Customer Reviews

The Design of Things to Come: How Ordinary People Create Extraordinary Products

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In the Preface, the authors explain that their book "deconstructs innovation into understandable chunks that form a compelling argument of what innovation is, why it is important, and how [their reader] can begin to transform [herself or himself as well as her or his] company to meet the needs of the current marketplace." They focus their attention on those who are "at the heart of the innovation process." Throughout eleven chapters, they answer questions such as these:

1. What are the defining qualities and characteristics of "the new breed of innovator"?
2. Why is innovation `the only approach to differentiation"?
3. What does the process of innovation involve, indeed require?
4. How best to identify relevant and significant trends?
5. Then, how to respond to these trends as especially important opportunities?
6. How can (and should) innovation respond to human needs, interests, and even fantasies?
7. What is a "Powers of 10" analysis and why can its revelations be so valuable?
8. Why is B2B innovation the "new frontier of fantasy"?
9. How to plan and then implement a successful product development process?
10. How to establish and then nourish an innovation culture?

In the Epilogue, the authors review various "powers of innovation," reaffirming that those who comprise the "new breed" embrace the principles and ideas of pragmatic innovation: "an interdisciplinary collaboration, a structured process of exploration, a balance between art and science, [and] a focus on experience and fantasy." These are the otherwise ordinary people who will, together, "design the extraordinary things to come."

As I read this informative and thought-provoking book, I was again reminded of the fact that the same principles which Vogel, Cagan, and Boatwright cite and then explain have -- for decades -- guided and informed the "pragmatic innovation" of countless teams and even communities. For example, those which Warren Bennis and Patricia Ward Biederman examine in their book, Creating Genius: the Disney studios which produced so many animation classics; Xerox's Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) which developed the first personal computer; Apple Computer which then took it to market; those in the so-called "War Room" who helped to elect Bill Clinton President in 1992; the so-called "Skunk Works" where so many of Lockheed's greatest designs were formulated; Black Mountain College which "wasn't simply a place where creative collaboration took place" for the artists in residence from 1933 to 1956, "it was about creative collaboration"; and Los Alamos (NM) and the University of Chicago where the Manhattan Project eventually produced a new weapon called "the Gadget."

Those who share my high regard for this book are urged to check out the aforementioned Organizing Genius as well as Evan I. Schwartz's Juice: The Creative Fuel That Drives World-Class Inventors; three volumes in the Harvard Business Review Paperback Series on Breakthrough Thinking, Innovation, and The Innovative Enterprise; Tom Kelley's The Art of Innovation: Lessons in Creativity from IDEO, America's Leading Design Firm; and Seeing What's Next: Using Theories of Innovation to Predict Industry Change co-authored by Clayton M. Christensen, Scott D. Anthony, and Erik A. Roth.

Every company, whether large of small, faces greater competition than ever before. The huge increase in design schools, engineering schools, and business schools around the world promise that competition will become ever more fierce. Cost cutting alone will not get the job done because only one company in each segment can be the low cost producer. It is innovation that allows for many competitors and increased profits. That is why so many books and schools talk about innovation. However, it is very difficult to teach someone to be creative.

Many try to take a riskless and incremental approach to innovation and while that is better than the status quo it leaves one vulnerable to the competitions better efforts. However, the risk in wandering into more ambiguous areas of your business for innovation make management uncomfortable and if done wrong can lead to a swift demise. Hence, it is often avoided by successful companies. We have seen the automotive companies remove billions upon billions from their cost structure and they are still in trouble. It is finding innovation that customers will not only buy, but also pay MORE for that is the Holy Grail of modern business.

This book proposes what the authors call Pragmatic Innovation as a way to choose wisely which Grail you drink from. For them this is a form of innovation that includes interdisciplinary collaboration, a structured process of exploration, a balance between art and science, a focus on experimentation and fantasy, and to this I will add good luck. It is always that feel for how much line to let out and how much tension to use to reign in without things either breaking or getting away from you that make the difference. How can that be communicated? It certainly can't be put into a checklist.

The broad range of case studies offered in this book help. We look at diesel fuel additives, vegetable peelers, pickup-truck seating, computerized running shoes, and a lot more. In laying out the ground rules for the innovator their point three is my favorite: Don't Stop At Success. And that is an important imperative in the contemporary environment.

