshare class here for more information and an example of apply SCAMPER.

Brainstorming and Brainwriting

Brainstorming is a traditional method of idea generation, often used in groups. A problem statement is presented, and the group is encouraged to speak freely about potential solutions. People are encouraged, but not required, to build from existing ideas and to even come up with ideas that defy science and logic (can anyone say lockdown or facemask?).

On the other hand, brainwriting (read more about this tool in Chapter 2 of The Innovation ANSWER Book) is a quieter activity, still utilizing free association and even wild ideas. In brainwriting, each individual writes an idea on a sheet of paper and passes the paper to another member of the group. Each person subsequently builds on the ideas they receive. The activity is timed to further drive creativity. After a few rounds, each idea originator shares the “best” idea.

Mind Mapping

Mind mapping is also a free association method of generating ideas but is often used individually rather than in groups. (Read more here.) It is a graphical technique in which a core problem is presented and ideas or concepts are documented as words, phrases, or figures. Clustering and grouping of ideas are conducted in the second stage. Usually, each word or concept leads to additional “layers” of words and concepts so that the end result is reminiscent of a spiderweb.

Customer-Focus

Several ideations techniques directly involve the customer. This is highly beneficial for new product development since we intensify our focus on customer needs, thoughts, and perspectives without the bias of technology or pre-determined solutions.

The ethnographic approaches to ideation are based on observing customers in their own environments where they face problems and use product solutions. Complex challenges are better evaluated when an innovation team examines behaviors, beliefs, attitudes, and preferences at once.

Another customer-focused ideation method is A Day in the Life. This is essentially “shadowing” the customer to uncover routines, behaviors, and circumstances they face when using different products and services. It also captures emotional aspects of product usage for further ideation and analysis.

Another way to capture emotional inputs is through empathy analysis. This is a way in which innovation teams connect with and understand customers deeply and share a direct emotional connection with them. Empathy means understanding the customers problems from their point of view.

From these customer-focused methods, the innovation design team may develop one or more personas. A persona is a fictional character based on composite, objective, and direct observations of groups of users. These personas become “typical” consumers for whom the innovation design team describes in terms of demographics, behaviors, attitudes, styles, and preferences. Products and services are designed, therefore, to meet satisfy the needs of a specific persona. This improves long-term product design and launch success.

Ideation Tools for Design

Designing and developing new products and services is never easy but is always fun! We use a variety of tools, techniques, and methodologies in the early stages of the product design process to expand creativity and to generate, develop, and communicate new ideas. We use ideation for all activities and processes that broaden a set of solution alternatives for a consumer problem. Ideation tools are also applied in risk management, troubleshooting for operations and in any situation where creativity is important in finding an ultimate solution.

Just like we attend classes, conferences, and exhibits to expand creativity for our hobbies, we also must use similar opportunities to expand creativity for product development. Ideation tools can be used individually or in combination to generate new alternatives for designing and developing products and services that solve customer challenges. Many ideation tools use the power of a group to build on ideas and concepts but many of the tools are used independently to help an individual focus on troubleshooting solutions (e.g. SCAMPER, mind mapping, and empathy analysis).

Learn More

Of course you must start with the vision – or strategy – before you jump into ideation. I used to have hobbies of quilting, knitting, cross-stitching, and scrapbooking. I had too many ideas and too little time. Over the years, I have narrowed my focus and increased my talent in scrapbooking and card-making. That’s a result of a strategic analysis. With a strategy in place, new ideas are more cost-effective and lead to greater payoff.

Do you know your strategy? Is it time to refocus or narrow your focus? Join me for the two-part Reset Your Strategy workshop on 18 and 20 August. Register here – special discounts for the unemployed.

