Innovation and Ideas at the IIT Entrepreneurship Summit

Indian Institute of Technology, Powai – Mumbai, Feb 7

As an entrepreneur, how would you woo your customer? Politely ask what you customer wants and create a product to meet that need, right?

Give this answer to David Wittenberg and in his characteristic comic style, he will shriek, “Ewwwww!”

In his presentation on Innovation and Ideas at the Entrepreneurship Summit in IIT-Powai, Wittenberg, the CEO of The Innovation Workshop, insisted on ‘observation’ being the key to understanding customer needs, rather than direct questioning.

“If Ford had asked his customers what they needed, they would have suggested a faster horse!” he points out.

According to him, the customer probably cannot tell you what she values, needs or desires – a point that makes the concept of customer surveys quite pointless. Instead he recommends knowing your customers’ lives intimately – their lifestyle, their behaviour and their values. “You must observe keenly, listen carefully and interpret skillfully. Have an open mind, ask lots of open-ended questions and listen carefully. Derive your ideas from this insight,” Wittenberg advised.

“The test of a good idea is the value it creates. If you can observe your customer and find out what creates value for him, you can sell. If you can validate your idea in rapid and inexpensive ways in the market, you have a successful product in your hand,” he explained.

And if you still have any doubts on observation, hear how George Fuller, an architect, made his money.

George Fuller once viewed a bird cage and saw the obvious: A structure made of metal rods which were light and strong. But he thought of something that others hadn’t – If a structure could be light and strong and can be lifted to a height, something can be made of it.

And that’s how Fuller gave the world its first skyscraper!