Tag Archives: Business Model Canvas

People follow people, not frameworks

Leadership

Leadership (Photo credit: pedrosimoes7)

Social networks and social media have given voice to the voiceless, it’s a beautiful thing. More people can post stuff through the various channels we have at our disposal for the various types of media we can use to communicate. But, counter to what it has enabled us to do it’s also brought less critical thinking.

For example, it isn’t a secret what type of content gets the most traffic and clicks: lists.

You see them everywhere! And it won’t stop. Driving our voracious appetite for lists is our desire for cookie cutter ideas, as well as having more time for ourselves in our hectic lives. The problem with “lists” is that they don’t make the distinction between topics that are more art than “checklist” driven. Most of these lists are dumbed down and create the perception that following a template will yield a predictable outcome.

And most people are not conscious enough to think for themselves, so they mindlessly follow them.

List posts get shared and bookmarked all the time, yet I don’t think people come back to them after that. Mostly they serve the purpose of providing the reader a short-term reward with the feeling that they read something useful during the day.

But did it really move them? I doubt it.

It is this same issue that has powered and given rise to “framework fatigue”.

Template mentality does not equal innovation

imaginationWell, well, well. My rant about innovation consultants hit a nerve. In particular, I liked this response from Roger von Oech:

The problem with reading books and then going out and suggesting what they say to do, is that by the time those books come out, the techniques or strategies that they suggest are already a best practice. And, you already know what I think about “best practice thinking”. Also, business books don’t really teach you how to think. At best, they tell you what to think. On top of that, humans are not very good at understanding context. What works in Cancun is not going to work in New York. There are cultural differences, even within countries.

Another issue I see, is that templates, like all ideas, reach their expiration date:

How can a business differentiate without changing the product itself?

How can a business differentiate without changing the product itself?

Via Quora: What can you change in a business that is strong enough to differentiate the business from all competitors, but without touching the product itself?

For example,

  • GILT, changed PRICE but didn’t change product, and opened a niche for discounted designer clothes.
  • Phones International, changed the DISTRIBUTION MODEL of the mobile phone industry but it didn’t change the product (cell phones), and opened a niche for ‘single brand distribution.
  • The Book People, changed the TARGET CUSTOMERS, but didn’t change the product (books), and opened a niche selling books to corporate clients.
  • Adwords, changed the BUSINESS MODEL, but didn’t change the product (display ads), and opened a niche for ‘performance advertising’.

These are significant differences that not only differentiate the companies from all the others, but disrupted the market in some way.

What other variables can you change in a business in this way?

How are these variables called?

Where can I learn more about this?

This week’s innovation posts worthy of your attention: Do innovation Consultants Kill Innovation?

 

Enhanced by Zemanta

Disassemble and Re-Imagine!

While the above quote is funny and makes sense for the average Joe, if you’re an innovator and is bored with the status-quo there’s only one solution: Disassemble and Reimagine.

For example, last weekend I went to the movie theater to see Mission Impossible 4. It’s a good movie, but I’m not going to talk about that. What I want to tell you is what I noticed about this particular movie theater. First, the screen. It was sharp. No bubbles. Just sharp. Beyond that, apart from basic styling, nothing else is different about it. It looks like every other movie theater. Heck, it sounds the same way too. And it’s basic function remains the same: To go watch movies.

And this is where it gets interesting: Something that remains un-changed and boring for a long time is an opportunity for an innovator.