From Idea to Innovation: The Marathon of Product Development
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In my experience, product development often spans an extended cycle. Initially, I identify a market anomaly, a gap open for innovation, but I tend to dismiss my initial thoughts. However, the idea persists, nagging at me, prompting deeper exploration and maybe the creation of rough sketches. Even when these early concepts seem flawed, the nagging continues.
At this stage, I begin to share these ideas with my team. The typical response is skepticism, questioning the necessity of solving what seems like a non-issue. This was the case with both our Apollo popcorn popper, the upcoming Avid B1 putter and the Apollo CLP1 projector. All of them took significantly longer to develop than initially anticipated.
Bringing a unique product to market is inherently time-consuming, challenging, and often frustrating for the entire team. It requires numerous iterations and the exploration of many paths that lead nowhere.
Tenacity becomes your closest ally as you face pressures to abandon the project. Remember, product development is a marathon, not a sprint. If you're only tweaking existing products, you're not pushing the boundaries or innovating; you're merely keeping pace with the present.
At this stage, I begin to share these ideas with my team. The typical response is skepticism, questioning the necessity of solving what seems like a non-issue. This was the case with both our Apollo popcorn popper, the upcoming Avid B1 putter and the Apollo CLP1 projector. All of them took significantly longer to develop than initially anticipated.
Bringing a unique product to market is inherently time-consuming, challenging, and often frustrating for the entire team. It requires numerous iterations and the exploration of many paths that lead nowhere.
Tenacity becomes your closest ally as you face pressures to abandon the project. Remember, product development is a marathon, not a sprint. If you're only tweaking existing products, you're not pushing the boundaries or innovating; you're merely keeping pace with the present.