In one of our recent Strategic Marketing classes, our professor asked us to come up with an innovative product or business idea and pitch it in front of the class. My group came up with this brilliant idea of an incubator MBA program that helps entrepreneurs develop, polish, and later realize their business plans. But the mean crowd almost booed us off the stage. We forgot the crowd wants only the fancy stuff. We didn’t stand a chance against the group that presented the idea of the shoes with adjustable heels and changeable colors. That’s genius! Why didn’t I ever think of that? Women can’t get enough of high heels. Women who are prudent with spending but would love to own heels in a variety of colors are a lucrative target group. My only concern; the LCD technology they were planning to use can make the shoe fluorescent which would have to be sold only to an eccentric niche target group. Lady Gaga could be the ambassador probably.
And the adjustable heels would make life easier for some unfortunate ones like me who adore heels but can’t wear them. I start stooping if I walk in high heels for more than 10 minutes.
I may be getting too carried away but I’d say the invention of adjustable heels for me is like the invention of the zipper. What could have the world been without the zipper? It is so simple yet powerful.
This got me thinking about what innovation really is. To my mind, innovation is simplicity and common sense. We all talk about why innovation is necessary but we are at a loss if we ask ourselves how to innovate. The problem is, while we are thinking, we also think of all the constraints and rules.
It is just so hard to do. But asking these questions may help. How would our life be simpler? What if there were no constraints?
