Cross discipline innovation

Kevin Werbach — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 03:05:03 +0000

I had the pleasure to participate in an innovation workshop with Frans Johansson, author of the Medici Effect, down at the Business Innovation Factory in Rhode Island.
Here are three AHA moments that I jotted down in my notebook.
The method of reverse assumptions - where you jot down the assumptions about your business and then see if you can create a business by reversing those assumptions - is a great method to brainstorm around business innovation. But while it may be hard for you to imagine a business that is based on reverse assumption, you should always remember that it is much easier for someone who is not in your business to imagine a business based on those reverse assumptions. So force yourself to let go of the assumptions because if you don’t, you might get blind-sighted by an outsider.
While it may be a well-known fact that homogeneous teams […]

Original post by francois and software by Elliott Back

Leveraging envy to generate demand

Kevin Werbach — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 03:04:20 +0000

This past Sunday, the Boston Globe reported on new research that shows that giving preferential treatment to a few can generate demand from everyone. The research was part of doctoral dissertation by Allison K.C. Lo.
As part of the research she did some amazing experiments. Some which were somewhat predictable - like the fact that by giving away swimsuits to the Olympic swimmers Speedo increased its sales of swimwear, or that by hosting free tastings exclusively for bartenders, Belvedere Vodka became one of the most successful Vodka launches. It is a known fact in marketing that people want to be associated with the “experts.”
Other experiments were less evident, such as the one that showed that you do not even need an expert endorsement to convey that expert comparison. In one of those experiments, people were offered a camcorder with a $30 gift certificate to either Wal-Mart of for a […]

Original post by francois and software by Elliott Back

Doing market research differently

Kevin Werbach — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 03:04:13 +0000

The Enterprise 2.0 RAVE that I described last Friday is not just another event. It came about as a market research project to increase the understanding around everything Enterprise 2.0 - product requirements, maturity of the market, success of pilot programs, etc. But instead of spending hours on the phone or in person doing interviews with willing candidates we decided to do something fun and get them all together at once for a giant brainstorming session.
The benefits of doing it this way are quite clear. Instead of having a one way delivery of value we created an environment in which there is a two way exchange of value - as every practitioner who is involved with Enterprise 2.0 projects is dying to meet other people who are going through the same pains. And the value to the market researcher is much higher as well - if we get […]

Original post by francois and software by Elliott Back

Hello world!

Kevin Werbach — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 14:39:25 +0000

Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!