100 Pounds of Dynamite

I just read an article in Strategy + Business magazine online about innovating in complements. The author starts off talking about how the Michellin brothers started producing travel guides and giving them away for free, and how that in turn helped them move from simple rubber processing to specializing in tires.

There are plenty more examples in the article and a summary of "five good questions" to ask that might lead to complementary innovation:

Five Good Questions
So how do you uncover and evaluate innovation opportunities in complements? Here are five questions that can guide your thinking and help you set priorities.

1. What complements are currently constraining demand in our markets?

2. What new product might boost demand for our core offerings?

3. Would our customers buy more if they had better information?

4. Would we learn valuable lessons by innovating in complements?

5. Do we have competitors whose fortunes are tightly tied to the price of complements?

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