http://ask.enquiro.com/2008/thank-god-for-product-centric-leaders/ Online Marketing Articles Focusing on the B2B Space Sat, 17 May 2008 03:56:10 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.2 http://ask.enquiro.com/2008/thank-god-for-product-centric-leaders/#comment-1237 Karl Thu, 08 May 2008 15:10:50 +0000 http://ask.enquiro.com/2008/thank-god-for-product-centric-leaders/#comment-1237 This is a really interesting observation. I was very surprised when I visited the R&D centre for Roland, in Hamamatsu. The engineers work on technology first, like wouldn't it be cool if we could find a good way to compress video files. Along the way to that goal, they found a new way to compress audio files, which eventually spawned an entire line of world-leading products (the V-Studio digital recorders). My dealer network was constantly haranging me about when is Roland going to produce a 4-track cassette recorder, because they were hugely successful at the time. I had to explain again and again that Roland was focusing on digital, not analogue, technology, and there would be no 4-track cassette, but just wait. Sure enough, the V-Studio was a category-buster. BTW, Roland's motto is "We Design the Future". It didn't come from customer surveys - people wanted cheaper, better-sounding cassette recorders with more tracks (gimme 8 tracks!). Instead they got 64 digital tracks and effects, with a hard-drive and display and a way to create CD's anywhere they had electricity. Roland typically only really looked for customer input around the time they were mocking up the prototypes and deciding on the final feature set. The original product idea had already been decided by either new technology they'd discovered, or someone's drive to build something they'd like to see themselves. It was definitely a product-centric approach, and it's been working well for them. I think what you're also talking about is passion. You can still get it wrong, but if you really believe something is super cool, chances are you can find an audience that also thinks it's cool. Sony had it with the original Walkman. Anyway, great post, thanks. This is a really interesting observation. I was very surprised when I visited the R&D centre for Roland, in Hamamatsu. The engineers work on technology first, like wouldn’t it be cool if we could find a good way to compress video files. Along the way to that goal, they found a new way to compress audio files, which eventually spawned an entire line of world-leading products (the V-Studio digital recorders). My dealer network was constantly haranging me about when is Roland going to produce a 4-track cassette recorder, because they were hugely successful at the time. I had to explain again and again that Roland was focusing on digital, not analogue, technology, and there would be no 4-track cassette, but just wait. Sure enough, the V-Studio was a category-buster. BTW, Roland’s motto is “We Design the Future”. It didn’t come from customer surveys - people wanted cheaper, better-sounding cassette recorders with more tracks (gimme 8 tracks!). Instead they got 64 digital tracks and effects, with a hard-drive and display and a way to create CD’s anywhere they had electricity. Roland typically only really looked for customer input around the time they were mocking up the prototypes and deciding on the final feature set. The original product idea had already been decided by either new technology they’d discovered, or someone’s drive to build something they’d like to see themselves. It was definitely a product-centric approach, and it’s been working well for them. I think what you’re also talking about is passion. You can still get it wrong, but if you really believe something is super cool, chances are you can find an audience that also thinks it’s cool. Sony had it with the original Walkman. Anyway, great post, thanks.

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