Introduction
Innovation can be scary. But if you’re going to make it in this world of constant change, you need to learn how to innovate. The good news is that there’s an easy way for anyone (even those who aren’t engineers or designers) to become an innovator: the Breakthrough Innovation Methodology
1. Identify a problem to be solved.
To identify a problem to solve, you must first be aware of the problems that exist in your business. This is where many people get stuck because they don’t know what their customers are experiencing or what their business needs.
I recommend starting with identifying problems that are important to customers and then working backwards from there. For example: “we have clients who want more time” or “our sales team spends too much time on administrative tasks”. Once we have identified this type of problem, we can start thinking about solutions such as automating certain tasks or creating new tools for employees (like Slack).
2. Analyze the problem and get to know your customers.
- Analyze the problem and get to know your customers.
After you’ve identified a problem, it’s time to find out what your customers want in order to solve it. The best way to do this is by listening carefully and asking questions that will help you understand their needs better: who are they? why do they want something like this? how would it make their lives easier or better if they had access (or didn’t)? when should we deliver this innovation by? where can we find our target audience so that we can reach out directly with our message of change!
3. Find what other companies are doing wrong and right with innovation.
- Find out what other companies are doing wrong and right with innovation.
- Look at the biggest mistakes that companies make with innovation, and learn from them.
- Look at the best practices of other companies, and see if there’s something you can adopt for your own business.
4. Experiment and test multiple ideas, but don’t limit yourself by thinking there’s only one right answer.
The fourth step of Breakthrough Innovation Methodology is to experiment and test multiple ideas. This is where you get to take your best guess at what will work, and then try it out. Don’t be afraid to fail! If something doesn’t work the way you thought it would, learn from the experience and move on to something else. The important thing here is that by experimenting with different approaches, we’re able to discover breakthroughs faster than if we were stuck in our own preconceived notions about how things should be done or what solutions are possible (or even necessary).
This can be especially challenging because many people have a tendency towards “single-loop learning”–they learn from their mistakes but don’t change their overall approach or mindset when faced with new challenges down the road.[11] In order to truly use breakthrough innovation methodology in this way, we must master multi-loop learning: not only must we recognize our mistakes and misperceptions after they occur; also important is understanding why those mistakes happened so that we can avoid repeating them again in future endeavors!
Be open to trying new things, even if they seem strange or unproven, because sometimes they work!
The first step to using breakthrough innovation methodology is to be open to trying new things, even if they seem strange or unproven. Sometimes these new ideas will work!
The next step is to avoid the “not invented here” mentality and be willing to learn from other people’s experiences. It’s also important not to get stuck in analysis paralysis when trying out new ideas–you need to try lots of different things quickly and see what sticks (and what doesn’t). This approach has been called “fail fast,” because it forces you out of your comfort zone by forcing yourself into situations where failure might happen but can still lead somewhere worthwhile if used properly.
Finally, focus on solving problems rather than finding solutions; this makes sure that your idea solves an actual problem instead of just being an interesting idea on its own merit
Conclusion
Let’s face it, innovation is hard. But if you follow these four simple steps, you can make it easier on yourself and come up with ideas that will surprise even your harshest critics.
