Changing the Way the World Innovates: Tony Ulwick of Strategyn

Ask Brien Show

This week we were joined by Tony Ulwick, CEO of Strategyn. Tony shares the importance of doing research to understand what potential customers are really looking for and what their current unmet needs are. Instead of spending time testing out several different solutions or products, go directly to the source to see what their needs are, then design a solution around those needs. He talks about how AI can be positively utilized in business and how the business landscape has shifted since COVID. Tony explains how he outsources, and what he recommends for small business owners who don’t have a lot of overhead business expenses. Tune in to learn more and make sure to grab his book Jobs To Be Done for free!

IN THIS EPISODE:

• [5:26] Tony shares his background and where his career started.
• [9:35] How do businesses know what customers actually want?
• [15:13] Where did Tony come up with ‘outcome driven innovation’?
• [20:16] How is AI affecting Tony’s business, Strategyn?
• [24:05] What was a challenge that Tony faced when starting his own business?
• [27:08] Why did Tony start outsourcing right away?
• [29:44] What was the catalyst for Tony to publish his book and what was the process like?
• [30:57] What do customers want?

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Spend time upfront understanding exactly what job people need done, what they struggle with, and what needs are most underserved. Once you have the top 10 unmet needs, you can come up with the right solutions for your customers.
• AI isn’t something to be feared, it can be a tool to uplevel your business. It’s just another tool in your toolbelt that you can utilize.
• Outsource what you can, but take the time to wear all the different hats to get a good feel for what the business has to do in its entirety in order to be successful.

LINKS MENTIONED:

Tony Ulwick | LinkedIn

Strategyn Website

Jobs To Be Done Book - FREE

Email: [e-mail]

BIO

Tony is the pioneer of Jobs-to-be-Done Theory and the inventor of Outcome-Driven Innovation® (ODI), a powerful strategy and innovation process with a documented success rate that is 5-times the industry average. Tony has been granted 12 patents for his game-changing innovation practices, which result in products that help customers get a “job” done better.

Philip Kotler, S. C. Johnson Distinguished Professor of International Marketing at the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University says, “I call Ulwick the Deming of Innovation because, more than anyone else, Tony has turned innovation into a science.”

The late Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen says, "Ulwick's outcome-driven programs bring discipline and predictability to the often random process of innovation."

Tony began his career with IBM’s PC division in 1981. Witnessing the failure of the PCjr, Tony was inspired to develop a better approach to innovation. Since founding the innovation consultancy Strategyn in 1991, he and his global team of ODI practitioners have led strategy engagements with over one-third of the Fortune 100, helping them generate billions of dollars in revenue growth.

In 2002, Tony introduced Harvard Business Review readers to ODI in the article Turn Customer Input into Innovation. HBR recognized ODI as one of the best business ideas of the year, declaring it one of “the ideas that will profoundly affect business as we forge ahead in today’s complex times.”