The Best Innovation Strategy is Searching for Needs

Booz & Company’s global study of R&D spending found that only 43% of respondents were effective in generating new ideas, while just 36% felt the same way about converting ideas to development projects. Companies were categorized as Need Seekers, Market Readers, or Technology Drivers, with Need Seekers showing the greatest potential for innovation success. The study shows 50% of Need Seekers companies were effective at both ideation and conversion compared to 12% of Market Readers and 20% of Technology Drivers. The FORTH method is suggested to discover concrete customer needs.