Innovate on Purpose: Engineers, Marketers and Innovation

Engineers and marketers have different approaches when it comes to innovation. Engineers focus on solving problems quickly and precisely, but their focus on detail can hamper bigger picture and disruptive innovation. On the other hand, marketers should identify customers' needs and understand how to fill them effectively. However, marketers can become too broad in their focus and lose sight of their base purpose. It is essential that engineers demand that marketers do a better job of defining near-term customer needs and emerging customer requirements or markets, and engineers need to engage the market with rough, fast prototypes, and work to an iterative model.