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