Paul McKey - Synergistic Design

Redbean, August 07. - I drive a Peugeot. In fact we have two Peugeots in the family and we have owned about six previously. All are beautifully designed and engineered well of course. Their biggest attraction is their value for money. Great European driving without the badge premium. We have had mixed results with reliability. Some were nearly faultless, one was a total lemon. This variation in build quality and/or just plain luck is probably similar in most makes of cars even of high quality.

What will my next car be? Probably a Peugeot. So why am I going back? We have a relationship so familiarity, habit, easy to do, all apply. They have new good product with no compelling alternative. They are still good value for money in my eyes (ie in what I consider important - safety, environment and driving experience).

But what really compels me to return to this brand over and over again? Two things - people and culture. These French entrepreneurs, designers and engineers are madly passionate about making great cars at an affordable price simply because they believe everyone should have access to quality design and engineering. That passion flows throughout the company, its dealers and even its owners.

So I know that I can buy the next model Peugeot, probably without even test driving it, since I know that the values of the people and culture they have developed will not let a bad product out the door. This is a radical departure to the old adage that the product design rules and anybody can sell it. Many auto companies without this foundation of people and culture can have huge variation in their products over time. They tend to chase innovation and market share by copying and competing on individual components such as power, features and price without ever considering the holistic brand. Hence they are inconsistent.

So because I trust Peugeot’s product, through its people and culture, this reduces my anxiety and risk and our relationship continues.

I use an Apple computer. In fact we have four in the family and we have owned about twenty previously… Well, you know the story!

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Redbean August 2007 - Is innovation one of the most misconstrued terms in the English language?

I am looking forward to a new Innovation conference in Melbourne at the end of August which will include guest speakers like Tom Kelley from IDEO.

www.innofuture.com.au

Yet what sort of innovation will be on show? If I go looking for the meaning of the word innovation I can get numerous responses. One thing I can be certain about is that innovation is a process. It describes the steps taken to get from a creative idea/invention to an object or process of value to someone. It may require more creativity along the way. It will invariably require a hefty amount of design, another misconstrued term, yet what I would describe as problem solving or creative development within a set of constraints (like time, money gravity etc.).

Unfortunately the term innovation has been hijacked by every government and repeated in every second organisational mission statement on earth. Many put all their eggs in the innovation basket. However Getz and Robinson argue the mantra of “innovate or die” is misleading and there is more to success than innovation alone. They also show that relying on just innovation is akin to gambling with a 3,000:1 chance of success (after spending a lot of time and money).
Innovate or Die: Is that a Fact?

Increasingly, while organisations give lip service to terms like creativity and innovation they rarely set up the environment for success in these areas. Brilliant product designs or innovative business processes come from employees 80% of the time and through planned improvement activities only 20% of the time. (Getz and Robinson) So establishing a means for ‘everyday’ ideas to flow is more important than trying to forge new unique ideas.

And why do we innovate? Just to have a new model car every three years? That sounds like consumption madness. Nathan Shedroff has been working in this area for some time and has a great site dedicated to all things innovative. Nathan.com
In his latest book (Making Meaning: How Successful Businesses Deliver Meaningful Customer Experiences, co-authored with Steve Diller and Darrel Rhea) he looks beyond the simple catch phrases of invention, innovation, design and gets to what people really seek, meaning.

“We envision a time when customers increasingly make their purchase decisions based on deeply valued meanings that companies evoke for them through their products and services—in other words, meaningful consumption—as opposed to simply responding based on features, price, brand identity, and emotional pitches. We hope to persuade business leaders that combining and integrating the power of invention, design, and marketing to create meaningful experiences for their customers provides a blueprint to achieving sustained, stable growth.”

This aligns with my personal concept of why we create, innovate and design. I suspect I will find this ‘flavour’ of innovation in Melbourne at the end of the month, not the washed out “let’s build a better mousetrap” flavour.

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