On Disrupting Existing Products

Rahul Dravid is batting on 270 against Pakistan in the 2004 Rawalpindi Test match. 30 more runs to become the second Indian to score a triple century. India was comfortably ahead in the game. Against a spinner who's been wicketless, Dravid produces a very surprising shot. A reverse sweep that knocks his stumps off.

Was there a need to innovate at this stage?

We won't know ever what Dravid went through. There's a lesson for our respective worlds, however. We all have embraced innovation because it is the only way to stay ahead.

The key decision is the choice between adding to existing products versus the development of a new line up.

Critical thinking helps us decide better during such stages. Why would we bring a critical hat for innovation projects? Cool, you're asking that. Such thinking doesn't mean thinking with a view to criticize. We simply ask for a thought process that evaluates ideas thoroughly.

Critical thinking involves analyzing information to form decisions.

When should we introduce this phase? Remember that we said to defer judgment during ideation or brainstorming. After you have collected a bank of ideas, the team will suggest the best couple to take forward. This is when we bring the "adults" to the room. In a design thinking journey, this is before determining what to prototype.

What are the ways to practice critical thinking?

You likely know different ways to do it. It usually involves rating the different suggestions over some metrics. Without a way to score, we'd be stuck in a subjective mess with strong opinions drowning others. I recommend a metric system that involves rating across business, technology, competition metrics. In my experience scoring across 3-5 factors works better.

How do we evaluate them against existing products?

Always compare apples to apples. If you're trying to disrupt what is working well today, put that in your scoring mix. Compare the existing solution to the new ideas across your scoring metrics. Only if the new suggestions offer a significant competitive advantage would it make sense to switch. Else the current approach stays.

Think of a restaurant you've been going to for years. I know of some that have maintained the same dishes across decades. Likewise, I also know of many that have folded up early because they kept disrupting what was working well.

Innovating for the sake of innovation usually results in unwanted outcomes.

I'll never know what went through Dravid's mind in that innings. His existing approach was working well at the stage. He did miss out on a landmark score, which is his highest ever across all formats in a storied career.

To sum it up, critical thinking plays a key role in innovation projects.

Develop a scoring system to rank ideas. Don't forget to score existing approaches against the suggestions

That's it for today.

Happy Ideating!

Hemang.

If you want to watch Dravid's innings, here's the clip