A Chameleon-Like Word - CRMAdvocate: 6/4/2012

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My Take: A Chameleon-Like Word
Gary Lemke, Chief Customer Advocate (June 4, 2012)

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Innovation. Scott Berkun, the author of the 2007 book The Myths of Innovation and now an innovation consultant, advises clients to ban the word at their companies. "It is a chameleon-like word to hide the lack of substance," he says.

Is your organization innovative? Do you deliver innovative products and/or services? Just about everyone says they do. I guess it depends on the use of the word which is probably why Mr. Berkun suggests banning the word.

And not all innovation is created equal. Clayton Christensen, a professor at Harvard Business School, classifies innovations into three types: efficiency innovations, which produce the same product more cheaply, such as automating credit checks; sustaining innovations, which turn good products into better ones, such as the hybrid car; and disruptive innovations, which transform expensive, complex products into affordable, simple ones, such as the shift from mainframe to personal computers.

Want to learn more: read the WSJ article You Call That Innovation? What do you call CRM innovation?

What's your take?

Gary Lemke

Other CRMAdvocate "Takes"

06.01.12 Do Your CX Practices Kill Empathy? 05.31.12 Customer for Life 05.30.12 Another Wish for You 05.29.12 My Wish for You 05.24.12 Customers Want AHT 05.23.12 The Average of Averages 05.22.12 Abandoning AHT Practices 05.21.12 Abandon AHT? more "takes"

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