Reset Your Strategy

Reset Your Strategy is a four-hour workshop that will help you independently answer this question. We will provide the theory, frameworks, and tools so that you will leave the workshop with a specific, actionable strategy to take you out of 2020. Register here. We have special discounts for anyone who is unemployed right now. And, with all the depressing news on television and the radio, I promise to leave you laughing with our top-secret and mega-fun contest during the workshop (attendees only).

A Division of Global NP Solutions, LLC

Study. Learn. Earn. Simple.

About Me

Have You Missed the Digital Transformation?

Posted on 06.18.20

I never cease to be amazed at the number of buzzwords that enter our vocabulary. Good ideas become nauseating when entrenched in bad phrases. Of course, the idea of keeping sick people away from old people or those with weakened immune systems is good, yet the phrase “social distancing” is oxymoronic and getting very, very old very, very quickly.

Digital transformation is another phrase that shot off like a firework but really doesn’t have a lot of teeth in its meaning. The idea of digital transformation is that all businesses should read recognize technology is a constant and growing component of products and services. Yet a whole lexicon of “digital” words has sprung up to describe a simple evolution in product innovation.

Digital Innovation

One new phrase is “digital innovation.” It means applying digital technology to increase operational efficiency, drive customer engagement, or to develop innovation products and services. Frankly, this is a very broad definition and can hearken back to the good – but simple – idea that computers can do basic calculations faster than humans. We have been using digital technology throughout my entire life to improve operations. For example, petrochemical plants are controlled via a DCS (digital control systems) that monitors temperature, pressure, flow rates, and valve positions. This is not a “new” concept.

What is somewhat different in the past few decades is evolution of a “digital strategy”. Instead of tacking on an application or programming for a product after it is designed and developed, innovative companies today recognize the importance of integrating technology throughout the development stages.

Digital Integration

Technology generally allows us to move product innovation at a faster pace. Using social media and 3D printing to generate prototypes, new product development (NPD) practitioners garner rapid customer feedback. We conduct many more inexpensive trials before freezing the design.

Further, when software is fully integrated into a product’s functionality, features can be changed and adapted on an ongoing basis. We can customize many of the features and functions of products and services for each individual user. Digital transformation thereby enhances the relationship between the customer and the producer.

Advance Your Digital Transformation

Did you miss the digital transformation? Don’t feel bad if you missed the ascension and collapse of a buzzword. It’s likely your company did not miss opportunities to integrate technology into product design or customer experience. Using technology to analyze large data sets and to cull insights from qualitative measures is commonplace.

If your organization is not integrating applications, software, and IT into product and service development, you do need a digital strategy. The digital strategy also identifies how competitors are using technology to gain market share. If you are falling short, you may need to consider simple steps such as how to reshape your organization using apps or text messages to gain customer feedback.

Don’t Miss Another Opportunity

Language, phrases, and buzzwords don’t tell the whole story. You need to look at your basic processes and systems. Product innovation starts with proven best practices, customized to ensure competitive advantage. If you are trying to integrate digital strategy or trying to figure out what to do emerging from the corona-panic, you must join our online Reset Your Strategy workshop. Click here to pre-register (special rates for unemployed). Contact me at info@globalnpsolutions.com or area code (281) phone 787-3979 for more information.

A Division of Global NP Solutions, LLC

Study. Learn. Earn. Simple.

About Me

Using PESTLE in a Recovery Strategy

Posted on 05.28.20

Watch the short video (<1 minute) and then read on for all the details!

While our country has never before shuttered the economy, we have also never been faced with such challenges in innovation in business. “Experts” predict V-shaped and U-s0haped recoveries. Personally, the prediction of a “swoosh”-shaped recovery seems more reasonable; and it gives me hope for fan-based sports in its terminology, too.

Regardless of size or scope of your business, the so-called “reopening” allows you a chance to reset your strategy. In an earlier post, we discussed using SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) as a strategic assessment of your internal capabilities. Opportunities and threats are external drivers in the model, yet how do you ascertain competitor actions when the shape of the business landscape has shifted irreversibly?

