Identifying Winning Products

Presenter: Timothy Allan - Locus Research Ltd

The Three StoogesHow do you Identify a winning product before you have done it?

What are the ingredients of success?

Why does working together matter so much?

My BiasNew, is not always better, Being the best is what matters;

Be Pragmatic;

Research is not Negotiable;

Product Integrity is Paramount

Hope ft. the space pen

More does not mean betterAll the Resources and yet?

More bureaucracy & constraints

Feeling you ‘should’ be able to do it

Many innovative people are not a good fit with established environments

Humble Life Vs. Mighty Leap

Ingredients of Success

Raw materials (Your Resources)

Process (Your Structure & Sequence)

Timing (Decisions & Execution)

Observation is FreeSuccess is characterised by a few things falling into line at the right time

These are external to us, and are not defined by us although we may be involved with them;

To the Observant, these trends changes and opportunities can be isolated and translated into something meaningful.

Get into Place

Be Original to the point of Eccentricity

My Ideas better than yoursIdeas are like possessions;

Idea’s are a battleground for Ego’s where objectivity has no place;

Yet Objective decision making is central to our ability to develop products successfully;

At the start of the process we deliberately avoid idea generation.

Out of Focus

Broad not DeepYou need to have a deep depth of field

Forgo the narrow, macro view;

Cover as much ground as possible, relationships between things are important;

Project, people, structure, consumer, gatekeeper, life cycle, packaging, distribution, risk, standards, compliance ~

Can you make a business out of it?

Makes you ask the tough questions

๏ Is in growth or in decline?

๏ Regulatory change?

๏ Traffic jam or country road?

๏ Purchasing values?

๏ Easy to extend the offer?

Down the garden pathAsking others about whether an idea is good or not is circular

It often leads to more questions

You can’t deliver what someone thinks they want in their head, you’ll never get there, you’ll be led down the garden path

Get off the fence. Get into it.

Lead or be led

Customer Experience

It Starts with your teamTo most companies developing products is not their core business;

If it was, it would be everyones concern, not just the R&D teams;

Bringing all the disciplines together enables you to deliver a cohesive, unified product to market.

ResistanceAlways likely to be resistance to this approach

Forces people to communicate, be open, transparent, change the way they work;

If someone does not, ask them to clearly justify why others don’t need to be involved..(?)

Ideas are possessions which have no time for objectivity.

Need for SpeedIf your teams integrated;

They understand & they are thinking about it;

No lengthy handoffs, 3rd party briefings, miscommunication;

This increases your speed to market by collapsing the existing linear process into a concurrent & more dynamic process.

Feeling it on the insideLook to create internal momentum & motivation;

Your team needs to have the self confidence to feel successful;

Your confidence rubs off on those that you present and talk to;

You can change peoples minds;

Make sure your project is built to succeed and your team believes it.

Believe your own hype

The Project StructureA clear brief & objectives - To drive your thinking and decision making.

Defined milestones & outcomes - so you can honestly assess progress.

Agile - Ability to change, move & adapt

Feedback - Multiple sources/different perspectives

Balanced RequirementsUser/Patient

Technical/Lab/Clinical

Manufacturing/Distribution/Supply Chain

Economics/Commercial

…

Generative & IterativeDont rely on assumptions

Develop a strong research base to build off. Understanding is important to insight.

Cast the net as wide as you can, consider alternatives don’t be constrained be open minded.

Test & Validate - Before detail. Build a platform of proof and be confident in your information.

Be Objective and Data driven.