Speaker Harry West illustrates how to achieve innovative success 

2007 Ford Innovation Symposium speaker Harry West, vice president, Strategy and Innovation Continuum, Boston.

Noted engineering expert Harry West captivated his audience at The Ford Innovation Symposium, held Oct. 25 at UDM, when he said the study of people is what drives business success.

West, vice president of Strategy and Innovation at Continuum, the world’s leading independent design and innovation consultancy, helps Fortune 500 companies develop new products to differentiate them from their competitors.

“We earn a living just watching and thinking about what we see,” explained West. “We recognize opportunities and identify breakthrough ideas (then) make those ideas real.”

Among Continuum’s lengthy client list are Reebok, Proctor and Gamble (P&G) and Ford Motor Company.  West identified several well-known products that resulted from Continuum’s work, one of them being the Reebok Pump.

A success story

When Reebok approached Continuum, it wanted to overcome its toughest competitor, Nike. Reebok hired Continuum to create a high-performance men’s athletic shoe. The team studied basketball players, particularly noticing how often they tightened their shoelaces at critical points in the game. Eventually, the link between the laces and a player’s performance launched the Reebok shoe equipped with a special pump. The pump doubled Reebok’s sales to $2 billion. Reebok outshined Nike and impressed upon consumers that it was no longer just a company that made light aerobic shoes for women.

From left: E&S Dean Leo Hanifin greets Ford Innovation Symposium speakers Harry West and Hermann Salenbauch, director, SVT Division at Ford Motor Company.

Continuum has generated winning ideas like the Reebok Pump by following a formula built on five key steps.  West outlined the process, which begins with alignment, the initial client discussions that allows Continuum to understand the business challenge. Next is consumer behavior research, which takes between four and 12 weeks to accomplish.

“As we do the research, we create a feature that solves a problem,” said West. “We need to connect to the rational side and the emotional side (of people).”

Analysis is the third step where the team engages in critical thinking and creative problem solving. The fourth step involves synthesis evaluation.  Here, the group begins creative development and validates the opportunities. The next and final juncture, called support, requires a client’s endorsement of the concept that can take one month to one year to bring to life.

“To make it real, you have to get the buy-in from the organization,” explained West.

He added that his company succeeds because of the professionals who work there. They respect each other’s skills and have the ability to see the world from all different points of view. It appears that this differentiation gives Continuum the innovative edge over its own competitors in the industry.

To date, Continuum operates offices in Boston, Milan and Seoul with plans to open additional international sites. To learn more about West and Continuum, visit www.dcontinuum.com.