“If you’re a product manager or product marketer, and you hear your leaders say ‘I want some real innovation this year. I want to see some new thinking.’ We hear that a lot, and they mean it. We all mean it. But what do you do about it? And that's where having an innovation framework comes in."
In this episode of Product Chats, we are joined by marketing strategist Diane Pierson. Diane views innovation as a complex but critical aspect of an organization's strategy. She believes that understanding and defining innovation is crucial, as it often means different things to different people.
According to Diane, innovation begins with the market and market needs. She emphasizes that innovation must be something that the market is willing to pay for and something they can understand and adopt. However, the definition of innovation will depend on your organization's leadership and their specific vision or goals.
In this discussion, Diane outlines four phases of innovation: reactive, responsive, inventive, and disruptive. Each phase represents different approaches and levels of innovation, and she notes that organizations can exist anywhere on this spectrum. As you progress down the levels, risk, reward, investments and timelines increase.
Key Takeaways:
Understand and Define Innovation: It is vital to have a clear definition and understanding of what innovation means within the context of your organization. This understanding can range from improvements to existing products to creating entirely new solutions for problems that haven't been addressed yet.
The Innovation Spectrum: The innovation spectrum spans from reactive to responsive, inventive, and disruptive innovation. Understanding where your organization stands on this spectrum can guide strategic decisions and help align your team with the organization's vision.
The Role of a Market Strategist: The Market Strategist is a strategic generalist that is positioned above the roles of a product manager and product marketing manager within an organization. They gather all the information, works with product management and marketing to mine the necessary data, and ensures that all necessary pieces are in place.
Prioritize Market Research: Diane urges organizations to match their market research efforts with their position on the innovation spectrum. If the focus is on nurturing existing customers, for instance, the research should be focused on users. If the goal is finding disruptive innovation or growing into new markets, the research should be geared more toward the vision.
ABOUT OUR GUEST:
Diane Pierson is a Marketing Strategist, Founder of Innovate on Purpose, and an instructor at Pragmatic Institute. With a rich background as a product executive, Diane's work revolves around product management and product marketing.
She recently authored the book "How to Innovate on Purpose," aiming to provide a structured framework for organizations to understand and align around innovation.
Listeners can send an email to info@innovateonpurpose.com that says, “I want tools” and Diane will send them the top five most popular tools from the book.
ABOUT PRAGMATIC INSTITUTE:
Since 1993, we’ve provided training and professional development for product, design, and data professionals to accelerate innovation, increase customer satisfaction, and bolster revenue. Through our comprehensive methods and propriety Pragmatic Framework, we train professionals with the skills needed to accelerate their product management and product marketing careers, increase team efficiency, and boost revenue.
Our online, in-person, and on-demand courses are taught by industry experts with decades of experience at top companies like Microsoft, Cisco, Dell, Hallmark, Quaker Oats, and Dun & Bradstreet. We offer individual course training in product, design and data, and certification tracks for Product Management Certifications, Product Marketing Certifications, and the Pragmatic Product Master Certification. All attendees gain access to the Pragmatic Alumni Community, a network of over 30,000 alumni worldwide.
If you’re looking for product management or product marketing training or are pursuing a product marketing certification or product management certification, browse our certification paths at
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