Product development

It is always instructive to examine how successful firms can go wrong, even in markets that they think they understand well. The market failure of the Michelin run-flat PAX tire illustrates the common mistake of failing to realize that even a groundbreaking product has to create a complete consumption chain. Broken links in the chain […]

Companies say they want breakthrough products, but most are far more adept at making incremental improvements to existing lines. A pioneering division at 3M successfully navigated a process that leads to breakthrough thinking.

Returns to innovation appear to be declining.

On the basis of a sample from the top 200 of the Fortune “500” and data from the PIMS (Profit Impact of Market Strategies) project, this author gives some guidelines for established companies on what to expect from new ventures. He points out that it takes an average of 10 to 12 years before the […]

Scientists have a good sense of which family of viruses will cause the next pandemic.

A Taxonomy of Innovation

For the last decade, the Gallup Organization has surveyed the people of China, as both consumers of goods and employees of the companies that produce those goods. The data provide a unique picture of changing consumer attitudes, market opportunities, and management challenges.

A study of pharmaceutical firms finds that it leads to valuable collaborations.

When productivity is a problem in manufacturing, managers turn to the R&D department or operations for help. In services, however, especially ones where there is a lot of contact with the customer, such in-house groups cannot by themselves improve productivity. Because services involve the customer in production, are labor intensive, and are time-bound, consumer behavior […]

It's about discovery, incubation, and acceleration.

An interview with Intuit chairman and cofounder Scott Cook

Keep teams small and share work equally.

Public firms invest more in R&D than private ones.

Influencer marketing is upending established customer-facing businesses.

Adopt a mindset of "proactive resilience."

Marketers spend time and money trying to make products stand out so that they’ll be chosen. But what if novelty is having the opposite effect?

If they do their job too well, they might put themselves out of business.

When a mainstream consumer-products manufacturer decides to dive headfirst into the green market, some interesting questions emerge. While a company may be confident that interest in carbon-friendly products and services is on the rise, what can it really understand about this rapidly developing market? And where should it aim when consumer preferences are still shifting? […]

Many executives will have to learn what computer executives have long known.

Rules of thumb.