TEI 004: “What does that mean to you?” - with Busines Strategy VP Louise Musial

Global Product Management Talk is pleased to bring you another
episode of The Everyday Innovator. The podcast is all about helping
people involved in developing and managing products become more
successful, grow their careers, and STANDOUT from their peers.
Louise Musial, VP of Business Strategy at PCD Works, is
an author of numerous articles for technical magazines and lecturer
on the topics of Innovation, Open Innovation, and business trends
in R&D.  Highlights from the discussion include: An
example of a partnership with a University research group that led
to commercializing a product that makes clean water from waste
water.The need for innovation in water – availability of clean
water and reclamation of waste waterDistraction-free innovation
with the right people involved creates focusHow the problem is
framed impacts the solutionPutting aside assumptions can create
paths that lead to innovationsStory telling is a useful tool for
product innovators – filter what is unnecessary and keep the
message simple but compellingCarefully observing customers is an
important aspect of voice of the customer researchAsking the same
question multiple times in different ways improves understanding
and can uncover assumptionsWhen discussing requirements, ask “What
does that mean to you?”Keep ideation teams small (12 or less) and
take steps to break down barriers, develop rapport, and establish
trust to be effectiveSketching concepts helps explore concepts as a
groupKnowledge is created through what we learn from
failuresFailures are steps to innovation – the belief that “it is
possible” creates breakthroughs