Take risks at being remarkable, and don't worry about criticism.
Target the people who are both willing to try new things and very vocal at spreading the word to others.
Invent the product with marketing.
Target and measure your marketing effectively.
Don't emulate the leader, because you'll never learn the process of turning risks into success.
The traditional form of advertising is no longer effective because in today's overwhelmingly advertised world capturing the consumer's attention is almost impossible.
In today's crowded marketplace, there is no room for "ordinary."
Being ridiculed can be a good thing, as it spreads word about you and your product.
Have two innovation incubation models for an established firm.
Observe how customers are actually using the product.
Have discovery-driven planning that is adaptable to various factors of change.
Be creative at finding the right customers who can directly benefit from your innovation, rather than a large, less targeted market.
Expect trial and error so that a new organization can fail early and without great expense.
Don't develop products and services based on what customers say they would like.
Don't innovate in a singular quality such as performance oversupply. What does innovation look like in functionality, reliability, convenience, and price?
Established and entrant firms bring different types of innovations to market.
Established firms bring sustaining innovations to maintain market positions and profit margins. However, they still lose market dominance because of their focus on sustaining profits while ignoring new markets brought by disruptive technologies.
Knowing what customers want through surveys, focus groups, and interviews is good at incremental improvement, but not effective at creating the next thing.
A tunnel-vision chasing of profit margin should be moderated with long term expectations.
The difficulty of predicting emerging markets means an established company can't justify the investment. Consequently, they usually miss out on disruptive technologies and the emerging market that comes with it.
Sometimes firms are too inflexible with its Resources/Processes/Values (RPV) framework to adapt to changing conditions.
Theoretical models for innovation rarely work in the real world.
Disruptive innovations are usually variations on existing technologies that open up a new customer base.
The best way for an established company to take advantage of a disruptive technology is to create or acquire an organization that is small but utilizes flexible processes.
Think about the future as a definitive vision. This is a vision you want to focus on and attain.
When thinking about the future, think about the progress which stands between now and the future.
Finding ideas most people don't know about, or agree with, is key to being successful.
First aim to be a profitable monopoly at a specific and narrowly defined target market, then expand to other markets.
The initial team members are critical. You must find the right mix of skills, vision, and personal connections with each other. This makes it easier to foster a strong company culture.
Have balanced owner interests to avoid future misalignments that may cause the company to suffer.
Two types of progress bridge the now and the future: horizontal progress (one ton) and vertical progress (zero to one).
Vertical progress is hard because it does not exist yet. It requires you to see the present differently. It also requires you to find a truth most people don't see or agree with.
A startup has only one specific future vision leading to success. One must parse decisions relevant to specific conditions.
Perfect competition is good for consumers, but it does not drive progress.
Real progress, the zero to one type of vertical progress, usually results in monopolies. That means you're producing something much better than everyone else is.
Sales and distribution is vital because your products will never sell themselves. Optimize your sales effort per distribution point to include various sales strategies.
Founders tend to be strange people. However, the vision they have is indispensable because the decisions are made to realize that original vision.
Think inside out (starting with why), not outside in (starting with what). Communicatethe whyas it fosters a sense of belonging.
The goal is to do business with people who believe what you believe.
People don't buywhatyou do, they buywhyyou do it. What you do simply proves what you believe.
Excited employees and customers who believe in your cause are the most powerful resources an organization can have.
Financial incentives or punishments do not motivate people on a deep and emotional level.
Customer manipulation may work in the short term, but it doesn't foster trust and is ultimately counterproductive.
The Golden Circle consists of three concentric circles. Thewhatis the outer layer, thehowis middle layer, and thewhyis the core.
Making profit is a result of thewhatand thehow, not thewhy.
The Law of Diffusion on innovation breaks down to 2.5% innovators, 13.5% early adapters, 34% early majority, 34% late majority and 16% laggards. If you want mass-market success, you have to achieve a 15--18% tipping point.
The early majority won't accept something until early adapters have tried it and accepted it, and you won't get early adapters until they believe in what you have.