The Power of Observation

An article in the Autumn 2007 issue of Strategy+Business entitled “See for Yourself”
http://www.strategy-business.com/press/article/07301?pg=0 discusses the importance of managers spending time in the field. This is especially important from an operational perspective for understanding what’s working and what’s not working within your own company. However, it is also important, from an innovation perspective, to take time to observe competitors as well as the customers who currently use or potentially could use your product. Successful innovators become true students of their industry.
One example of this is when Honda engineers visited the guest parking lots at Disney World to observe guest behavior and potentially uncover problems. They noted that people were struggling to lift awkward items such as baby strollers into and out of car trunks. Inspired to solve this problem, the team lowered the trunk opening to be flush with the car bumper. The lower opening is now a common feature among sedans, but in 1989, innovations such as this helped the Honda Accord move to first place in U.S. unit sales.