Henry Ford once commented that if he’d asked his customers what they wanted they would have replied “Give me a faster horse”.
Sometimes in New Product Development we have to take a Quantum leap in imagination so that we can develop products which no one else has imagined.
“Brainstorming” is one techniques to help that process:-
1) Form a team of maximum 10 people drawn from all levels of the organization.
2) The “Chairperson” should be mid level with no obvious authority.
3) Provide some drinks and snacks to create a relaxed atmosphere.
4) Go round the table asking each one in turn what products they think the Company should be developing.
5) Don’t reject anything at this stage.
6) Don’t criticize anyone else’s contribution.
7) Get someone to list all the contributions on a whiteboard.
8 ) When all contributions are exhausted arrange them into different categories.
9) Vote on the top 5.
In the next post we will explore how to take these ideas forward.
chris@projectsguru.co.uk
The Mac TV was released in 1993 and was Apple’s first attempt to integrate the functionality of a P.C with a cable ready T.V. Unforthunately it’s slow bus speed of 16 MHz made for a slow P.C compared to it’s rivals and a very expensive T.V at over $2000. Needless to say it flopped and only 10k were produced.
Apple’s first attempt at a portable computer was the Macintosh portable. Released in 1989 it was way ahead of its time, and so it should have been at a whopping $6500. It weighed in at a hefty 7.2kg and had an active matrix LCD screen which was fantastic but the major contributor to its cost.
In 1995 Apple licensed its PIPPIN technology to Bandai to make a PC based game consol. The only problem was the competition, SEGA, SONY, Nintendo and PC based systems were already dominating the market. Only 42,000 PIPPIN units sold and it was withdrawn from the market.
is vital to maintain a companies revenue growth. All products have a similar lifecycle which ends with declining revenue although the timescale between introduction and extinction may be anywhere between a few weeks to decades.
This incident highlights the ethical dilemmas posed in Subcontracting. How do we deal with massive corporations which often dwarf our own ? How do we balance the need to reduce manufacturing cost with the need to deal with undemocratic regimes with questionable human rights records ?
The news today that Toyota plans on recalling several hundred Prius due to brake problems follows hot on the heels of rumours last week that 19 people had died due to faulty accellerator pedals on Toyota vehicles in the U.S.A alone.
This week has seen some massive turbulence on International stock markets amid concerns over Greece, Spain and Portugal’s ability to pay back debt. The Euro has slumpled significantly against the dollar and the FTSE is down around 7% from its post crash high.
Friday’s News that Automotive component supplier Bosch is closing its plant in South Wales and moving manufacturing to Hungary was grim news for employees.
The Brain Machine….
Friday, March 12th, 2010Such debate is welcome and well overdue. With manufacturing in the U.K shrinking to around 10% of GDP we urgently need a strategy which focuses on what we do best – Innovation.
There is no way we can compete with Far East manufacturers on cost (labor or Capital) but we can and do compete strongly when it comes to Innovative design and technology. This is partly due to our strong engineering history and professional project management skills. It is also down to our open and democratic culture which leads to a rigorous debate of ideas.
We have a wealth of scientific and engineering talent in the U.K which we can exploit to deliver new and innovative products to the worlds markets.
We need to rev up the Brain Machine.
chris@projectsguru.co.uk
www.projectsguru.co.uk
Tags: #pmot, business, design process, Innovation, manufacturing, project management, social commentary
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