This is where another strategy planning tool can be of essence in resetting your business and innovation strategies. PESTLE is a technique that forces an organization to examine trends outside their control, narrowing the possible scenarios for future conditions. The acronym PESTLE represents political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental situations and trends.

Political

In the US, the corona-panic has illuminated some strong political trends that are likely to continue unabated into the future. First, increased socialism and government control is likely. American citizens have demonstrated they will give up fundamental rights (e.g. the right to assembly and the right to religious freedom) when threatened with an unspecified health fear. It is unwise to trust that all elected and appointed government officials will treat their power with fairness and justice.

Second, policy makers have realized that using the word “science” in any conversation is effective to convince the electorate to succumb any personal responsibility or liberty. Many US citizens have only a limited math or science education (and, unfortunately, we continue to fall behind most other first world nations), so telling someone it is “science” without providing factual data is proof enough for most.

How do these political trends impact your business and innovation strategies? Are you positioned to take advantage of growing government bureaucracies? Will you be nimble enough to navigate a flurry and inconsistent network of illogical rules and regulations again?

Economic

There are not enough words in my vocabulary to describe the economic damage of the corona-panic. As we plan new business and innovation strategies, one key economic trend stands out. Debt. Before the corona-panic, the US economy was already headed toward an unsustainable debt-to-GDP ratio. With massive stimulus bills and shrinking output, the debt-to-GDP ratio is at astronomical levels, never seen before – even in times of war.

With a fiat currency (meaning printed money and not based on bullion value), increased debt means inflation and higher taxes. How can you incorporate these threats into your business and innovation strategies going forward? What does it mean for product pricing strategies?

Social

Social trends are yet to be determined coming out of the corona-panic. There are some people who had readily believe the disastrously wrong models from government agencies and consequently believe any social interaction will result in immediate death. Many of us have looked at the data and will continue to want to live our lives with normal human contact: going to the movies, concerts, and trade shows.

As an individual, I dread the trend away from face-to-face events. It is nearly impossible to meet new people and to connect in a virtual world. The coffee pot conversations, lunch discussions, and happy hour connections at events allow us to interact as human beings were designed to do. No one should be expected to sit in front of a computer screen for hours (or days) on end and expect to build an important relationship.

Yet, as you reset your business and innovation strategies, virtual meetings are, at least, a short-term reality. How can you involve customers in your product innovation work in a virtual world? How will you plan for qualitative feedback when you can’t see your potential customers? What does “moving online” mean for your business?

Technology

With the advent of doing everything virtually and without contact, your business and innovation strategies must incorporate technological changes. We are sure to see a slew of new technical tools (other than zoom, I hope!) to run our business in a digital, nonhuman world. There are also going to be more frequent and more numerous cyberattacks. Are you building IT strength into your business and innovation strategies? Digital transformation trends will continue to dominate physical product development. Are you linking “digital” applications with all hardware development?

Legal

There is no doubt that legal implications will continue to grow as the world emerges from the corona-panic. HR experts will tell you that if your employees are afraid of getting sick at work, you will need to make a legal disability accommodation and let them work from home. How will you monitor project work and schedules when your staff does not meet together?

Further, if one of your team members coughs or sneezes, how do you treat that? If another team member catches a cold, will she sue you? I believe there will be a whole host of new illnesses arising from the overuse of cleaning products. Government “experts” are encouraging nearly continuous use of hand sanitizer, yet I am reminded that it is the only solution I use to effectively remove bicycle grease. Once I spilled a few drops of hand sanitizer on my desk and it removed the varnish. Are you prepared for a trend of chronic diseases from chemical usage in a workplace? What other legal implications threaten your business or the introduction of a new product?