This is a solid book and offers a lot of food for thought. Of course you are unlikely to agree with or use everything here. However, if you can pick up a few ideas that spark your creativity and give you a new path it will have been well worth the read.

If you're wondering what that object is on this book's cover, wonder no more. It's a walking toaster of course! Surely you want one.

That robot is a walking irony for this book's theme: Apply pragmatism to innovation. The alternative is innovation that amuses but doesn't sell.

I first heard the mantra of multidisciplinary teams for new product development in 1976 from Perdue's Mike Pessemier based on his pioneering research. I was surprised to see these authors argue so strenuously for the same thing. It seems like some lessons have to be relearned before they stick.

Of more novel significance are other aspects of this book:

1. The assertion that the next arena for intense competition that makes a difference will be in design rather than quality, production and delivery;

2. Seeing fantasy desires as being worthwhile needs to satisfy for even the most mundane, non-consumer goods;

3. Recognizing that multidisciplinary teams will work best if led by people who have multidisciplinary backgrounds, experiences and interests; and

4. Factor of 10 perspectives to help those involved see the bigger . . . and small pictures of who else is involved with a new product or service.

All the best books about new product development emphasize process, communication, understanding and adding new perspectives. The Design of Things to Come is a winner, too, in those departments.

Like all good books about product development, this one has lots of entertaining stories about interesting new offerings and how they were developed. Most of the examples were new to me or contained details I hadn't heard or read about before.

Many books that argue for more of a design perspective in new products tend to be somewhat unconvincing. They frequently sound like a pitch from those who sell such services. The Design of Things to Come follows that theme, but the book's arguments and examples are more credible than other pro-design product development books I've read.

I'm at a loss to understand a high rating for this book. I found this to be a shallow effort - a book that touches on a variety of themes regarding innovation, but fails to offer a systematic approach or provide any new insights.

The subtitle, "How ordinary people create extraordinary products," implies the authors will offer some useful analysis of the innovation process. Instead, the book is a pastiche of anecdotes and cliches that offer little guidance to anyone who's actually trying to foster their own (or their company's) ability to innovate.

For example, the book opens with a story about Dee Kapur, who arrives from India as a college student with $200 in his pocket and eventually leads the rejuvenation of Ford's F-150 pickup truck. But from what little the authors tell us, bringing innovation to a Ford mainstay was a simple - Kapur and a few enlightened colleagues saw an old roadster with nice leather interior, and suddently the F-150 King Ranch Edition was born. Nothing is said about how the team validated their design choices, approached design/engineering tradeoffs, or how Kapur managed the inevitable resistance to change within a large bureaucracy.

Of the book's 230 pages, a slim 17-page chapter addresses "A Process for Product Innovation." In this section the authors cite a real-life case study about developing a new product for the exercise market. But their simplistic review of the case is typical of the entire book. Consider the statement: "After discussing the merits and features of more than 50 concepts, the team worked on the idea of a smart insole, one that would track and record exercise throughout the day." Okay, but how and why? What was the process for generating new product concepts? Why did they think consumers would particularly like this one? Was any customer research done? Was there any debate about which product idea to select? Did they find quick and cost-effective ways to prototype the idea for feasibility? These are the kinds of questions that the book consistently fails to answer.

I could list a host of other shortcomings, but I've probably made my point. It's simply not worth wasting time on this book when there are far better options out there.

If you want to understand the importance of innovation, and the systematic challenges it presents to businesses, I'd recommend any of Clayton Christiansen's books ("The Innovator's Dilemma: The Revolutionary Book that Will Change the Way You Do Business (Collins Business Essentials)," etc.) To learn how innovation is really done, you'd be far better off to invest the time in reading books by actual practioners. A few of my favorites are "The Art of Innovation: Lessons in Creativity from IDEO, America's Leading Design Firm" by Tom Kelley (of design powerhouse IDEO), "Subject To Change: Creating Great Products & Services for an Uncertain World: Adaptive Path on Design" by Merholz et al, and "Sketching User Experiences: Getting the Design Right and the Right Design (Interactive Technologies)" by Bill Buxton.

