This work offers a summary of the book “HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT: How to Find and Execute Your Company’s Next Big Growth Strategy” by Erich Joachimstahler.
“For the last twenty-five years,” says Eric Joachimsthaler, “I have investigated why some innovations, business models, business strategies, and marketing and branding tactics hit the mark, and why others do not….one idea has surfaced consistently: the biggest, best, brightest, and most successful opportunities for innovation and growth are right here, in front of us, and we often don’t see them or act on them.”
He explains in Hidden In Plain Sight how to spot and act on opportunities. He suggests to take an “outside in” approach, and looking at the product from the consumer’s point of view. Do not focus on getting a better product, but on creating change in their life; attach the most importance not to what people say, but on what they do, and how they do it.
Joachimsthaler includes a quote from Henry Ford: “If I had asked customers what they wanted, they would have told me they wanted a faster horse.” In other words, make the effort to challenge existing assumptions, even those of your consumer. Hidden In Plain Sight demonstrates in practical ways how to do that.