The Power of Little Ideas

1. The Third Way: A Low-Risk, High-Reward Innovation Approach

Little ideas can produce big results.

Binary thinking limits innovation. Many companies believe they must choose between incremental improvements or radical disruption. The Third Way offers a middle ground, focusing on developing complementary innovations around a core product. This approach can deliver explosive growth without the high cost and risk of radical disruption.

Success stories abound. Companies like Gatorade, Novo Nordisk, and CarMax have successfully used the Third Way to overcome competitive disadvantages and revitalize their businesses. By surrounding their core products with innovative complements, they've created unique value propositions that are difficult for competitors to replicate.

Key characteristics of the Third Way:

• Multiple, diverse innovations around a central product
• Innovations work together to fulfill a compelling promise
• Close management of the innovation portfolio

2. Complementary Innovations: Enhancing Core Products Without Radical Changes

Surrounding their core products with innovative complements, they've created unique value propositions that are difficult for competitors to replicate.

Focus on the ecosystem, not just the product. The Third Way shifts attention from improving the core product to enhancing the entire customer experience. This approach allows companies to extract more value from existing products without the risks associated with radical changes.

Diverse innovations create synergy. Complementary innovations can span various categories:

• Business model innovations (e.g., new revenue models, pricing schemes)
• Product or service innovations
• Customer experience innovations
• Process innovations

By developing a portfolio of interconnected innovations, companies can create a system that's greater than the sum of its parts, providing a sustainable competitive advantage.

3. The Power of a Compelling Promise to Customers

A promise is a commitment that you make to your key customer: "If you buy our product, it will …"

Articulate a clear value proposition. A strong promise addresses a compelling customer need in a simple, differentiating way. It guides the selection of complementary innovations and aligns the entire organization around a common goal.

Characteristics of an effective promise:

• Based on deep customer insights
• Differentiates the company from competitors
• Builds on unique company strengths
• Excites and energizes the team
• Remains stable over time

The promise acts as a filter for innovation ideas, ensuring that all efforts contribute to a coherent customer solution. For example, CarMax promised a hassle-free, trustworthy car-buying experience, which guided all aspects of their business model and customer interactions.

4. Four Critical Decisions in Third Way Innovation

The Third Way calls for a higher-level role, a solution integrator.

Navigate the innovation process. Successful implementation of the Third Way requires making four key decisions:

1. Choose the key product
2. Define the business promise
3. Select complementary innovations
4. Determine how to deliver the innovations

Redefine leadership roles. Traditional product management roles are often insufficient for Third Way projects. Companies need to create a new position: the solution integrator. This leader has the authority and responsibility to coordinate efforts across the organization and with external partners.

Key responsibilities of the solution integrator:

• Lead a cross-functional team
• Manage the entire innovation portfolio
• Ensure alignment with the business promise
• Coordinate internal and external resources

5. Mapping the Customer Context: Follow the Customer, Money, and Product

To understand tigers, go to the jungle, not the zoo.

Gain deep customer insights. Understanding the full context in which customers interact with your product is crucial for identifying compelling promises and effective complementary innovations. This requires going beyond traditional market research methods.

Three key perspectives to explore:

1. Follow the customer: Map the entire customer journey and experience
2. Follow the money: Identify all points where financial transactions occur
3. Follow the product: Analyze your company's value chain and touchpoints

Best practices for customer research:

• Adopt a "dating, not fighting" mindset
• Observe customers in their natural environment
• Learn from extreme users and non-users
• Practice "vuja de" - seeing familiar situations with fresh eyes

By combining these perspectives, companies can uncover unmet needs and opportunities for innovation that may not be apparent through traditional product-focused analysis.

6. Experimentation and Prototyping: Keys to Successful Innovation

The best predictor of innovation success, it turned out, was to ask a few consumers if they would buy the proposed product.

Embrace uncertainty and learning. Successful Third Way innovation requires moving beyond reliance on expert opinions or market projections. Instead, companies should focus on rapid experimentation and customer feedback to guide decision-making.

Leverage pretotypes and prototypes:

• Pretotypes: Quick, cheap simulations to test concepts early
• Prototypes: More refined versions for detailed testing

Types of innovation tests:

• Wizard of Oz: Simulate automated functions manually
• Fake door: Gauge interest in non-existent products
• One-night stand: Limited real-world product trials

The goal is to gather real-world data on customer behavior and willingness to buy, rather than relying on hypothetical scenarios or expert predictions. This approach reduces risk and increases the likelihood of successful innovation.

7. Leadership and Organizational Challenges in Third Way Innovation

The Third Way is likely to change any organization pursuing it because far more people will be involved in the act of innovation—not just supporting the innovators but being real product-related innovators themselves.

Cultural and structural shifts. Implementing the Third Way often requires significant changes in how organizations approach innovation. This can create challenges as teams adapt to new roles and processes.

Key organizational challenges:

• Breaking down silos between departments
• Redefining success metrics and incentives
• Developing new skills across the organization
• Managing relationships with external partners

Leadership imperatives:

• Set clear expectations for the solution integrator role
• Provide resources and authority for cross-functional collaboration
• Encourage experimentation and learning from failure
• Balance short-term results with long-term innovation goals

Leaders must create an environment that supports the unique requirements of Third Way innovation, fostering collaboration and a willingness to explore new approaches.

8. Learning from Success and Failure: Case Studies in Third Way Innovation

A key consequence of the Third Way is that it forces the product manager out of his or her traditional role.

Real-world examples provide valuable lessons. The book offers numerous case studies of companies that have successfully implemented the Third Way, as well as those that have struggled. These stories offer insights into both the potential and pitfalls of this approach.

Success stories:

• LEGO: Revitalized its core product with complementary storytelling and digital experiences
• Apple: Built a ecosystem of hardware, software, and services around the Mac
• Disney: Created a synergistic empire of films, theme parks, and merchandise

Cautionary tales:

• Sony's action camera: Focused on product features instead of the broader customer experience
• Frederick's of Hollywood vs. Victoria's Secret: Divergent promises led to vastly different outcomes

These case studies demonstrate the importance of maintaining a strong core product, developing a compelling promise, and creating a cohesive system of complementary innovations. They also highlight the need for ongoing adaptation and reinvention to sustain success in the long term.

Last updated: May 7, 2025