Don’t Think Out of the Box, Add Boxes

I’m on my way to another “let’s think out of the box meeting”. You know these meetings. A couple of senior executives sit around the room and try to brainstorm on the logical extensions to the business and products that can open up new sources of revenue. I’m sure if you are like me you’ve sat through your share of “out of the box meetings”. I surely have as a senior member of the management team and also as a consultant. Every time I sit through another one of these meetings I caution the attendants that these meetings have one thing in common no matter what industry you are in - out of the box meetings provide false hope because even if you can think out of the box the execution may be far beyond your current resources, capabilities, and budget. Out of the box meetings always end with questions of how and when and then someone stands up and tells everyone, “We’ll do it next year”. Guess what by next year it is forgotten or worse you schedule another “let’s think out of the box” meeting.

There are four product / sales / marketing problems that we see today in every business we work with. I’m not saying you have all four but you probably have at least one or two.
1) Sales, Marketing and the Customer are saying different things about your product weakening your value proposition and making it hard for the customer to determine why to switch or use your product. This may lead to aggressive pricing to win the customer.
2) The product is over-engineered, costs are high, pricing is competitive and you are close to break-even or losing money on each sale.
3) You are so busy hunting for new customers that no one is tending to existing ones. Customer retention may be next year’s problem which will drive pricing even lower.
4) You have no time to think about growth, innovation, or new products and the cycle downward continues putting stress on the business and all the resources.


Let me introduce Stages of Innovation’s 4BOX Marketing process. Why think out of the box when I can show you how to expand the boxes and make more money today, with today’s funding, resources, and capabilities. Could it be that simple? The answer is yes. SOI’s 4BOX Marketing process leverages your current customers, capabilities, resources, and budget. SOI’s 4BOX Marketing process:
- Aligns Sales, Marketing and the Customer
- Packages the optimal set of features to maximize profit
- Creates the reason for customers to switch or begin using your product versus other alternatives
- Finds the right channel, to reach the right person, so your salespeople and collateral can say the right thing.



Call or email us to learn more.
Rob Goldberg 2009
rgoldberg@stagesofinnovation.com

Product Developments Offensive or Defensive Moves

As a practicing product developer the primary objective is providing enhancements, new and improved, or new to our customer base products and services, with the result being growth. Very offensive. When I put on my strategy hat I can’t help but think about defensive moves we need to make and how I may be able to block the competition from achieving their goals. Whether I’m playing the offense or defense product development and IP can play a role. On the offensive side IP may take a backseat to growth. I want to get my product out into the market quickly and not disclose what I am doing and how I am doing it. On the defensive side it may at times be the primary objective. I want to block others from doing this or I want to block my competitor form moving into a certain market or position.

There isn't a marked difference between invention and innovation. Don’t trade off innovation with invention. Look at invention as one potential means-to-an-end within the innovation cycle. Innovation should provide direction and help manage the gap between where I want to be (my desired end state) and where I am (my beginning state).


Need help, visit us at http://www.stagesofinnovation.com/. Our unique approach will help you understand where you need to play offense and defense to achieve your business goals.

Making Innovation Happen

What are the two or three key things managers within business need to do on a daily basis to make innovation happen...

You have to figure out what kind of innovation you want. Innovation is a term that has been misused. Most people think of innovation as new products or associate it only with revenue.

What do you focus on daily, the P&L. The P&L is the guide to 1) incremental growth, 2) transformational growth, 3) new business opportunities and 4) emerging business opportunities. Let me quickly explain how.

1) Incremental growth. The P&L shows trends over time. Compare this to your budget and forecast there maybe a gap between what was budgeted last year and currently being forecasted this year. Incremental Innovation happens in that gap and helps to close it. Determine what drivers are running the business. The innovation comes when you can determine new drivers or how you can affect the existing ones. So daily you are looking to challenge and support the key drivers of your business. Another area that falls under this category is changing your business model. Be a student of business and look at how markets other than yours operate.

2) Transformational Growth. The same is true for EBIT. Transformation programs focusing on business processes can take a long time but the payoff is well worth it. You need a lot of innovation muscle to transform business processes. There are some short-term programs that can make an immediate difference. I like to focus on business processes and determine where I can make immediate changes. Look at workflow and spend time on order to cash. Look at retention, listen to customer calls. Longer-term you can look at new technologies. Listening to customer call is also a good source of new ideas.

3) New Business Opportunities. This is one of the areas most people think of when you mention innovation. NBOs are more closely aligned with the core business than Emerging Business Opportunities. Easy things to look at are: 1) value-chain in your business. Are there obvious expansion points up or down the chain? ; 2) channel. Can you sell through another or new channel? There are many others to consider.

4) Emerging Business Opportunities. EBOs done well can provide long-term growth. There are many good methods available. Read analyst reports and understand how your customer’s needs are evolving. Technology usually plays a big role here. Find people who understand the technology. Companies expand into markets either vertically or horizontally and you need to know who is moving where.

I’m a big proponent of the concept of meaningful coincidences. Meaning the more exposure you have to other industries, value-chains, business models the more likelihood you will be able to apply innovative ideas to your business.

For more information take a look at http://www.stagesofinnovation.com/
Rob Goldberg 2009