Product State Model

I think that a lot of companies like to say that their product is “innovative” because currently it is a marketing buzz word. Green has gone the way of the wooly mammoth and now marketeers trying to make their products seem more appealing by trying to tell the world that their products are Innovative. So I was in the shower thinking about companies that brand themselves as “innovative” and my mind quickly floated into defining what Innovation is and what it is not. Then I started thinking about the relationship between Innovation and Invention, and how it relates to Evolution in a product state. I then drew a model on the shower door that ended being a pretty effective way to visualize how I saw the states of various products. I wanted to come up with a visual model that would help articulate how a business could actually be innovative.

The Kris Davis Model for Product State:

At first glance this may or may not make a whole lot of sense, so let me start off by defining my vocabulary so we can see it from the same level.

Axis Definition:

• Investment is defined as a companies time and resources.
• Risk is defined as the potential for the loss of time, money and or image.
• Research & Development defines the type of focus that the investment must have.

State Definition:

• Stagnant defines a product that receives no enhancements or features as time progresses.
• Evolution defines the natural growth of a product driven by customer requests, internal ideas, market conditions or parody of competitor products.
• Innovation defines the name of products or product features that meet the needs of customers that they didn’t know they had and that have not come from natural product evolution. Innovation is easy to explain because everyone understands it’s value.
• Invention occurs when a product or product feature is brought into existence from “thin air”. A problem is solved that is made from a seemingly non-logical association.

Market Potential in this case, is the measurement of receptivity. People tend to have a low receptivity to products that have not changed at all since their inception. In contrast to Inventive products where the light bulb goes off in peoples minds and they can instantly see that there is huge value in a product.

Where do I think that the typical company resides? I think that most of the companies out there are simply in the standard evolutionary state. Their products and features are driven by: customer requests, competitor features or market demands. I don’t think that any good business can live in the stagnant arena for too long. However, I also don’t feel that many have a grasp on the reality of creating products that are innovative. Innovative products are a little more risky than what a company is used to. It takes time and resources put into research and development and is riskier; although there is a higher reward for getting it right.

I am going to be continually developing this model, so if anyone reading this has an idea of what can be improved in it, please don’t hesitate to contact me.