100-DAY LEAN INNOVATION EFFORT BREAKS THE PATTERN
The company asked Schaffer Consulting to bring its Rapid Results process for lean innovation to help accelerate new product development and enable a more entrepreneurial culture.
Schaffer started with the sponsors and team leader, defining the challenge in terms of a significant result over 2-3 years. We then helped assemble a team drawn from core business functions including R&D and product development, marketing, project management, regulatory, and IT. Schaffer facilitated a fast-paced team launch and the setting of an audacious 100-day goal: To identify and validate several brand new product ideas that could, by 2020, contribute millions of dollars to a hefty revenue target.
The team leveraged consumer insights available from prior research to identify several new product and service solutions. They then took the most promising of these to consumers to test their viability. Through interviews with 74 customers, 16 health care providers, 15 potential partners, and 25 consumers, they were able to zero in on the offerings most likely to win in the market.
During the last month of the 100-day effort, three sub-teams sprinted to define, refine, and validate their proposals into a one-page Business Model Canvas showing the target customers, the specific product/service offerings, potential partners, projected revenue models, and so on.
“First class work. An inspiration,” was the reaction of one executive sponsor at the project close-out. “This is mind blowing. The team has clearly over-delivered, you’ve totally exceeded expectations. I want to express my admiration and gratitude for what you’ve done and the passion you have brought to this effort.”
Investment decisions followed, channeling the new business ideas into various pathways for development. One bootstrapped the same project team to continue on to next-stage validation. Another was tapped for intensive development by a team in a company accelerator.