Poor Genrich Altshuller was an inventive genius, engineer, scientist, journalist, and author. Yet he was jailed in a Soviet gulag for “innovator’s sabotage.” While there, he created a new approach for achieving a breakthrough perspective on challenging problems, the TRIZ Method. Really. And we can absolutely use those lessons today.
In my book Costovation, I lay out a way to leverage what Altshuller developed (his exact approach was maddeningly complex, although, in fairness, he may never have expected for it – or himself – to see the light of day). Based partly on his work, I recommend five things you can do and questions you can ask to analyze and reimagine your brand-business:
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1. Examine Your Industry From Afar
– List out 15-20 assumptions you’ve had. What would happen if each was suspended?
– Think through how your product or industry got to where it is today. What assumptions became baked-in that may no longer be true?
– Think about the customers you hate because it’s so hard to make money from them. What are they really looking for? What don’t they care about?
– If you had to create your business from scratch, what would you do differently?
– How does your industry operate differently in other countries? Why?
2. Study Your Offering Through A Microscope
– What would happen if you eliminated 90% of the features? Is there a customer type that would still want it? How inexpensively could you serve them?
– Can you divide your offering into modules? What are the pros and cons?
– What aspects of your offering often get ignored? Why? Could they become a highlight, or be eliminated?
3. Look Through The Customer’s Eyes
– Map out the customer’s entire journey, including before and after they interact with your offering. Where are their frustrations, and what gets in the way of consumption?
– Think about the full lifetime of your offering, including areas like customer service. Where could you change a cost into an advantage?
– Do your customers use your offering in unintentional ways? Why? What are they really looking for?
4. Reframe The Way You Look At Customers
– If you get stuck, reframe the problem.
5. Rethink Your Approach To The Value Chain
– What does each step and party do? Do they create extra work for other parties? If they’re more efficient or effective at a certain step, why is that so?
Parting wisdom from Genrich Altshuller: “Inventing is the resolution of technical contradictions.”
Contributed to Branding Strategy Insider by Steve Wunker. You can find much more on these concepts in his book Costovation.
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