Shifting paradigms and Apple

 When I was attending classes for my MA degree, whenever someone wanted to come up with an example of for innovation, the usual suspect was the iPod. And I’m quite sure that this is an analogy that almost everyone use. I can clearly imagine a conversation between two managers from a call centre in India (or any other type of business):

Manager 1: We need to innovate
Manager 2: Yes, I agree, but how?
Manager 1: I don’t know. Think of iPod…

Clearly, the iPod, and the whole business model around iTunes, established a ‘dominant design’ in the MP3 player and music industry. From now on, it is very likely that most competitors will folow the standards established by the iPod, instead of trying to come up with new and different ideas.

And now when the iPod hype was almost settling down, Apple came up with a new, radical innovation that is creating a new paradigm: the iPhone.

Apple is changing it’s strategy to sell phones, where from now on, handsets will be subsidised by operators, bringing the it’s price down. Apple is also expanding it presence in the market, going from 6 to 70. Not only the iPhone will rapidly get a large chunk of the market share worldwide, but aslo set a new standard in terms of how people relate to and use mobile phones.

Next time you go to a meeting to discuss innovation, you’ll probably won’t use the iPod example anymore. You’ll use the iPhone instead! And this, my friends, is a true shift in paradigms. I’m not trying to be an Apple advocate, but I guess there are some good lessons to be learned.

According to an article published by The Economist, “Apple is now turning the iPhone into a hand held computer, and allowing other firms to write software to run on it. Other handset makers are doing the same, but the iPhone’s operating system and programming tools are better than theirs. There is no doubt that Mr Jobs is trying to lead a third revolution in consumer technology in his lifetime”.

 

 

Adaptive Path’s Subject to Change: watch the movie, read the book

I’ve recently posted a post about a new book published by Adaptive Path’s folks called Subject to Change. For those who want more details, and don’t have the time to read the book, here’s a taster about their customer centric approach to create new products and services. It’s a bit long, but it’s worth it

more about “Adaptive Path’s Subject to Change: wa…“, posted with vodpod

via nussbaumondesign

IDEO eyes open

The folks at IDEO launched a the IDEO eyes open, a website to enable ’social network’ of stories about great experiences:

Ideoeyesopen.com is about casting a wide net to find inspirational experiences in the unlikeliest of places—the things we do and see everyday.

Michele Dougherty published a really interesting post about the airport experience. Working for a company that specialises in producing film titles, she drew an interesting parallel between the airport experience and the process of creating a film title sequence:

“When Fred asked me to think about a place or experience that embodied some of the key elements involved in creating film titles, a few places sprung to mind. But none seemed quite as compelling as the airport.

The three main things I focus on when I start a project are: choreography, typography, and telling a good story (which is largely dependent on the previous two things in my line of work). Upon thinking about this assignment, I realized that the airport is chock full of all three. Not to mention, it’s an intriguing place to observe how they all come together in a highly staged narrative experience with literal steps that must be taken—which is remarkably relevant to the kind of timing and delivery moments that are so critical to the kind of work we do.”

I particularly liked the idea of choreography and typography when creating, or innovating customers’ experiences. At the end of the day, it’s all about staging a story.

A model for innovation

Dubberly Design Office developed a a really cool tool to model and map innovation:

“The model is built on the idea that innovation is about changing paradigms. The model situates innovation between two conversations. Innovation transforms old into new. It is a process in which insight inspires change and creates value.”

You can download the full size model (PDF format) from here

via uiGarden

The art of reinventing yourself

There is a great buzz in the blogsphere about how Starbucks lost it’s ‘cool’. Personally, I think it’s not my coffee shop of choice. There is a Starbucks about 5 min from where I live, which I’ve never visit. I prefer to go to a small, friendly and cosy local café just on the opposite side of the road. Why? Funny enough, because I can get the experience that Starbucks used (and promised) to offer on the early days.

Starbucks need to reinvent themselves. They’ve just launched My Starbucks Idea, a social forum to enable them to listen to the customers’ voice, get some really good customer-driven insight and co-create a new service. Why bother with CSI, KPIs and all of that? Great idea!

via