Each week I scour articles, wading through the dogs, and bringing you the best insights to help product managers, developers, and innovators be heroes.

Product Innovation Tips Around the Web

Practical tools for large companies adopting lean startup thinking from Steve Blank. “In working with Greg Hannon, the head of Innovation at W.L. Gore, I’ve found two corporate strategy tools developed by other smart people helpful in bridging Lean Startups with Corporate Innovation.” Read more at Steve Blank http://steveblank.com/2015/06/26/lean-innovation-management-making-corporate-innovation-work/

Product 3.0 strategy to turnaround Gap’s decline-faster identification of trends. “Frankly, all the rest of it – global growth, digital, everything else that we are doing – doesn’t matter if we aren’t better and more consistent at the product that we put I our stores.” Read more at Just-Style http://www.just-style.com/analysis/product-30-underpins-gap-brand-turnaround-plans_id125475.aspx

Best practices for implementing the use of the Net Promoter Score (NPS) to understand customer loyalty. “Beyond the leadership lessons learned from Jeff Weiner, LinkedIn also influenced my appreciation for using Net Promoter Score (NPS) as a key performance indicator (KPI) to understand customer loyalty. In addition to the standard repertoire of acquisition, engagement, and monetization KPIs, NPS has become a great additional measure for understanding customer loyalty and ultimately an actionable metric for enhancing your product experience to deliver delight.” Read more at Sachin Rekhi http://www.sachinrekhi.com/blog/2015/06/18/a-practitioners-guide-to-net-promoter-score-nps

The 3 keys to open innovation-(1) goals, (2) empowerment, and (3) collaboration. “Much has been written about open innovation as if it were a new idea, or that tech startups are the secret to its success. It’s a lot more complicated than that, and organizations that do it well — like Bayer, Campbell Soup, and the U.S. Agency for International Development — share at least three key approaches, as well as embrace the importance of effective communications. Read more at Forbes http://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathansalembaskin/2015/06/18/the-3-keys-to-successful-open-innovation/

Molson Coors finds innovation from suppliers by implementing a 5-step procurement innovation process. “In many businesses, innovation is driven through marketing and engineering. At Molson Coors, procurement has deployed a five-step process to drive innovation at one of the country’s best known brewers.” Read more at Supply Chain Management Review, pg 46 http://bt.e-ditionsbyfry.com/publication/?i=241831

Two inexpensive ways to test product concepts – crowdfunding and Maker Faires. “The most powerful companies in the world take missteps. So no, you can never be 100 percent sure. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to gather as much information as you can. The good news is that there are inexpensive ways of doing so. As of late, crowdfunding is one of my favorites. Another option you should consider is displaying your goods at a Maker Faire.” Read more at Entrepreneur http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/247520

How to judge if your product is ready for launch or not – should it be killed? “In my experience working with leading tech and telecom clients on strategy and new product innovation, there are clear signals that a product is not ready for launch, should never be launched, is not actually a product at all, or, if it is launched, will most likely fail — signals that should be heeded if you want to avoid product train wrecks. If your project displays any of these signs, it’s time to radically change what you’re doing or pull the plug.” Read more at Harvard Business Review https://hbr.org/2015/06/deciding-to-fix-or-kill-a-problem-product

6 hacks for creating happy customer experiences. “A wealth of research reveals that the emotional component of customer experience is a better predictor of loyalty than the functional, cognitive component. To devise innovations that make customers feel differently, we need to broaden the lens beyond the operational and transactional to focus more on the behavioral and emotional…” Read more at Fast Company http://www.fastcodesign.com/3047190/6-tips-for-designing-happiness

Ugh, leaders, you need to avoid these 6 common innovation mistakes at your company. “Because innovation is a system-level problem, a point solution – trying to drive widespread change by doing a single thing – is wholly ineffective. It is equivalent to attempting to turnaround a failing school plagued by disinterested students, overwhelmed teachers, and crumbling infrastructure by painting the walls blue. Soothing, perhaps, but unlikely to have any real impact.” Read more at Harvard Business Review https://hbr.org/2015/06/the-6-most-common-innovation-mistakes-companies-make?

The difference between product manager and product marketing manager. “The product manager is responsible for setting a product vision and strategy. Her job is to clearly articulate the business value to the product team so they understand the intent behind the new product or product release. The product manager defines the features and requirements necessary to deliver a complete product to market and leads the product team to success. They are responsible for articulating the ‘what’ and working with engineering to determine the ‘when.’” Read more at the Huffington Post http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brian-de-haaff/the-product-manager-vs-th_b_7659184.html