Knowledge at Wharton How ‘Little Ideas’ Can Lead to Powerful Innovations
8 snips
Jun 1, 2017 
David Robertson, Wharton professor and author of The Power of Little Ideas, discusses the underestimated power of complementary innovations. He emphasizes the importance of building around a core offering, sharing insights from major players like Lego and Apple. Robertson critiques the binary view of incremental versus disruptive innovation, advocating for a more nuanced approach. He offers practical tools for identifying innovation opportunities and highlights how companies should organize teams to support this strategy, ensuring a focus on purpose and collaborative ideation.
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Contractor Chooses Service Over Cheaper Paint
- David Robertson describes hiring a contractor who insisted on Sherwin-Williams despite cheaper paint because Sherwin offered full-service support to contractors.
- The story shows complementary services around a core product can justify higher prices and build loyalty.
Reject The Incremental vs. Disruptive Binary
- Robertson warns against seeing innovation as only incremental or disruptive and calls that binary view dangerous.
- He proposes a third path: innovating around a core product with complementary offerings.
Map Customer Jobs And The Consumption Chain
- Use frameworks like Jobs-To-Be-Done and consumption-chain analysis to map what customers hire your product to do.
- Study the full lifecycle of buying, using, and disposing to find complementary innovation opportunities.
