Connecting the Dots – Your Path to the Next Level Jeff Hoffman ColorJar
Jul 14, 2015
Connecting the Dots –
Your Path to the Next Level
Jeff Hoffman
ColorJar
Agenda
• It all starts with an idea
• Innovation (the process of birthing new ideas) is a
PROCESS, not an accident
• New ideas must be validated PROPERLY
• The path to the next level is the path from IDEA to
EXECUTION
• Tell me your ideas and I swear I won’t steal them
(OK, we call this part Q&A)
Is your mind really open for
business?
• Your mind is an idea filter
• Ideas flow through your mind all day long
• But some people have one of these for a filter:
Is your mind really open for
business?
• Your mind is an idea filter
• Ideas flow through your mind all day long
• But some people have one of these for a filter:
The power of WONDER
The power of WONDER
The power of WONDER
Exercise your mind
Wonder in action
• Why do you get a different answer every time you
call the airlines for a price?
• Airlines run yield management in real time
• Yield management runs around 2am
• New fares are released in response to yield
equations
Wonder in action
Wonder in action
Exercise your mind
Info-Sponging
Absorb the world around you
• Take 20 minutes at the start of your day
• No cell phones, email, text, etc.
• Let your mind wander – wonder, click, repeat
• Look for trends, convergence, disruptions
• Write down data points and stare at them
Now connect the dots…
Now connect the dots…
Ask yourself the billion dollar
question…
A real world example
• Distressed inventory
• Perishable commodity
• Dynamic pricing
• Soft goods fulfillment
• Online consumers
A multi-billion dollar idea
A great team exercise you can do
• Blue Sky sessions
• Comfortable setting
• NO editing
• Mutual respect
• Fully inclusive
• Clean slate start
• No rules, no gravity
The best sentences start with…
The fast food example…
The innovative solution
The innovative solution
OK, so now what?
• A good idea is step 1 – success is all in the
execution
• But first you need to VALIDATE your idea
Validating your product
Validating your product
So now it’s time to EXECUTE
• Get out of your conference room!
• The best companies design their products from the
customer in, not from their conference room out
• LAUNCH SOMETHING, and let the market adjust it
• The key to success is not having all the answers but
knowing all the QUESTIONS
• Adjust, collect data, analyze, and repeat
• Be the BEST at one thing, expand later
Connecting the Dots –
Your Path to the Next Level
Jeff Hoffman
ColorJar
Q&A