Let Lead Users Design Services

Eric von Hippel’s new book, Democratizing Innovation, argues that it is the users with the “bleeding edge needs” that create the most innovative and novel solutions to their problems, which are often problems the industry didn’t know anyone had. The author suggests two methods, “the “lead user project method” is where companies tap into lead-user innovation; the “toolkit innovation project method” is about giving lead users the tools they need to tinker and innovate.” While the example given from a study involving a major Swedish telco doesn’t seem incredibly innovative, the idea is probably a sound way to find solutions to problems – or at least the problems that users are having – which could be very successful in the mobile market.

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