So you've now made the right decision. Now it is time to implement product strategy around those decisions. What kinds of products/services will resonate with consumers today? What do they want? The iPod is a harbinger of a revolution in product design: innovation that targets customer emotion, self-image, and fantasy, not just product function. You'll read the hidden stories behind BodyMedia's SenseWear body monitor, Herman Miller's Mirra Chair, Swiffer's mops, OXO's potato peelers, Adidas' intelligent shoes, the new Ford F-150 pickup truck, and many other winning innovations. You'll meet the innovators, learning how they inspire and motivate their people, as they shepherd their visions through corporate bureaucracy to profitable reality.

These design revolutionaries have a healthy respect for the huge cultural and economic forces swirling around them, but they've gotten past the fear of failure, in order to surf the biggest waves - and deliver the most exciting breakthroughs. Along the way, the authors deconstruct the entire process of design innovation, showing how it really works, and how today's smartest companies are innovating more effectively than ever before. The Design of Things to Come will fascinate you - whether you're a consumer who's intrigued by innovation or an executive who wants to deliver more of it. "Much is being written about innovation that is of little utility to corporate managers, but this new book by Vogel, Cagan, and Boatwright is definitely worth reading. It disaggregates the broad concept of "innovation" into usable ideas and strategies that can be implemented. Whether it's the notion that manufacturing quality is the new commodity or designing for customer desire, this book breaks through all the chatter about innovation and deals with what's crucial for managers in their day-to-day work lives. I learned a great deal about innovation and design from it," says Bruce Nussbaum, editorial page editor for Business Week.

From discovering the trends driving tomorrow's most profitable innovations, to designing for fantasy, to mastering the art of pragmatic innovation, The Design of Things To Come unleashes the power of today's best companies, building products and services that look great, feel great, and touch customers more deeply than ever before. The Design of Things To Come reveals who's doing it - and how.

Innovation isn't just the best way for companies to stay profitable; increasingly, it's the only way. Simply put, this book reveals the future of innovation. Whether you're an executive, entrepreneur, or consumer, you'll find it utterly compelling.

Craig M. Vogel, Jonathan Cagan , and Peter Boatwright write in the Preface of their book , “This book deconstructs innovation into understandable chunks that form a compelling argument of what innovation is, why it is important, and how you can begin to transform yourself and your company to meet the needs of the current marketplace. You cannot just hire innovative consultants; you have to learn to create an innovative culture organically within your company. That is the only way the core of your brand can be strategically connected to every product you make and service you provide. This book is also about people who are at the heart of the innovation process. We mention two types of people throughout this book: those who purchase and/or use the product or service, and those in companies who are the innovative developers of the products and services. We include scenarios about the users throughout this book to provide a context for each chapter. The scenarios that start these chapters are fictitious. A common practice used in the early phase of development of new products and services, scenarios are often composites that represent critical aspects of the lifestyle tendencies of the intended market. The second type of people referred to are people in companies, and all of these people that we describe in our chapters are real. They have been extremely helpful and supportive in letting us find out what makes them tick and what enables them to become one of the new breed of innovators. We have worked with them in developing many of the case studies throughout this book.”

In this context, they divide this invaluable book into eleven chapters, and summarize each of them as following:

• Chapter 1. “Innovation is about people. Companies focus on customer needs, wants, and desires as they design new products; after all, products are purchased by and for those who will use them. Those who design the products also are people-ordinary people who apply their skills to develop new ideas and products. Yet certain individuals have evolved to a level of innovator who envisions, leads, and manages the complete context of a product or service. These people are the new breed of innovator, and they are the model for all of us to follow. Who are these innovators of today, how did they acquire the insight to innovate products that excite consumers, and how do they simultaneously inspire and motivate the people with whom they work? In this chapter we introduce three of these innovators in order to reveal their mentality and methods (p.1).”

• Chapter 2. “As companies struggle to look for ways to compete against low-margin overseas competitors, they must turn to their creative side because cost-cutting manufacturing and quality initiatives no longer provide the competitive edge. Differentiation now must happen through innovation; that is the strategic weapon that drives profit in the new global economy (p.21).”

• Chapter 3. “Despite the pervasive view that innovation depends on serendipitous inspirations from creative individuals, today’s innovative companies rely on disciplined research and procedures to achieve innovation. These procedures for creativity are fundamentally different from what we typically think of as ‘procedures,’ but they are procedures nonetheless, and they can be learned, used, and adopted by anyone-anyone, at least, who is willing to intelligently head on to risk and endure failure in the disciplined quest for a brilliant idea (p.47).”

