Innovation X

He says, “For me, stories are useful for a couple of reasons. First is, I’m not very technical when it comes to business. I can talk a bit of techno-language and theory, but it’s boring. Second, people relate to and remember stories. Their eyes roll back in their heads when you start talking theory. People are engaged and inspired by stories and parables

Stories are sticky, as they put it, in a way that dry accounts of facts, or statistics, or research reports are not

Chess grand masters are people who have accumulated pattern experience. They have honed their abilities to sense where patterns of pieces on a board are going to lead

X-problems are understood only vaguely early on, so having an ability to see patterns is a shortcut to a more precise problem definition

Divergence Is Everyone’s Business

• Domain scope: Do people at all levels throughout your organization really understand what your domain is? Without it, they are shooting blind when it comes to initiating innovation efforts

Curiosity about customer feedback should be a hiring criterion for everyone—not just the development staff—especially if you intend to harness their observational capabilities. Curiosity should start at the top, preferably with the CEO.

Commoditization in a Mature Category

Now that we’re bigger, we need those structures and processes. . . . But organization is no substitute for passion. If the people aren’t passionate about the right things, your organization doesn’t matter.

exceeding what most customers need?
• Are customers becoming unwilling to pay more for either additional experience or functional performance