Sometimes, in fact oftentimes, the simplest questions are the most powerful. Nonetheless, in the swirl of the process, the project, the stakeholder engagement and the how-the-hell-do-we-use-AI-to-help-us-here, it can be all too easy to lose sight of the bigger picture.
So whenever I'm working on a new product, a new service or a new experience, I always have to steel myself to take a big step back and ask:
If we win, who loses?
Of course, blue ocean, white space, new category creation is highly desirable. And it should absolutely be an ambition for all innovation teams. Yes and, if we're honest with ourselves, it's also pretty rare. So focusing on who or what you're going to displace within the current frame of reference can bring a degree of focus. And it can help ensure that the proposed innovation is actually bringing some genuine additional value that consumers cannot currently get, rather than offering a so-what-me-too alternative.