506: Everyday practical innovation – with Jerry Fix and Terry Carroll

What product managers need to know about the Targeted Innovation Process Watch on YouTube TLDR The Targeted Innovation Process is a practical framework that helps product managers drive innovation in their organizations. This approach focuses on understanding customer needs, generating quality ideas, and turning those ideas into real value. The process has five main steps: * Stating the problem * Understanding problem-solving styles * Creating creative pathways * Generating ideas * Evaluating ideas Introduction Innovation is key to product management. It’s what helps create products that customers love and keeps companies successful in the long run. As a product manager, knowing how to use effective innovation processes is crucial to stay competitive in today’s market. In this episode, Jerry Fix and Terry Carroll explained the Targeted Innovation Process, a practical way for product managers to drive innovation in their companies. They described each step of the process, shared a real-world example, and discussed how to show the value of innovation programs in your company. A Working Definition of Innovation Filling the Idea Funnel Think of innovation in product management as filling a funnel with high-quality ideas. This approach involves coming up with lots of concepts and gradually refining them through different stages of development. The goal is to have a strong innovation process that provides a steady stream of valuable ideas for product managers to work with. Staying Close to Customers A big part of successful innovation is keeping a close connection with customers. This involves: * Understanding their challenges and needs * Observing their work environments * Gaining insights beyond what customers directly tell you By staying close to customers, product managers can make sure their innovation efforts match real market demands. Two Ways to Define Innovation Jerry and Terry shared how they think about innovation: Terry: Creating a better mousetrap: This means making meaningful improvements to existing products or creating new, viable solutions that add real value for customers. Jerry: Turning ideas into value: Innovation isn’t just about coming up with ideas. It’s about turning those ideas into tangible benefits for customers and the company. Understanding the Targeted Innovation Process The Targeted Innovation Process is a practical approach to innovation that focuses on generating high-quality ideas and efficiently turning them into valuable products. This framework has five key steps: Step Description 1. Stating the problem Clearly defining the challenge or opportunity 2. Understanding problem-solving styles Identifying appropriate approaches for your organization 3. Creating creative pathways Developing routes to connect ideas with innovation 4. Generating ideas Using various techniques to produce potential solutions 5. Evaluating ideas Assessing and selecting promising concepts for development This process is designed to be more focused and practical than traditional open-ended innovation approaches. It encourages product managers to consider real-world constraints and their organization’s capabilities throughout the innovation journey. A Closer Look at Each Step of the Targeted Innovation Process Jerry and Terry explained each step of the Targeted Innovation Process in more detail: Step 1: Stating the Problem The first step in the process is to clearly articulate the problem or opportunity you’re addressing. This involves: * Creating an open-ended problem statement