From Harvard Business School Working Knowledge : Professor Clayton Christensen

This blog post hits on so many high points of marketing and new product development, I do not know where to begin.  Check out the ideas of “hiring a milkshake” and the market research that was done to determine the drivers for purchase (no pun intended).  Be sure to check out the video embedded into the text.

Milkshake Marketing

Also check out the comments about the Greatest Tool ever, the Milwaukee Sawzall “Milwaukee Electric Tool Corp. has cornered the market on reciprocating saws with its trademarked Sawzall, which does the job of helping consumers safely saw through pretty much anything. Its Hole-Hawg drills, which make big holes between studs and joists, are also quite popular. The company’s other tools, which rely on the Milwaukee brand, are not nearly as celebrated.

“The word ‘Milwaukee’ doesn’t give you any market whatsoever,” Christensen says.”

Thanks for exposing the “out of the box” (a little).

EcoMotor

Will this be a real option?  What do you think?

Thanks Lane.

Smartphone Ultrasound

Product development can use the smartphone as a development platform and delivery mechanism.  Notice how the product includes a peripheral and software.  Now, what about the online service.  Humm, NPD is changing.  No?

New Product Development strategy — using the phone as a platform, creating new business models,  adding value through ongoing software development.  Should we build “analog” products that do not have associated services?  Ever?

Thank you Jaclyn for the recommendation.

Check out this short video and article.  It looks at Product Planning using a cake/cupcake metaphor.

Cupcake Product Planning

Do you agree?

Thank you Jiju for this recommendation.

Seamless Integration with Amnesia Connect Article and Videos

Microsoft Surface is not dead?  Check out Blackberry promo on Surface.

How cool is this?  Very.  Practical, maybe.  Application/Uses, what do you think?

Did you see the X-ray vision?  Cool, eh?

Thanks Tyler

Safety and Fuel Savings from a Road Train

Fox News Video — Volvo Road Train and Article

Love it.  What do you think?

Thanks Lane

Now this is innovation!  Perhaps we need this in Milwaukee’s Miller Park.

Beer — Bottoms Up

What do you think?

from Fast Company

I am fan of Pandora.  I am listening as I keyboard this.  I even pay for it!

The following fast Company article, with a link to a video of the founder talking about how Pandora was created is very interesting.   I found it interesting as a lesson in product development, as well as a success story.  I really like the discussion of the “magic bullet” is.

Tim Westergren Fast Company Interview

What do you think?  Are you a fan?

Thank you Tyler

3D Videoconferencing

The link takes you to the article, the article has a brief video and product literature.

I am still wondering if 3D is going to be as common as HD.  What do you think?  When?

Thanks Gunnar

You have got to See it to believe it.

Honda UX-3 Personal Transportation Video

What do you think?  Ready to purchase one?

Thanks Aaron

Vehicles are getting “smarter and smarter” and always competitive.  Look out FORD?

Toyota Autopia

Products developed with services and software and traveling entertainment systems tied to pocket computers and smart phones.  What is next?   What are you looking for?

Thanks Tyler

The “ultimate social networking device” ?

Check out the article and tell us, do you think this will meet the expectation of being the ultimate social networking device?  Will it beat the iPad?  Do you need an iPad and a Streak 7?

Android Tablet

What say you?

From Fortune and Fast Company

Conversation with Jan Chipchase – Fast Company

Formerly of Nokia Fast Company TED Video Included

Fortune Magazine — Indiana Jones in Asia

Voice of Customer in Cell Phone Development– How he does it.   What do you think?  How can YOU do this for your company?

FromYouTube/Google

Video on Calls from Gmail

Have you tried it?

Will you try it?

Why or Why not?

Thanks Naif

These two videos have Pranav Mistry explaining how the Sixth Sense Came to be at TED India.

Pranav Mistry ONE

Pranav Mistry TWO

What do you think?

From Harvard Business Review Blog

Do your Knowledge Workers have a Bitsmith?

This post presents a wonderful concept that points out the need for specialized tools for the knowledge era.  That of a “Bitsmith”.   Bitsmiths, according to the post ” are people who have deep knowledge of both the work content and the tools used to support the work. In other words, they are almost as expert in derivatives or computer design as they are in computer-programming languages. Because they understand both the domain and the tools, bitsmiths can take an idea from concept to implementation quickly .”

The article makes the case that high performance teams need to have a “bitsmith” just as many towns in the “old west”  had blacksmiths to create the tolls they needed.

What do you think of this concept?

From Managing Automation Blog — Chris Chiappinelli

Managing Customers’ Dreams

This blog post plus video sums up the business challenges and requirements of the design-build (Continuous Product Development) business for industrial automation well.  http://www.enhancedautomation.com

A focus on the customer requires a focus on quality, cost, specification and reality; often many of these concepts clash.

Are there other challenges?

Thanks Peter for the article suggestion

From Detroit News

FORD Product Idea Website Article

From the website “Ford Motor Co. is creating a “idea portal” on its Web site, to give consumers the opportunity to suggest new features, allow others to critique them and vote for which ones should be considered by Ford’s product development team.”

Seems like a great idea.

Article on FORD Site About Idea Gathering

What do you think?  Should they allow ALL comments to be seen by everyone?

From The Detroit News: http://www.detnews.com/article/20100413/AUTO01/4130330/1148/Ford-to-harvest-product-ideas-from-Web#ixzz0m9T8mjH4

Thanks Shawn.

From Wired

API explained with examples.

Geeks to Music Industry: APIs Can Set You Free

From the article ” Behind every mashup of two or more online services, there’s an API. That’s short for application programming interface, a set of commands that lets programmers write new code that controls an existing piece of software. Many APIs are proprietary, but the net is full of open APIs that let anyone, say, play a YouTube video on their own web page or overlay bike routes on a Google map”

When will you suggest that your company build an API?

Now that I have your attention, Hugh shared this video.

Vampire Power Video

Or, you can pull the plug or switch off the Power Strip.

Are you helping save the planet and your hard earned $?