• Chapter 4. “In light of opportunities that are already here in the present, there is no reason to long for unavailable crystal ball forecasts of future prospects. The earliest work of innovation is to research existing trends and to understand them in the context of customers, because it is market dynamics that provide new opportunities that will be fulfilled by tomorrow’s successful products (p.67).”

• Chapter 5. “Average consumer is full of unmet and unconscious desires for a wide range of experiences. Connecting with consumers’ emotions and desires will make one product more appealing than another. The right blend of emotion and basic needs drives purchasing decisions and maintains brand loyalty and integrity while fulfilling consumer fantasy. Developing a sense of delight and trust in products is at the core of pragmatic innovation for both lifestyle consumer products and more functional business products (p.87).”

• Chapter 6. “Companies know that the customer is central to product development. But it is not enough to design for the customer, because sometimes the most removed stakeholder with the least perceived power can have a significant impact on the product’s success. The Powers of 10 analysis helps product developers identify all relevant stakeholders and proactively account for their needs, wants, and desires (p.103).”

• Chapter 7. “Companies in business-to-business (B-to-B) markets often look at innovation as a customer-driven revolution and not as something that applies to them. Their primary customers have been all about price and functionality, not lifestyle and desire. Because only one company can be the cheapest and most price-driven, commoditization stifles growth; these companies must find the power of innovation. Now the same high-value user experience is starting to be expected even for business-to-business products and services. Meeting these expectations requires not simply research and development but also a thoughtful strategic plan (p.125).”

• Chapter 8. “Innovation is not just about a good idea; it is a process of managing what can appear to be an army of people over a set amount of time making multiple interconnected decisions. Rather than micromanaging, let the product requirements guide the legions who make the detailed daily trade-offs. Yes, these products requirements emerge from an early research and planning stage that is chaotic. But that is good-for the chaos enables exploration and learning. The more you can learn about your market, the better the framework for your decisions (p.145).”

• Chapter 9. “Although preceding chapters in this book each contain their own examples of people, products, companies, and issues, each chapter’s illustrations focus on specific topics-the individual oaks, hickories, pines, and dogwoods of the forest. This chapter provides an overview of the innovation forest itself using an example from an R&D relationship between a university and the athletic apparel company New Balance. We describe a process for structuring the early ‘fuzzy front end’ of product development from opportunity to product approval, showing how innovators implement the process and tools we describe in earlier chapters (p.163).”

• Chapter 10. “Innovation is as much about design patent protection and trade dress as it is about utility. Realizing early that your best defense is a total intellectual property (IP) offense allows you to keep your brand identity as protected as your technology R&D. Patents are for fixed periods, but trade dress, like a diamond, is forever (p.183).”

• Chapter 11. “There are many talented product development firms throughout the world, but not all companies know how to integrate outside product development skills with in-house expertise. This chapter discusses how companies can leverage the skills of product developers, both as internal employees and as external consultants. What do they do, how can they do it for you, which firm do you hire, and how do you manage it? (p.199).”

Strongly recommended.

A plethora of points and specific examples are examined in "The Design of Things to Come," by Craig M. Vogel, Jonathan Cagan, and Peter Boatwright. Each chapter has several sub-chapters that describe a variety of different concepts and case studies pertaining to innovation, marketing, branding, and invention. Some of the sub-chapters are: The New Breed of Innovator: Global Brand and Industrial Design, Apple: Trend Reader, Powers of 10, The Redesign of the (Ford) F-150, and PayPal.

Chapters:

1. The New Breed of Innovator
2. Pragmatic Innovation - The New Mandate
3. the Art and Science of Business
4. Identifying Today's Trends for Tomorrow's Innovations
5. Design for Desire - The New Product Prescription
6. The Power of Stakeholders - People Fueling Innovation
7. B-to-B Innovation - The New Frontier of Fantasy
8. Making Decisions for Profit - Success Emerging from Chaos
9. A Process for Product Innovation
10 Creating a Blanket of IP to Protect Your Brand from the Elements
11 To Hire Consultants or Build Internally - That is the Question

Epilogue: The Powers of Innovation - The New Economy of Opportunity

One sub-chapter is called "The Fantasy Economy." This title has meaning; it says a lot. One quote from page 92: "The increase in global consumption has driven the pursuit of desire, or fantasy to achieve everyone's pursuit of happiness." I witness this, and this fantasy is directly related (as the authors note) to the acquiring of consumer products. Fantasy, may be what it is.

