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Ever get the itch to write? Being students of growth and innovation means more than just plying our trade on the highways and byways of Corporate America. It means trying to give back to the pool of knowledge that we all draw from in whatever little way we can. From time to time, the Jumpsters publish some of our thoughts in our favorite magazines and journals. Here are some of those articles, offering provocative ideas and practical advice for both growth masters and novices alike. Like to comment on an article? We’d love to hear your thoughts. You can send feedback to the authors at feedback@jumpassociates.com.

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"The Perils of Partial Credit"

Too many companies still rely on the belief that if they just try enough things, and provide enough features, somewhere in what they offer will be the scattered strands of a reasonable value proposition. The alternative can mean avoiding yet another techno failure.

Reprint from: Product Development Best Practices Report, Vol. 8 Issue 7, The Management Roundtable, July 2001. Reproduced with permission.

"No More Best Practices!"

Best practices inherently assume that future conditions will mirror past conditions, and this may no longer be the case. Moreover, the particular situations in which the practice was seen to excel may be quite different from the situation right now. Maybe we need to just rename them Last Practices.

Reprint from: Product Development Best Practices Report, Vol. 10 Issue 7, The Management Roundtable, November 2003. Reproduced with permission.

"Needfinding: The Why and How of Uncovering People’s Needs."

While an understanding of needs alone doesn’t generate specific product or service solutions, the science of needfinding can be a dynamic platform for design. The paper defines terms related to the process and outlines steps for identifying development opportunities.

This article originally appeared in the Design Management Journal, Design Management Institute, Spring 1999. Reproduced with permission.

"System Logics: How Companies Organize Their Offerings To Solve Big Needs."

Corporations are beginning to realize the importance of understanding customers’ latent and unspoken needs. Yet while this approach yields immediate problems with immediately feasible solutions, it fails to incorporate deeper findings about longer range needs that require more systemic innovation. An understanding of customer needs can lead to far more than immediate product improvements; it can help outline completely new business opportunities and strategic directions.

This article originally appeared in the Design Management Journal, Design Management Institute, Summer 2004. Reproduced with permission.

"Direct Observation: Some Practical Advice."

Organizations working to better understand their customers would do well to employ direct observation techniques. But how do these techniques actually work? Here are some guidelines for the novice practitioner.

A previous version of this article appeared as "Take Direct Route When Data-Gathering," Marketing News, American Marketing Association, September 27, 1999.

"Solutions that Sell: Solving the Real Opportunity"

Designers are often given problem statements that don’t represent the greatest potential for the projects. Finding the right problem to solve takes additional time at the beginning of the design process, but it can produce results that are more innovative, more relevant to customers and better selling.

Reprint from InCA, IDSA Bay Area Chapter Newsletter, Spring 2001. Reproduced with permission.

"The Ebb and Flow of Ideation."

In times of uncertainty, it can be extremely helpful to get back to basics to figure out how we can generate new opportunities for growth, and new ways to provide value to our customers. To add to that, we need to make sure that our ideation work is more effective.

Reprint from: Product Development Best Practices Report, Vol. 9 Issue 7, The Management Roundtable, July 2003. Reproduced with permission.

"Insight into Action: Making the Connection"

Even as firms are seeing the value in non-traditional research techniques, they’re realizing that the greatest challenge isn’t in getting insights about customers - it’s in making the connection between insights and actions. Here are some quick tips for developers looking to get the most from the research they do.

Reprint from: Product Development Best Practices Report, Vol. 8 Issue 3, The Management Roundtable, March 2001. Reproduced with permission.

"Product Roadmaps: Build to Learn"

The strategic management of a product portfolio often seeks to create a future state that’s quite different from current reality. Fortunately, the act of creating offerings can serve to develop new capabilities, explore unfamiliar markets and capture new opportunities. This article is a quick overview of what it can mean to have a Build to Learn strategy.

Reprint from: Product Development Best Practices Report, Vol. 8 Issue 11, The Management Roundtable, November 2001. Reproduced with permission.

"Illustrate the Application"

Product developers can use a particular application to dramatize the benefits of their new invention. Rather than speaking about the power of a technology in the abstract, these test applications help developers to make their vision tangible, and get immediate feedback. Such an activity can be considered "demand side" exploration, and it’s as important as any technical research that can happen on the supply side.

Reprint from: Product Development Best Practices Report, Vol. 9 Issue 11, The Management Roundtable, November 2002. Reproduced with permission.

"Iteration and Rework"

What’s the difference between iteration and rework? Too many product development processes emulate a manufacturing model. Unfortunately, most manufacturing systems don’t require that its participants learn and adapt. Instead of drawing from manufacturing, developers need to balance discipline and flexibility, and recognize that product development is inherently a process of learning.

Reprint from: Product Development Best Practices Report, Vol. 10 Issue 3, The Management Roundtable, March 2003. Reproduced with permission.

"Persuasive Technologies Should Be Boring"

Technology academics and Silicon Valley companies alike want to get people to adopt persuasive technologies, including far-out cell phones that teach kids to read and video games that mock the arbitrary nature of airport security regulations. As fun as novel technologies can be, people are way more likely to adopt something that they understand. The Nike+iPod Sport Kit gets it right: Hide your beautiful, insightful technology breakthrough inside the most boring form you can create.

Presented at the Second International Conference on Persuasive Technology at Stanford University, April 26, 2007.

"CMOs: Be a Chief Growth Officer."

Today’s CMO is a hot commodity, even replacing the COO as the position to have when you’re being groomed for chief executive. Yet, even as they enjoy the limelight, there’s disturbing evidence to suggest that too many Chief Marketers are modeling their careers on James Dean, living fast and dying young. To Survive, CMOs need to focus on the ultimate goal: growth.

A previous version of this article appeared as "CMOs: Be a Chief Growth Officer." BrandWeek, October 11, 2004.

"Disruptive vs. Sustaining Innovations: Set Up the Rules in Advance."

By clearly articulating different methods and metrics for sustaining and disruptive innovation projects, companies can eliminate the need for project teams to "opt out" of processes that may be inappropriate for their product. Doing so can make the objectives clear in advance. It can even help a firm to manage its tolerance for failure.

Reprint from: Product Development Best Practices Report, Vol. 9 Issue 7, The Management Roundtable, July 2002. Reproduced with permission.

"Familiar Places in New Spaces"

Fundamental changes are occurring in the way we work. As we spend more and more time at the office, our workplace behaviors and expectations are changing to more closely mirror the rest of our lives. For companies like Metro Furniture, that connection can lead to inspiration.

This article appears simultaneously as a white paper published by Metropolitan Furniture Corporation. Reproduced with permission.

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