You don't need to wear a white lab coat or be a programmer in Silicon Valley to create something innovative. Successful innovation starts with your mindset.
"Successful innovation involves more than a good idea; more than the proverbial light bulb switching on in one's head," said Lorraine Marchand. Some ideas have a "eureka" moment. But "most are the result of a mindset of diligence, hard work and patience," she said.
Marchand has co-founded four companies. She's also guided Fortune 500 companies and startups on developing and launching new ideas.
Spark Successful Innovation Through Solution Oriented Thinking
What all successful innovations do share, Marchand said, is that they begin with a problem and end with a solution.
"I'm not sure people always think about it this way," she said. "The most successful innovations are ones that offer a solution to a problem that customers are willing to pay for."
Marchand wrote "The Innovation Mindset: Eight Essential Steps to Transform Any Industry."
Be Proactive In Seeking Answers For Successful Innovation
Whether you're a leader in a large corporation or launching a startup, continually evolve your problem-solving mindset, Marchand said. This includes observing, studying and interviewing.
When Hewlett-Packard was creating its first tablet-size computers, HP's CTO, Phil McKinney, visited electronics retail stores all over the country.
"Through listening to real-life customers he learned a lot about what HP's tablets needed to address," she said. "As a result, HP tablets served a substantial portion of the market for many years."
Test Your Idea With 100 Customers For Successful Innovation
"When we say testing with 100 customers, we mean 100 customers," Marchand said. Talking to too few might result in confirming your own bias.
Utilize surveys, small groups and one-to-one interviews. "Confirm that your innovation addresses a problem worth solving and that a customer is willing to pay for it," she said.
One Great Successful Innovation Starts With At Least Three Good Solutions
A problem Marchand sees among many would-be innovators is the urge to jump to a solution for the problem they're solving before exploring all the options.
"We need to think broadly, creatively and from multiple perspectives," she said. Test these solutions and weigh them against each other. "See how well they fit the customer's need and get customer feedback during the selection process."
Build A Mastermind Group
Too many founders focus on retaining as much equity as possible for themselves rather than spreading that equity among many co-founders and executives, Elliot Bisnow has found.
Bisnow is one of four founders of Summit, which produces events. The four are also co-owners of Powder Mountain, one of the largest ski resorts in the U.S.
Look to bring people into your company who have experience and contacts in areas you don't.
"You'll be much better off having a smaller piece of a company that works as opposed to having a big piece of a company that doesn't," he said.
Don't Worry About People Stealing Your Ideas
In general share your ideas with as many potentially key people as possible to build a network and set off collaborations, Bisnow says.
He's also the lead author of "Make No Small Plans: Lessons on Thinking Big, Chasing Dreams, and Building Community."
If you put your arms around the idea and hide it, people won't know about it and they won't be able to help you, he adds. "Besides, it's just not healthy to live in a state of paranoia," he said.
"We never feared that anybody would take our ideas," he said. "We've learned that people are too wrapped up in what they're doing and going after their own dreams to be focused on yours."
Keep Momentum Up
Focus on continuing to move the ball forward and doing the best you can on a real timeline, Bisnow says.
Striving for perfection can waste a lot of time and fray people's nerves, he adds.
