WHY I DON'T BELIEVE IN WORKSHOPS ANYMORE

why i don't believe in workshops anymore
very often we get the following request
lars, i have a great product idea, but i need to do a workshop first...
this is an old fashioned approach
a workshop costs a lot of time and money
but without a workshop i don't know how to start with the project?!
maybe!
if you really want it to become a reality-why not start building it?
instead of producing just tons of paper again.
but lars, isn't it important to have a concept?
today, time to market is much more important
so, what should i do instead?
reduce the concept to the max and start building instead
GO TO MARKET AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE AND WHEN COMPETITORS HAVE FINALLY REACTED. YOU CAN ALREADY START WITH THE SECOND VERSION OF YOUR PRODUCT.
your money for a workshop is much better invested in raising awareness for your product.
and then expand the market as quickly as possible.
lars, why has that changed so dramatically?
for decades the markets worked the other way around...
we focused on research, concepts and strategy because markets...
...reacted very slowly
can you give some examples?!
new car models were released every seven years
NEW FMCG PRODUCTS WERE PRESENTED ONCE A YEAR ON A TRADE SHOW AND NEEDED 12-18 MONTHS OF DEVELOPMENT
even new software products were released once a year
the good old times... everything was easier!
absolutely not!
today it's way easier to develop new products and services and test them on the market
the new definition of success is to react to customer needs the fastest way possible...
not having the most perfect product in the first place.
but how do we find out?!
definitely not by market research or by workshops
so what's the better way?!
build your product vision and test it on the market within one week only!
but don't you need much more time for something like that?!
in fact, we are doing all that within the context of an innoweek
but how is it possible? normally you need several months for it?
focus!
we focus on the weekly goal and set clear deadlines, in this way, we avoid over-perfectionism that is otherwise very common.
this means that the money i would normally have spent on workshops and concepts is instead invested directly in the market launch??
exactly.
and what's even more important:
IF IT REALLY TURNS OUT THAT THE PRODUCT IS NOT ACCEPTED BY THE MARKET, WE WILL HAVE BURNED MUCH LESS MONEY AND CAN EITHER CONCENTRATE ON AN ITERATION OR ON THE NEXT PRODUCT IDEA.
all this in just one week instead of the usual months or years.
it's your choice ;-)
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