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	<title>Ken Miller Group</title>
	<link>http://kenmillergroup.com</link>
	<description>Insight for Innovation</description>
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		<title>Overcoming Switching Inertia: Beyond &#8220;Feature Creep&#8221;</title>
		<description><![CDATA[A few of my recent projects have involved moving consumers away from competing brands or substitutes toward a soon-to-be better product.  They got me thinking about how to best induce consumers to change ingrained behavior and switch brands.  The obvious answer is to build in more attractive functionality and/or aesthetics and win them over on [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://kenmillergroup.com/2012/03/12/overcoming-switching-inertia-beyond-feature-creep/</link>
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		<title>Brainstorming:  Squashing Individual Brilliance?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[An interesting essay in the New York Times a few weeks ago got me thinking about the perils of “groupthink”.  Nothing really new there, but the piece went on to propose that breakthrough ideas typically grow out of individual effort rather than teamwork.  I don’t know about you, but I’ve believed that since I got [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://kenmillergroup.com/2012/02/07/brainstorming-squashing-individual-brilliance/</link>
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		<title>Insight for Innovation:  Falling Through the Cracks?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[In the world of product and package innovation, cross-functional project teams are great for pulling functional experts together and integrating work processes.  But even the tightest of teams often can’t prevent critical work output from slipping through the cracks as they move from stage to stage.  So, key consumer insights can be lost in devising [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://kenmillergroup.com/2011/12/05/bridging-the-gaps-in-innovation-process/</link>
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		<title>Innovation Risk:  An Obsolete Cartoon Tells the Story</title>
		<description><![CDATA[I created this cartoon almost 10 years ago.  Back then, companies were feeling their way around innovation, but still rather two-faced about their commitment to the discipline.  Management would openly acknowledge that innovation programs could fail without repercussion for the team and its members.  Publicly, leadership would pronounce that managing a portfolio of innovation programs [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://kenmillergroup.com/2011/10/26/innovation-risk-an-obsolete-cartoon-tells-the-story/</link>
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		<title>On the Same Page?  Building Team Consensus in NPD</title>
		<description><![CDATA[I apologize in advance if this new cartoon offends anyone.  But I post it here to make a point about building team consensus around proposed innovation solutions.  That is:  It&#8217;s hard. Reaching concurrence on direction taken in new product and package development is a key driver of project success.  That&#8217;s because solutions that are imposed [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://kenmillergroup.com/2011/07/13/on-the-same-page-building-team-consensus-in-npd/</link>
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		<title>Imposing Constraints in Concept Exploration:  If, When and How</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The evaluation of internal capabilities and constraints is a vital element of successful innovation.  Nothing gets made if it can&#8217;t be made.  Or if the investment is too great.  Or if it takes too long.  When we refer to &#8220;capabilities and constraints&#8221; we almost always mean the production side of the house.  Technology, tooling, line [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://kenmillergroup.com/2011/05/24/imposing-constraints-in-concept-exploration-if-when-and-how/</link>
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		<title>Attribute-Oriented Innovation: Preference Over Process</title>
		<description><![CDATA[And, of course, a new KMG cartoon! Clients tell me that their typical innovation process starts with need identification to drive new concepts.  Likely, these early stage concepts mix and match features in an attempt to meet all requirements in various ways.  Features overlap across concepts, and variables such as form and utility aren&#8217;t standardized.  [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://kenmillergroup.com/2011/04/19/attribute-oriented-innovation-preference-over-process/</link>
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		<title>Fresh KMG Cartoon! VOC &#8211; When to Stop Listening</title>
		<description><![CDATA[I know&#8230;this would never happen at your company.  But it could&#8211;if you let it. Consumers are eager to tell you all the ways they struggle with your package, and what new features would compel them to buy and cement their loyalty forever.  They will blackmail you with expectations for over-the-top functionality that will make the [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://kenmillergroup.com/2011/03/19/fresh-cartoon-voc-when-to-stop-listening/</link>
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		<title>Package Efficiency and Consumer Input: Contradiction?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Why bother gathering consumer input on package changes?  I recently came across a survey of packaging managers that queried them on the biggest issues they face.  The top responses were &#8220;Production and efficiency improvements&#8221; and &#8220;Cost cutting&#8221;.  Responses such as &#8220;Meeting changing consumer needs&#8221; or &#8220;Delighting the customer&#8221; weren&#8217;t even on the list. That&#8217;s ok.  [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://kenmillergroup.com/2011/03/02/package-efficiency-and-consumer-input-contradiction/</link>
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		<title>New Original Cartoon:  Mining for Fresh Consumer Insights</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Here, I&#8217;m trying to suggest that it&#8217;s easy to gather learning from research, but it&#8217;s really tough to unearth game-changing, unrecognized and leverageable insight.  Read more below: Is it all about the tools?  Partly, in the same way that auto racing is about the car.  I prefer to say that surfacing breakthrough insights is about [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://kenmillergroup.com/2010/10/21/new-original-cartoon-mining-for-fresh-consumer-insights/</link>
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