The Apple Tastes Better When Savored Slowly
HereâÂÂs my last blog post â for now â in my series of recent posts on creating enduring products:
Lesson: Make sure that first bite isnâÂÂt more than you can chew.
IâÂÂll tell you something we donâÂÂt necessarily broadcast to the outside world: the first two product concepts for our very successful Model 4200-SCS platform, which were based in part on input from customer focus groups, didnâÂÂt receive top management approval. Quite simply, their scope was too large to succeed in a reasonable timeâÂÂit was just too big of a bite. Despite the undeniable value of their insights, customers in focus groups often have no concept of what it takes to bring a sophisticated system of this type to market.
During concept development, itâÂÂs critical to invest your energy in making sure you have a complete and compelling narrative to present to top management and that itâÂÂs presented in such a way that they can readily see how it will be carried through to completion. The development teamâÂÂs early mistake was thinking about it like engineers (the âÂÂcoolnessâ and technology of the measurements involved) rather than like top managers (is this a do-able product in a reasonable timeframe?).
The development team spent a lot of time âÂÂdescopingâ the project, whittling it down to a manageable level of technical risk. However, what finally convinced top managers that the Model 4200-SCS represented a viable product concept was our technical and marketing people taking them on the road with them. The conversation took place between KeithleyâÂÂs technical people and the people who would actually be using the productâÂÂtop management was a âÂÂfly on the wall,â silently absorbing what the lab managers needed and wanted from a product of this type. Over the years, weâÂÂve often found that nothing beats a face-to-face meeting between management and customers for communicating the potential of a new product.
