As we wrote this book in early 2007, winter CES and the iPhone were fresh on everybody’s minds. We know—the world has changed dramatically since then, though we still think this specific iPhone story is a great example (even if it is overused today) of establishing an intent with distinctive value. We’ll be thinking about how to adjust the description based on what we know now about the trajectory of the iPhone–and indeed, the entire smartphone industry.
However we set up the introduction of the “Innovation Intent” framework, we think it’s a great place to start: articulating the problem as we understand it, and setting up the conversations and questions we’ll explore as the project takes shape. Sometimes we find that colleagues and collaborators find it challenging to have this conversation from scratch, so let us know if it would help to explain the mindset. By the way, did the teamwork issues raised come as a surprise? There’s a lot to be said about how to convene, organize, and inspire an innovation team—easily enough for a separate book. For now, we needed to get across some core elements of collaboration, since you’ll really need multiple points of view to come up with an effective Innovation Intent.
What seems to be working
- We’ve tried to think about all the issues that an innovation team needs to keep in mind when they are just starting. Early framing of the question, setting intent, and making sure the team is starting out by working effectively together—all important, all at once.
- The “Innovation Intent” outline used here still matches pretty well with what we use in our professional practice. Anything you’d add or adjust to make it stronger?
Areas that need work or feedback
- Do we give you enough clarity about how to start having the Innovation Intent conversation? Do you think these are the right questions for “Day 1″ of an innovation effort–or can you think of other ones that should be on the table from the start?
- Is the discussion about teamwork too much of a tangent—or just enough to get you going on a collaborative discussion of “Intent”? Does the sidebar on “Effective innovation teamwork” belong here, or later in the book?
- For most chapters of the book, we suggest resources for further reading. Can you suggest any for Chapter 3?