Designing Breakthrough Products

Reprint: R1110H

Thanks to the collaboration the internet has made possible and the open innovation it has spurred, we live in a world where ideas and solutions are abundant. The main challenge facing innovation managers today is how to take advantage of this wealth of opportunities, says the author, a professor of innovation management. He contends that being first to launch a new technology is less important than being first to envision its greatest untapped market potential. Most companies focus on employing new technologies to better serve customers’ existing needs. Those that have technology epiphanies strive to create products and services that will provide customers with a completely new reason to buy a product: Think of Nintendo’s Wii, Apple’s iPod, and Swatch.

Verganti explains how companies can systematically produce technology epiphanies. He illustrates the process with the story of Philips Electronics’ creation of Ambient Experience for Healthcare, a system that uses LED displays, video animation, radio-frequency identification sensors, and sound-control systems to relieve the anxiety of patients undergoing CT, MRI, and other scans.