“There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.”
Ken Olsen, President, Chairman, and Founder of Digital Equipment Corporation made this statement in 1977. It’s easy to laugh at what turned out to be such an incorrect assumption now, but many people probably would have agreed with him at the time.
Innovation lies beyond assumptions, and you can learn to see beyond them so you can spot potential opportunities.
Let’s practice:
What are all the assumptions someone might make about your given offering, your customers, or your market?
Make a list and capture as many as you can. Here are some examples to help get you started:
A customer has no use for B solution.
C technology is too expensive to be practical for consumers.
D is too sophisticated to leverage at scale.
E is a limiting step in the supply chain.
F customer always purchases G this way.
H customer doesn’t want to be seen as I.
Now review your list critically. You’ll surely discover that not all of your assumptions are true or they won’t be true in a year or two’s time.
Congratulations! By spotting the assumptions that aren’t true or won’t be true for much longer, you’ve just spotted opportunities for innovation.
