You are on page 1of 1

SPOTTING INNOVATION OPPORTUNITY

Be observant in the work you do. When you spot a surprise, hack, passion, or inconsistency, stop and get curious.
It’s likely, you’ve spotted an innovation opportunity!*

BE CURIOUS ABOUT... DEFINITION EXAMPLE

SURPRISES Something unexpected—an Demand suddenly spikes for


unanticipated result, unusual a service your company
situation, or glitch in a process. rarely sells—why?

HACKS An improvised solution that At the airport, you notice


signals an unmet need. colorful yarn looped around
the handle of a nondescript
suitcase to mark it.

PASSIONS A strong reaction (delight, irritation, Customers start a hashtag


confusion, etc.) to something. campaign reacting to a
product or service change.

INCONSISTENCIES A gap between words and Your company wants to


behavior. These often point recruit a more diverse
to needed shifts in policies workforce but continues to
or practices. advertise open positions
using the same narrow,
traditional outlets.

* Welch, Ashley, and Justin Jones. Naked Sales. Lioncrest Publishing. 2017.

© 2019 Harvard Business School Publishing. All rights reserved. Harvard Business School Publishing is an affiliate of Harvard Business School.

You might also like