Dear Reader — This new column will provide product management professionals with a timely scan of resources and insight that are often veiled or circuitous
but valuable once discovered. Inspiration Radar illuminates some of the fresh
thinking found in the dense fog of innovation. We hope some of these resources
will inspire you to think more creatively and innovatively.
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— Mark Mondry
Discovery Development Delivery
One type of model
for the innovation process
D
Brand value
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V
ever wonder what
the most valuable global
brands are and why? interbrand
provides the most respected global
brand ranking ( www.interbrand.com), and
they do it annually. The Coca-Cola brand tops the
list for 2009. The 2010 ranking should be out soon, so
watch for it and amaze your friends at your next summer
cookout. interbrand also provides lists of the top retail brands
and Japan’s best global brands, as well as whitepapers and other
interesting materials related to branding.
E
R
y
Reverse innovation
Perhaps you have read about the
“reverse innovation” phenomenon traveling the
globe. in October 2009, Harvard Business Review published
an article introducing the concept via ge’s development of portable
ultrasound products in india for the indian market, only to discover these
products are enormously successful in western markets as well, potentially disrupting
existing products for the rich world. Why? The products serve real customer needs shared
across geographical markets. Thus, the traditional model of developing products for your home
market and then finding a way to sell them in a developing market is reversed—thus spawning
“reverse innovation.” This trend is expanding with more companies co-creating products
using collaborative nPD resources in developing countries. Will your current products be
challenged by this trend? The HBR website has grown deep resources on this concept,
including blog entries and interviews ( www.hbr.org). Use your favorite search engine
to discover more about the reverse innovation concept and how companies are
getting more creative using it.
Intellectual property and collaborative NPD
Collaborative nPD offers many advantages—spreading of risk, speed to
market, leveraging of expertise, and so on. But when many teams are
involved, from different organizations and in different geographies,
thorny issues such as cross-cultural management, coordination,
and intellectual property (iP) concerns arise. With intellectual
assets accounting for 60 to 70 percent of the value of the
S&P 500 stock index, the issue of who owns what from
collaborative development has many a corporate
lawyer on high alert. nPD professionals can avoid
potential problems from becoming full-blown legal
disputes. For a good discussion, see the article
titled “Does iP Strategy Have to Cripple Open
innovation?” (MiT sloan Management
Review, http://sloanreview.mit.edu/,
51(1), p. 71–77, Fall 2009).
Integrating design with product management
interested in design courses or even pursuing a design degree relevant to the bigger
picture? Take a look at the many design schools offering online courses. SCAD, with loca-
tions in the U.S., France, and Hong Kong, offers a Design Management program ( www.scad.
edu/design-management/index) that focuses on interdisciplinary collaboration and the integration
of design thinking in all levels of strategy, planning, and management.
Branding blogs
The world of branding is changing, and the tools used are changing too. Follow some of the fresh thinking in brand
management with these wonderful blogs:
The Branding Strategy Insider. Discusses topics related to building and sustaining brand trust
( www.brandingstrategyinsider.com/).
Brandfreak. Pointed, observing the world of brand deployment ( www.brandfreak.com).
The Brand Builder. As you would guess, this blog focuses on the art of building strong brands ( http://thebrandbuilder.wordpress.com/).
Interbrand. Well-written insight on all things branding and brand management ( www.interbrand.com/blog/).
Sustainability in NPD
Are you looking to increase sustainability into your nPD criteria? i mean more than just the addition of “green” selling points. Customers are
seeking out products that are developed to enhance attractiveness from the perspective of environmental and social impact. A popular website
has evolved to grade consumer products on these kinds of criteria ( www.goodguide.com). There is even a Dow Jones global Sustainability index
that tracks the stock performance of the leading sustainability driven companies ( www.sustainability-index.com/). if sustainability is a new component
in your thinking, take a look at “The Designer’s Field guide to Sustainability” to stimulate your mind around the many sustainability opportunities in nPD
( http://www.lunar.com/docs/the_designers_field_guide_to_sustainability_v1.pdf).
