Boeing and Airbus have taken different routes in terms of product strategy. Airbus thinks big is better, and came up with the gigantic A380 for super long haul flights. Boeing believes that the future of travel will be more ‘hub’ based. People will fly medium sized planes to the main airports, and from there they will get connections to the final destination. It’s early to predict which strategy will be the winner, but from a passenger’s point of view, I already have my favourite: the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
Not only is this aircraft built with the latest technology, such composite materials to make it more lightweight and heads up displays in the cockpit (the same technology used in military fighters), but also it was built with the passenger in mind.
Simple concepts, such the experience passengers have when entering the aircraft were taken into consideration. Instead of entering through the galley and feeling a bit claustrophobic right from the beginning, passengers flying in the Dreamliner see an open, welcoming space once they step inside. It feels more like arriving in a nice restaurant rather than boarding an aircraft.
it feels like entering in a restaurant through the kitchen
Another good example of user centric innovation is the lighting: to help your body adjust to the new time zone, the lights simulate the sunset and sunrise. Small things that make a big difference!
It seems that for the majority of us, economy class travelers, things will get a bit better!
Tim Brown started a blog about design thinking, which is great. Lots of ideas and insights, not only from his posts, but also from people who are happy to comment and contribute to the discussion (as you might imagine, the blog is already quite popular!).
But this is a blog with a twist: as he described in the ‘about’ section, Tim is using the blog as a sandbox to toy with ideas around design thinking, share with everyone else, and promote discussions, which in turn might create more ideas. Any interesting outcomes will be part of the new book he is writing about design thinking. So, if you want to be Tim’s co-author, check his blog, and start contributing to the discussion.
I saw this interesting article on Fastcompany magazine, which once more proves that customer driven innovation is a really powerful tool to achieve competitive advantage.
Back in 2007, Virgin Megastores was outbeating competition, with a sales increase of almost 14%. According to Dee Mc Laughlin, the marketing chief, the recipy for success was quite simple: they just observe customers, and find out what they really want:
“We observe and then we innovate. For example, HD and Blu-ray are hot right now. We observed that our customers were saying, “what is the difference between the two?” You can tell them what the difference is, but unless they’re actually seeing what the difference is, it’s not going to help sales.
“So, we’ve put an HD and Blu-ray wall into all our stores. It’s really spectacular looking. Where before we had consumer confusion, which was potentially stifling sales of both systems, now our customers actually can see what the difference is and choose for themselves which format to buy.”
Innovation is not always rocket science (nor is something that needs a huge investment in R&D). Sometimes the most innovative solutions is right under your nose. It’s just a matter of oppening your eyes, and seeing what really matters.
Posted by Erick 
Posted by Erick 
Posted by Erick 
