It’s ironic—most companies have R&D labs and marketing departments that identify unmet needs and develop new ideas for meeting them. But professor Eric Von Hipple of MIT, and other researchers, have demonstrated that this approach is often misguided.

Mountain Bikes weren’t invented by a bike manufacturer, and gas Chromatographs weren’t developed by an R&D lab. Rolling wheels on suitcases also didn’t happen because a company was smart enough to figure it out, no matter how obvious it now seems.

This intriguing webinar is led by noted consultant. Our consultants  will show you that a large percentage solutions and innovations were initially developed by a customer out of necessity. More importantly, Phil will show you how you can reduce the risk associated with developing new products and services by identifying and collaborating with lead users.

BMGI is authorized by IACET to award 1 CEU to individuals who participate in all eight webinars and complete the additional learning activities associated with each webinar.

• List the sources of innovation and the role of lead users.
• Describe various collaborative approaches to co-creation.
• Describe the toolkits for lead users.
• Describe solution development with suppliers.
• Discuss the open innovation approach.

Interested in learning more about this topic? See:

• Creating Breakthroughs at 3M
• Innovation by User Communities: Learning from Open-Source Software