Environmental

As a result of the corona-panic, I believe there are favorable environmental trends to influence our business and innovation strategies. The tremendous hit that oil and gas took during the panic creates opportunities for petrochemical manufacturing. Distribution costs should decline as diesel and jet fuel are less expensive. Peoples’ fears regarding short-term environmental destruction have been replaced with an immediate health and safety fear. While both fears are completely irrational (and not based on existing data but so-called “science”), environmental restrictions will be loosened in many areas so business can get going again. For example, allowing a truck driver to haul two trailers in tandem versus a single trailer might benefit how your products get to market.

Use PESTLE to Design a Recovery Strategy

Every business, large or small, must deeply probe its innovation strategy today. Understanding and studying external opportunities and threats can help you formulate an effective recovery strategy. Use PESTLE to identify trends impacting innovation and business conditions during “reopening”.

What political trends are happening locally or nationally to threaten your business? Will the economic conditions (especially increasing debt, inflation, and taxes) cause a change in your business structure? Which societal trends will allow you to grow and which fears of society might threaten your innovation programs?

Examine technology advances and incorporate enhanced cyber security into your strategies. Be prepared for a slew of legal actions, especially as elections are anticipated and the way we vote in a democracy is changed away from secure and known trends. How will employee behaviors influence your strategies to prepare for health and safety lawsuits? Finally, are there any environmental trends that can open opportunities or provide a benefit to your innovation strategy?

Learn More about Strategy

Strategy lays the groundwork for all innovation work. If you don’t know what your strategy is, you cannot succeed. Contact me at area code 281, phone 787-3979 for a complimentary 30-minute innovation coaching session. We will discuss how you can apply SWOT and PESTLE in your own unique business situation to immediately see results.

Other Resources

Innovation and Project Management: It’s NOT about You (PMI Houston Virtual Chapter meeting, Tuesday, 2 June 2020 at 5:30 pm, register here)
The Innovation ANSWER Book (available at Amazon and now in Kindle format)
NPDP certification (register for New Product Development Professional self-study here)
20 Tips for Innovation (webinar recording and eBook)
The Innovation PRACTICE Book (coming soon)
Life Design Master Mind Q&A webinar (18 June 2020 at noon CDT, register here at no cost)

A Division of Global NP Solutions, LLC

Study. Learn. Earn. Simple.

About Me

Mixed Skills for Work Today

Posted on 05.07.20

Watch the short summary (less than 1 minute) and then read the full article below.

At the Fall 2019 AIChE conference for chemical engineers, keynote speaker Matt Sigelman presented the importance of developing and supplementing skills forproduct development and leadership. He made the distinction of “jobs” as doing tasks while “work” is renting a set of skills. To succeed in a changing workplace, Sigelman puts forth that we must continue to grow and enhance our skills. I agree!

What are Skills?

Formal education gives us knowledge and some skills. As a chemical engineer, I have learned theories of math, chemistry, and physics. This knowledge is measurable in a quantitative way. There is a “right” answer to a calculus problem or to balancing heat and energy in a standard chemical stoichiometry.

Skills we learn in school or with work experience include analytical capability, writing, research, and creativity. These skills are not necessarily measurable but do differentiate success as innovation leaders. For example, the demand for team collaboration skills at work is in high demand for at least one-third of jobs today.

Mixed Skills

Sigleman defined “hybrid jobs” as work activities that require both specialized technical skills (e.g. math, chemistry, physics) and critical skills (e.g. people and processes). Job growth and education experience change at 1-2% per year, but skills change as much as 40% per years. Successful new product development (NPD) practitioners and product managers must not only maintain current knowledge in their field of specialization but also grow and enhance their leadership skills. This means learning and practicing sound project management protocols while also adopting and sustaining team development practices.

Today’s most important jobs require mixed skills. Data scientists cannot be content with analyzing a set of numbers. They must translate that data into information on which to base technology and market growth activities. Technical skills must balance against communication and decision-making skills. New Product Development Professionals (NPDP) use quantitative market data to estimate pricing and market capacity for product innovations. Yet, it is qualitative interpretation of customer knowledge that leads innovation leaders to product development decisions, profitability, and improved market share.

