Lesson #1 of Turning Ideas into Market-Winning Products.
Of the many innovation-related quotes I love, a favorite is…
The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them. – Albert Einstein
The first lesson in turning ideas into market-winning products is this:
Innovation requires new thinking and new ways of working.
This course provides you with many concepts and practices to help with both, and aid you in becoming a better innovator.
What to Expect
This is an 8-lesson course and you will receive a lesson by email every few days. The material for this course started as a professional workshop, originally designed for organizations to bring them up to speed on the core ideas of product development, management, and innovation. Clients paid thousands of dollars for these workshops. I have selected the essential gems from the training, updated, and reformatted the information into lessons, and am providing it at no cost to you.
The course covers the creation and life of products people want, need and will buy. This is essential information for people who are:
- Moving into product development or management roles within their organization and need to understand how products are developed and managed.
- Leading a team or organization and need to create a culture of innovation.
- Developing a new career path integrating product development and management concepts.
- Deepening their knowledge and understanding of product innovation.
The challenging field of product development, management, and innovation is filled with professionals who are at times analytical, creative, and passionate – like you. I’m glad you’re reading this and trust you will find it empowers you to reach your objectives.
Before learning how to turn ideas into market-winning products, see some of the famous people who already did.
What’s in a name?
This course is about what product developers, managers, and innovators do. There are many titles related to this work. One survey found a wide range (from “The Study of Product Team Performance, 2013, by Actuation Consulting):
- Product Manager
- Business Analyst
- Development Manager
- Engineer
- Product Manager
- Product Marketing Manager
- Product Owner
- Program Manager
- Project Manager
- User Experience Professional
And there were many more identified as “other” in the survey – people whose roles across an organization impact product development.
Some of the famous business people with prior careers in product development, management, and innovation, include:
- Last 7 Proctor & Gamble CEOs
- Steve Ballmer, CEO Microsoft
- Marissa Mayer, CEO Yahoo
- David Filo, co-founder of Yahoo!
- Scott Cook, founder Intuit
- Marc Andreessen, co-founder of Netscape
- Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon
- Steve Case, co-founder of AOL
- Michael Dell, founder of Dell
- Larry Ellison, co-founder of Oracle
- Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft
- Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple
- Pierre Omidyar, founder of eBay
- Larry Page, co-founder of Google
- David Packard, co-founder of HP
- Fred Smith, founder of FedEx
Of course, these are just a few of the famous leaders of organizations who were product managers. More important are the millions of people in product management roles today that help their organizations create value for customers and drive success for the organization and themselves.
Number 4 – Not Shabby
Everyone knows being #1 is best, but in this case, being #4 is more evidence for the importance of product development, management, and innovation. In the CBS Money Watch article “10 Most Value Corporate Jobs” Product Management and Product Development were identified as the fourth and fifth most important jobs. Only the CEO, Senior Executive, and General Manager ranked higher. From the article…
Number 4 – Product manager . “I know a lot of you think engineers are responsible for inventing great products that beat the competition. They’re not. As venture capitalist and former Intel exec Bill Davidow wrote in his seminal book ‘Marketing High Technology,’ ‘Marketing must invent complete products and drive them to commanding positions in defensible market segments.’ Product marketers rarely get the credit they deserve.”
Number 5 – Product developer . “No matter how good marketing is, you can’t have innovative products without innovative product development people. You don’t need a management title to be looked upon with awe if you’re a top product designer. And yes, that idyllic perception is usually deserved.”
Closing Thoughts
The late Peter Drucker, widely considered the most influential business thinker yet, shared that “business has only two functions – marketing and innovation.” Innovation is fundamental to business and personal success. With the right knowledge and drive, anyone can reach their highest goals with wild success. Keep learning and you will reach yours.
The next lesson will arrive by email in a few days and will provide the foundation for product development, management, and innovation.
Keep innovating,
–Chad
The Everyday Innovator™
P.S. Don’t want to wait for the next lesson? If you are eager to learn more about product development, management, and innovation and how ideas are turned into market-winning products, checkout the companion book on Amazon and be sure to read the numerous 5-star
The primary responsibilities for an organization are product management and innovation. They deliver value to customers. They're also exciting responsibilities for those properly equipped. That is my job - equipping product managers and innovators. 