It's no secret that Major League Baseball players disliked their new uniforms as they prepped for the 2024 season. And the situation is a case study in needless innovation.
"At its core, what has happened here is that (uniform designer) Nike was innovating something that didn't need to be innovated," the MLB Players Association said in a memo.
Innovators face a trap. Their attempt to make something better — or create something new — can backfire. A botched rollout can cause an outcry among customers who were happy with the "old" and hate the "new."
The result is needless innovation. Devising the latest, greatest prototype or redesign can leave people yearning for what they had before.
"Leaders often confuse what's different from what's better," said John Carter, founder of TCGen, a product management consulting firm in Menlo Park, Calif. "So you have to ask, 'Is this just different? Or is it better?' "
To avoid alienating customers with unwanted innovation, rethink your assumptions. How can you ensure your creativity pays off?
Know Your Goal To Avoid Needless Innovation
Vague goals breed needless innovation. If you're unsure what you want to achieve, the results can fizzle.
"Far too seldom is innovation linked to clear goals and growth strategies," said Stephen Wunker, managing director of Boston-based New Markets Advisors. "You have to be very clear on what your goals are" before you plunge in.
Set Parameters
Unleash your innovative team and let their creativity run free. At the same time, set limits on where their minds roam.
Wunker cites a quote from John Padgett, president of Princess Cruises: "If you are pursuing step-change innovation, make sure you have parameters outlined at the very beginning and have wide degrees of freedom. If you don't, it's going to be painful, unsuccessful or not very meaningful."
Follow Your Customers' Lead
Needless innovation flows from an inventor's misguided passion. You can fall so deeply in love with your brainstorm that you overlook whether people want it.
"It needs to start with the customer first," said Wunker, co-author of "The Innovative Leader." "Root yourself with the customer. That gives you a clear compass heading. Otherwise, love can cloud the eyes" as you grow so fond of your idea that you ignore objective data or criteria.
Skip The Directives And Needless Innovation
Leaders may insist that their team innovate like clockwork. But demanding that they produce breakthroughs on a strict timetable rarely works.
Wunker recalls a client who said, "We need new news in every category, every year." As a result, employees pushed to innovate even when there was no external need.
Be Proactive, Not Reactive
Some leaders feel compelled to innovate after losing a big sale. They figure if they could only fix what just went wrong, sales would soar.
"Many product innovations are driven by 'last sale lost,' " said TCGen's Carter, co-author of "Innovate Products Faster." "It's the idea that we just lost a sale because our product lacked a feature" so let's rush to add it. That mentality can prove misguided and lead to new but not improved products.
Needless Innovation Killer: Proceed In Stages
Innovators need to be bold. But they can't be too bold or needless innovation may result.
When Deb Clark developed a tool to expand access to accurate, timely property evaluations for lenders, she spent roughly a year designing a prototype and asked a trusted customer to test it out.
"I gave the client a sample report and asked, 'Would you be interested in ordering this from us?' " recalled Clark, the Casper, Wyo.-based founder and chief executive of eval.com. After getting glowing feedback, she invited other lenders to sample it. By proceeding in stages, she avoided introducing her innovation to a nonreceptive market.
