Renovate Before You Innovate: Why Doing the New Thing Might Not Be the Right Thing

If you visit the business section of a bookstore, it may be impossible to randomly pull five books off the shelf and NOT have one of those books contain "innovate" or "innovation" within its title. The irony surrounding the flood of innovation business books that are drowning the marketplace is that there's little or nothing innovative about the books themselves. The vast majority are rehashed revisions of earlier editions that may have a few updated examples. However, Sergio Zyman's book titled - "Renovate Before you Innovate" - breaks the cycle and stems the flow of innovation regurgitation. Zyman states that while innovation sounds great in theory, it usually degrades down to ineffective, haphazard marketing when executed. The author believes that renovation is the key that unlocks sustainable top-line growth. Soundview likes this refreshing approach because Zyman simply defines renovation as doing the things that made your organization great, only doing them differently - which includes creating a compelling customer experience, preference for your business and redefining your competitive space. This is truly an innovative book in a sea of wanna-be imitations.

I found this book incredibly valuable for the following reasons: - Mr. Zyman used excellent and impactful real-world examples to which Americans who have watched TV or paid attention to pop culture for the past 20 years can all relate. - Mr. Zyman lived through, nay, created one of the biggest marketing blunders of the late 20th century: New Coke. His honesty and candor in admitting this and learning from that mistake gives him credibility and authenticity. He knows of what he speaks. - This is an immensely readable book full of humor and relatable anecdotes. And it isn't dated in the least, the examples seem quite relevant to today's world. - For anyone involved in product development, marketing or making strategic decisions, this book is a must-read. As a result of reading this book, I'm afraid I've been annoying my colleagues to death with all the pithy examples Mr. Zyman has shared in the book. But these lessons have given me important perspective as I personally navigate my company's product and marketing roadmaps. However, I'm perplexed why this book is out of print. I've written to Mr. Zyman and to Penguin, with no response. Neither the book, the author or the ISBN number are found on penguin.com. Mr. Zyman doesn't even mention this book in his bio on his website (www.zyman.com). What's going on, Mr. Zyman? That being said, order a copy while they can still be found.

According to the author, many companies rely too heavily on innovation to solve their problems, and they attempt to start over with something fresh to revive old businesses. The author says that this is the lazy approach to marketing, and it typically doesn't work. In fact, according to the author, 9 out of 10, innovation does not work. He further adds, "'Innovation' is just another word for `giving up'. It's saying that things are so bad that it's easier to get into an entirely different line of business than to deal with our problems." The author preaches the power of renovation, not innovation, to accelerate and sustain top-line growth. He says that it starts with recapturing the essence of your existing brands and products and doing more of the things that made your business great in the first place. In a word, renovate. This means no longer doing different things with existing assets, but doing better things with them instead. Core essence is who you really are as a company or brand. It's the relationship customers and noncustomers alike have with your brand; it's what your brand stands for in their hearts and minds and the promises your brand makes to consumers. He warns that if you try to extend your brand beyond your core essence, customers will not cooperate. If you succeed in leveraging your core essence, assets and infrastructure, you'll be able to grow your business successfully. He uses Starbucks Coffee as an illustration, whose core essence are building stores, motivating people, and sourcing the best coffee in the world. They embrace a philosophy of "Let's start with what we can build and see if we can sell it." According to the author, true core essence is the most powerful and compelling attribute of your brand. The core essence of Windows, for example, is "user-friendly"; for Crest toothpaste, it's "fights cavities"; for Pepsi, it's "revolution, choice, and change." What you say your core essence is, is completely irrelevant. It is what consumers and customers think that counts. In fact, there's often a big disconnect between what you think your core essence is and what is actually on the minds of consumers. This leaves you with one choice if you want to leverage your core essence: you need to hit the street and start asking people questions about how they perceive your company and your brand. Doing this kind of research will enable you to see your company the way consumers do. Once you've determined your core essence, you will be able to use that knowledge to renovate every aspect of your business. The author, Sergio Zyman, knows the downfalls of trying to grow strictly through innovation. He was the manager of one of the great innovation busts of the 20th century---New Coke. The New Coke formula was foisted upon the market in response to Pepsi's constant repositioning of original Coke's brand through such schemes as the Pepsi Challenge taste tests. Rather than challenge Pepsi on its brand's value proposition (giving cons

Fascinating approach that skewers the notion that innovation is the savior of business growth. Sergio Zyman provides examples galore showing how innovation has derailed many a company from its true course. His notion of leveraging the essence of a business to do more of the things that made it great in the first place is very powerful, and it really leaves you scratching your head at how some companies can still focus on continually seeking out the new thing rather than the RIGHT thing for their business. Excellent anecdotes and many solid approaches to relooking at a business in order to uncover growth opportunities that make sense.