Folks,
Every industrialization project that we’ve worked on includes a corps of service
providers. The disciplines represented can include industrial design, branding,
engineering, regulatory, legal, packaging, manufacturing, laboratory testing services, logistics and many others. The specialized (and at times uncommon) knowledge represented by these professionals is foundational to the success of the project and product. Their expertise is required – there’s no “one stop shopping” in new product development.
Recognizing the importance of know-how, it’s common for CXOs, entrepreneurs and founders to surround themselves with these experts. This response, to throw money at experts and hope that the effort coalesces into a plan, can unintentionally wreak chaos.
The well-meaning goal is to “rent” expertise, shorten the development cycle and minimize risk. However, what we’ve found is that flanking the project with experts isn’t a substitute for a rational new product introduction strategy. That blueprint or grand design needs to come from a single person who’s the captain of the ship. Stated another way, the project/product needs to be “someone’s baby”.
You, the captain, need to grab and maintain control throughout the life cycle of the project. That can involve pushing back on the team, reinforcing the critical design, performance and commercial goals, and sometimes pounding the table. Maintaining the focus and drive for the project cannot be farmed out to a team of experts.
While subject matter experts are critical to providing a pathway specific to their
disciplines, someone needs to marshal their efforts and formulate a cohesive strategy. If not, unfocused expert contributions can cause chaos, the service providers don’t work in concert and the project can end up on the rocks.
Cheers, Jack Daniels, 617-285-2486