So often, we get into our work without evaluating where we could be more efficient or enabling much stronger levels of performance. We’re open to change or a new solution If something completely breaks down or a supplier consistently fails to deliver.
But, it’s the “okay, but not great” spaces that often have a significant ROI for time spent exploring new options.
Which of these sound familiar?
- Consumers say the concept you’ve shown them is “pretty good,” but the insight isn’t really connecting, even though consumers can’t quite tell us why. This is a great opportunity to dig in and ask questions to uncover a richer tension. It would be easy to just push the concept through testing, instead of being honest that it’s not as strong as it could be. The result has a significant impact on the potential commercialization of the idea, though.
- A brand is doing “okay,” but isn’t growing as it’s strategic target is slowly shrinking over time. It’s a slow death. We could keep plugging away on work as usual, or we could recommend addressing the problem in a bold way, with ideas that are achievable in the short-term, and with a pipeline that pushes the brand to get back out in front of the pack.
So, what about your business or initiative or project is going “okay?” Maybe not totally broken, but clearly, not “great.” There could be rich opportunities here to invest some time, find a better fix, and change the long-term trajectory of whatever you are working on. But, the starting point is about being honest that what you’re doing today isn’t really working.
Photo licensed under Creative Commons 2.0 via Flickr user: vincentraal
The Garage Group helps corporate teams and brands innovate like startups. Our lean approach to concept development brings a focus on iteratively optimizing ideas from good to great.