Another statement is: "The end of communism and the overthrow of dictators around the world has increased the potential of the individual to achieve a life where liberty is a basic right" (Vogel, 92). This is true in some countries in Eastern Europe but for other parts of the world, this is simply not true. Market economies do not necessarily coincide with individual freedom, civil and political liberties, legal protection, and the freedom of speech. I'd like to know what specific nations and regions of the world these authors are referring to.

The authors also comment on the "Dummy" series books. ('This and that' for Dummies.) There are over 2,519 entries on a major website vendor selling "Dummy" books. But I don't agree with the book's claim that those who buy and read the Dummy-series books just want prescribed step-by-step information, and want to learn and do without any risk or thought, as the authors claim. These books are superior to many other "info." and "how-to-do" books because of their succinctness and organization. The authors go on to claim that those who read the Dummy series book carry out task without the need to think, hence the name "Dummy" in the title. This series of books is merely a foundation of which a person can build upon in one's own informational pyramid.

Over-all there is a lot of relevant and current concepts and case studies in "The Design of Things to Come." It's worth the read.

The general consensus in most businesses is that the way to build market share is to ruthlessly lower costs, which allows you to cut prices to lure customers away from the competition. The premise is that the lower profit per item will be more than made up for with an increase in sales volume. This can work, but has the potential to destroy your business. Your competitors are well aware of and can also implement this strategy, so the end result can be that all of you reduce your prices to the point of financial instability.
This book presents an alternative, and in many cases, better strategy. Rather than reducing prices, which generally freezes or lowers quality, your goal is to find innovative new ways to create and present products that consumers want to buy. This desire to buy also translates into a willingness to pay a premium for the product. The majority of the pages are devoted to case studies of projects where an idea started with a standard item and modified it to an original product. Running shoes, floor mops, leisure chairs and devices to monitor the body while exercising are all used as examples.
However, there is also a good deal of explanation regarding how you can incorporate the innovative mindset into your organization. It is one thing to describe how some companies managed to create new products and a complete difference in kind to tell you how you can become a trend setter instead of embarking on a downward spiral in pricing. While such a complex change in group psychology cannot be explained in only one short book, the seeds and fertilizer for such a transition are well explained.
In the modern world where jobs are outsourced to places where the total daily wage is a small fraction of what it is in the United States, cutting domestic costs will rarely, if ever, keep you competitive. Your only hope is to create the value that will pull customers towards you. That requires imagination, vision and an ability to think freely, all of which are initialized in this book.

In the global market it's not enough to have a just good quality product. Consumers are looking for the next experience where form and function combine to fufill fantasy. The authors of this book do a great job in describing today's business climate and the ways in which leaders of industry and even small businesses are finding innovation today.

The book gives a broad overview of analysis methods such as Powers of 10 and offers a few tools to uncover what people really want and how to discover an opportunity of innovation. It also gives real world examples and case studies that help in understanding how these methods are used.

Innovation has always a nebulous thing. But this book provides a road map to get you where you want to go, down the road of creating extraordinary, innovative products.

As an inventor, I found this book to be quite useful in broadening the scope of what inventors and would-be inventors should look at. The book makes the point that traditional inventing tends to focus on purely technological considerations. Often done by people with engineering or scientific backgrounds. But for a successful commercial product, the authors suggest SET - social, economic and technological. All these should be investigated and integrated into a final product.

The motivation will be germane to many companies. Because now quality manufacturing is surely being performed by you and many of your competitors. In the last 20 years, such keynote ideas as Motorola's Six Sigma and Wal Mart's supply chain optimisations have percolated throughout the world. Quality is necessary but no longer sufficient. Unless you want to be the lowest cost producer in your industry. But by definition, there can only be one such in each industry. For others to survive, the book offers hope through embracing innovation.

It points out that innovation cannot be commoditised. This may be your only enduring advantage. Plus, the book emphasises instituting a process of continual innovation. You have to expect that not all your resultant products will be hits. But by repetition, you can be like a casino house. Turn the iron hand of statistics to work in your favour.

Also, the book's cover is a really cute, funky attention grabber.