Does an unstoppable innovation company simply sell ahead-of-the-herd products that give customers exactly what they want? No doubt, Apple is one of the most innovative companies of the century. Their superior products command premium prices from the stickiest customers imaginable. But head-of-the-curve products regularly appear in the market, only to be one or several-hit wonders.<\/p>\n
So what makes a company a formidable innovator capable of transforming industries and consumer behavior? I can think of several things, largely invisible to the naked eye.<\/p>\n
1.\u00a0 A company\u2019s strategy successfully moves the business and consumer to another place and gets people to think and act differently.<\/strong><\/p>\n Steve Jobs made Apple great by moving beyond computers and deciding that Apple would sell the public something they didn\u2019t know they wanted. The parc gonflable<\/a> innovative thinking behind the new devices allowed Apple to invent new markets and up-end industries.<\/p>\n The combined iPod, phone and Internet connector called the iPhone changed consumer behavior and captured the attention of the business world. I remember watching the traders on CNBC\u2019s Fast Money ridicule the new phone on its launch day, 2007. \u00a0These same market strategists soon became believers.<\/p>\n Then with the iPad, Apple penetrated the barriers of established markets, including stodgy law firms and financial institutions. This newest device intrigued the business world by engaging entirely new consumer segments, educators, the medical community, Gen Y \u2013 even the parents of children with severe forms of autism (see 60 Minutes<\/a>). Consumers discovered they could do things they never did before, and marketers jumped to make digital media part of their consumer and in-store strategies.<\/p>\n Bloomberg Businessweek<\/em> said in late March, \u201cThe iPad was at once familiar [to iPhone users] and radically new to consumers \u2013 an instant hit.\u201d It was a huge game-changer. Tech observers predict that the tablet could overcome the PC \u201cas consumer tech\u2019s center of gravity” as competitors rushed to redefine their offerings, add features, and create new partnerships.<\/p>\n Apple proves it\u2019s a formidable innovator every time its products strengthen or build the capabilities and competencies of consumers, businesses and universities. Its specialists have worked with prominent media companies to develop marketing innovations to support their franchises. Independent developers<\/a> (a burgeoning industry) have created over 600,000 apps for the iPhone (plus another 500,000 for Android phones).\u00a0\u201cBoundary-less\u201d has moved beyond theory to the real world as silos, language barriers and technical hurdles are torn away.<\/p>\n 2.\u00a0 The business\u2019 culture bolsters and sustains innovation.<\/strong><\/p>\n So-called innovative companies are everywhere, though many can\u2019t sustain their markets and ultimately go away or play a diminished role. The business culture needs to drive innovation if a company wants to be a formidable innovator \u2013 and that starts with the mindset and behaviors of the business\u2019 leaders. Apple came up with the iPod, not Sony.<\/p>\n In 2005, Motorola took the market by storm with the RAZR, but couldn\u2019t duplicate its success in a quickly changing market. They stopped innovating<\/a> following the sudden death of CMO Geoffrey Frost, [called the father of the RAZR and an iconic marketer], and failed to invest in the next big wave of groundbreaking consumer devices. CEO Ed Zander is said to have abandoned Frost\u2019s mission and his distinct culture for growth in which the marketing and technical development teams thrived.<\/p>\n That hasn\u2019t happened to Apple \u2013 not yet. CEO Tim Cook acknowledges that Innovation is their focus and their culture fuels it. For Cook, his company\u2019s culture is \u201cso unique and special\u201d that he\u2019s committed to work hard and keep it that way.<\/p>\n 3.\u00a0 Leaders have big ambitions for change even when their markets look challenged or sleepy.<\/strong><\/p>\n There are leaders who can find a different angle, a way to create a more unique customer experience, to rethink what\u2019s possible amid the most entrenched or difficult environments. Look at Kohler and Ikea, for example, when each was confronted with the Great Recession.<\/p>\n In 2008, Kohler moved quickly to counter a declining U.S. market \u2013 they cut production at domestic factories by 30% to build the export business and altered the product line to capture the Chinese market, especially the top end. A priority product was the Numi<\/a>, a robotic toilet that sells for $6,400 to consumers who are obviously looking for more than utility in a plumbing fixture. Expensive but luxurious, the consumer enjoys leg-warming porcelain, music, special lighting, motion detectors and three bidets. In March, the Wall Street Journal<\/em> reported that half the revenues came from China.<\/p>\n