Building Mixed Skills

Lifelong learning and a commitment to growth are the fuel to build mixed skills for today’s job market. As noted at the AIChE conference, credential demonstrate expertise and mastery of mixed skills. Innovation leaders use NPDP certification as a stepping stone for product management career growth illustrating experience with product portfolio management and NPD processes as well as team management and leadership development.

You can learn more about NPDP certification here. Benchmark your own innovation maturity with the Innovation Health Assessment™. Take the complimentary Innovation Health Assessment here. Contact me at info@Simple-PDH.com for more information on developing your skills for a rewarding career in product innovation.

A Division of Global NP Solutions, LLC

Study. Learn. Earn. Simple.

You Get What You Pay For

Posted on 04.30.20

The old saying goes, “There’s no free lunch”. I think it’s true. Almost no one is altruistic enough to offer something free with no strings attached. My friend pays for lunch this time but next time I pay.

Training is no different. Today during (unconstitutional?) “stay-at-home” orders and government lockdowns, a lot of businesses have begun offering free training. Some courses even come with certificates. You have to ask yourself what do they expect in return and what is the quality of free training?

Quality Training

A quality training experience involves three things from the user’s viewpoint:

accurate information,
appropriate new skills, and
long-term viability.

Let’s look at each of these to compare free training with a credentialed facilitation.

Accurate Information

Anyone can put together a YouTube video and type up a reference list. However, a credential facilitator has demonstrated years of experience practicing in the field and in delivering proven outcomes to other clients. Experienced facilitators are not only subject matter experts but also are skilled in the education process as well.

Appropriate New Skills

Occasionally, we take refresher training to remind ourselves of basic skills or competencies. Sometimes we take training on subjects we already know well because of government or trade association rules and regulations requiring demonstration of knowledge for renewal of a license or certificate.

On the other hand, a lot of people today are presenting information they read in a book or in a magazine article as “new”. Unless you have never before been hungry, are you really learning anything knew by watching a YouTube video on how to make a sandwich?

Valuable training and facilitation might cost more than watching a free YouTube video, but you will validate learning new skills as an outcome. You should expect to do something you could not do before. You should expect to trial and practice the new skill in the training course and get feedback from the instructor.

A few years ago, I built Adirondack chairs for our patio. I did not know how to use the router to smooth the edges of the wood. So, I watched a bunch of YouTube videos. But I did not learn how to use the router from the video – that only provided a view of how an expert used a router. (See a related blog post, Innovation Leaders are NOT Teachers.)

Long-Term Viability

I have never used the router again. This was not a skill that gave me long-term viability in my profession or my hobbies. With shutdowns on lockdowns, people are producing crazy things and calling it “training”. A lot of this free information is definitely short-term in nature, like how to exercise at home without weights. To succeed as an innovation leader, you need long-term skills that benefit you today, tomorrow, and in five years.

Real facilitation will give you skills that help you build your career (or hobby) for the long haul. A credentialed trainer will support you in implementing skills even after the training session has concluded. S/he will survey you and your manager to ensure you have been executing process steps accurately and that the organization has benefited from the training. No YouTube video will ever ask you how you are doing three months later!

Why Not Free Training?

You get what you pay for. Free training is generic and basic. Customized facilitation from a long serving member of industry targets your needs to help you speed development. They will work with you before, during, and after the training event to ensure your team gets accurate information, appropriate new skills, and long-term viability. Expert facilitators maintain credentials with respected trade associations like the Project Management Institute (PMI®), the Product Development and Management Association (PDMA), and the American Society of Engineering Management (ASEM).

Do you want to learn more about training for innovation or for leading cross-functional teams? Please email me at info (at) Simple-PDH.com for more information on building innovation leaders.

A Division of Global NP Solutions, LLC

Study. Learn. Earn. Simple.