John Gerrie

Background

About John Gerrie

When I talk to people about innovation almost every one tells me they don’t have a problem coming up with ideas, BUT they all do complain about spending too much time and resources working on ideas that don’t go anywhere. Research confirms that over half of ideas businesses spend resources on never get to market or fail. Why? Most often not because there was anything wrong with the development work, but because the idea was wrong in the first place. In today’s tough times none of us can afford to waste time and resources on the wrong ideas. But how can you tell which are the right ideas, and which are the wrong ideas? I have spent so much of my professional life looking for better ways of discovering ideas, better ways of screening and testing ideas, better ways to project manage ideas and better innovation processes. I have discovered the secret to successful sustainable new products and services – find a relevant customer problem, and solve it in a unique way – or us I like to say - solving the right problems with the right ideas. I have integrated a wide array of ideation, strategy development and problems solving techniques into one systematic process to help you identify the right ideas, at the front-end of the innovation process, before you commit resources. I have also built a set of templates and tools that will lead you step-by step through a process that will firstly identify the right problems to solve, then using systematic problems solving helps you find unique ideas to solve the problem, and finally helps you build in ownable competitive advantage into the idea, and prepare the idea ready for feasibility and testing. But the most import thing about my technique is the way in gets people working together, sharing their knowledge and experience, and truly collaborating in search of the right ideas. Specialties: Knowledge-based Systematic Innovation - Problem-solving evolution of TRIZ - an alternative to creative brainstorming