As I deeply listen to my clients and colleagues across a spectrum of sectors and channels — retail included — I hear a quiet but unspoken cry for help, for calmer waters. Like yourself, these leaders have been challenged as never before, navigating tumultuous waters filled with uncertainty.
Andrea Syverson
It’s been interesting absorbing all the interviews and commentary about Steve Jobs since his passing. His accomplishments, quotes, lessons learned and look on life are all fascinating. I resonate with many of his principles — e.g., follow your curiosity and intuition; think differently; fail forward; connect the dots; innovate your way out of problems; stay hungry; stay foolish; and it’s only by saying no that you can concentrate on the things that are really important.
Think about the last time you were excited by a product you saw in a catalog, store or online. What was it that made you take notice? What prompted you to buy it? For product developers, getting to the heart of these questions provides the insights that can help turn ho-hum product concepts into winning sales successes. In Willard Zangwill’s book, “Lightning Strategies for Innovation,” he references the Kano Model as a way to think through product development. From a customer’s viewpoint, a product has three types of features: • Presumed. These are the ones the customer assumes the product will
