Sometimes Its Better to Just Jump

The concept of a life cycle has been used for years and years, and has been slowly applied to different topics. Although the visual representation of the concept has evolved over the years, it is still the same basic set-up: you have a rapid decline, a plateau, and then a steady decline to it's end. For marketers, the product life cycle is something they must completely understand and pay attention to. No matter what point a product may be on, it is always important to pay attention to what has happened in the past, what the current situation is, and what to expect in the future. In the article Darwin and the Demon, the life cycle of innovation is discussed. The term "innovation" is a very vague term, but the author, Geoffrey A. Moore, separates it into eight separate types. Moore states that there is no way to choose the "best" one. Just because you may think your company is the best at something, doesn't mean you are guaranteed a competitive advantage. On the one hand, I do agree with this statement. You can't focus on one aspect of product management and expect not to get left behind. Companies must be competent in all eight types of innovation, at the right times. The corporate world can be very cut throat, and you don't want to end up making it to the ocean when it is already red.

Still, I believe that there is something that companies should strive to be better at than their competition: the first three innovations in the life cycle, which are Disruptive, Application, and Product Innovations. Last we week, we discussed Guy Kawasaki's concept of "curve jumping." Once a certain product or technology is on the decline, such as land-line telephones, the next new product will already be growing, like the exponential growth in cellular phones. Curve jumping implies being on the front line of new, developing products so your company is never completely on the decline.

Since both of these cycles (product use and innovation) basically overlap, shouldn't it be important to also stay on top of the first stages of the innovation cycle? They are all the initial steps into creating a new and unique product. The other five (process, marketing, business model, ad structural) are almost secondary to the first three. By creating committees or sectors strictly focusing on what problems may arise in society, and how these issues can be solved, product developers will be on the front line of development. This can also apply to current products, and concepts such as product rejuvenation. With new needs in society popping up all the time, but consumers still wanting to have some consistency in their lives, becoming leaders in disruptive, application, and product innovations will only help. Companies need to be aware of these voids that may occur, even if the consumer doesn't know what is coming.

The bottom line is this: Although it may not seem externally obvious, if companies focus on beginning stages of innovation, they will have more of an opportunity to have consistent productivity. This is no way promises an automatic competitive advantage in the marketplace, but will give companies the upper-hand when it comes to curve jumping, which should be the ultimate goal.