Innovations are nice and all. But strategic innovations are something different.
These small – sometimes even trivial – features aren’t just new. They are symbolic of the organisation’s strategy as a whole.
They are instrumental to its unique value offering, and demonstrate the frightening clarity of thought at play behind the scenes.
But instead of just banging on about the concept, let me show you a few.
1. The handle on the original iMac, 1998
The beauty of this feature is that it’s completely, utterly, useless. I mean how often do you carry your desktop computer around? But Jobs thought it made the device look friendly and approachable – the entire essence of Apple’s democratising design thesis.
2. The Netflix Autoplay feature, 2012
Netflix turned bingeing into an art form – and nothing says “just one more” like the deliciously lazy autoplay feature. Their goal is to make you waste your life in front of their platform, and thanks to this you don’t even need to reach for the remote to do so.
3. IKEA’s “fake” Swedish design, 1956
Everyone knows about the flat-pack, but an even more intelligent innovation underpins theiraffordable design offering. They told the world their design was quintessentially Scandinavian, when in fact… it wasn’t. It was just cheap. But hey, perception is reality!
4. Tesla’s Insane mode, 2015
Nothing undermines the premise of a green electric vehicle like a high performance mode that burns through the battery in minutes. But then again, undermining the premise of the category was Tesla’s entire game. This button showed the world this tech could be fun as well as responsible.
5. Amazon’s One-Click purchase button, 1999
Do you get the best product when you shop on Amazon? No. Is it the best price? No. Do you even care? No. Because it’s just so damned convenient that pretty much every other consideration is out of the window. And One-Click is how it started.
6. Ryanair’s extreme unbundling of services, 2001
As you know I’m a fan of Ryanair because they’re one of the world’s few gleefully “evil” businesses. Mostly this is in the service of cutting prices, but it actually extends to the prices themselves ever since they mastered the “hidden fees” system so they could quote insanely low rates in their ads. Once you discover that £9.99 flight actually costs £139.99, your inertia carries you through.
7. Dyson’s transparent vacuum canisters, 1993
Dyson vacuum cleaners have famously innovative technology – but if you couldn’t see it, would you even realise? After all, they suck up dirt in pretty much the same way as any other – and that’s why the transparent canister is so important. By seeing the magic in action you were able to convince yourself that yes, paying that much for a hoover really was worthwhile.
8. Airbnb’s professional listings photography, 2009
The way Airbnb convinced people that it’s totally normal to stay in a complete stranger’s house is pretty miraculous. And it all comes down to one word: trust. Building a platform that just reeks of trust from top to bottom. Many features contribute to this by my favourite is the photography service.
9. Lush’s fruit n’ veg style cosmetics merchandising, 2002
This is the greatest example of “cross category copying”, where you steal the codes of a different category to make your offer clear. In Lush’s case that offer is “freshness”, so they simply copied something fresh: produce! The result is simultaneously clear, and unique – a rare combo.
10. Google’s minimalist search bar, 1998
Once upon a time, search engines homepages were crowded with ads. Google’s genius was to take those ads, and put them on the results page instead – so seamlessly in fact that you didn’t feel like you were being advertised to at all.
So there you have it. From the tiniest tweak can emerge the mightiest of value.
This is strategy in its most distilled form. Don’t rest until you have one just like it.
