3. Strategic research, the way to reduce time and waste
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I was once asked how long it would take to make an adhesive for a project they wanted to do. Somewhere between three weeks and five years was the answer.
That didn't go down well.
You can't plan a project from that. Couldn't I be more specific? Sure, but then I would be lying or I would need more info about the technology they wanted to use. Another project started out with "we want something different from the competitors". When I asked what the competitors did, the answer was "We don't know". It's not a bad starting point per se, but making a detailed project plan at that point in the project is difficult.
Getting right to the itty gritty points of how to save time and money on strategic research, the headlines look like this:
1. You want to set up some experiments that will provide a strong foundation for your technology platforms
2. You want to know what the competitors are doing
3. Documentation, past, present and future, is everything.
So, when do you start the strategic research? That would be now! Right away. It's just like first aid. The first thing you do is to stop the accident. Don't make any big plans with your strategy yet. That is the classical approach, and it will turn your strategy into a white elephant.
That didn't go down well.
You can't plan a project from that. Couldn't I be more specific? Sure, but then I would be lying or I would need more info about the technology they wanted to use. Another project started out with "we want something different from the competitors". When I asked what the competitors did, the answer was "We don't know". It's not a bad starting point per se, but making a detailed project plan at that point in the project is difficult.
Getting right to the itty gritty points of how to save time and money on strategic research, the headlines look like this:
1. You want to set up some experiments that will provide a strong foundation for your technology platforms
2. You want to know what the competitors are doing
3. Documentation, past, present and future, is everything.
So, when do you start the strategic research? That would be now! Right away. It's just like first aid. The first thing you do is to stop the accident. Don't make any big plans with your strategy yet. That is the classical approach, and it will turn your strategy into a white elephant.