Apple has become synonymous with product innovation. We have a number of clients in the life sciences, in healthcare, and even in public health who say they aspire to be like Apple. What they really mean is they want to make very hip, cutting-edge, trend-setting products. They want customers with cult-like devotion. And they want to score major "cool points" -- lots of 'em. All while making a ton of money.

Which is a problem. Why? It reminds me of a large, national, nonprofit we work with that said they want to be world class. The question was, are they willing to pay the price of being world class? Like letting go of mediocre employees, investing in top training programs, rewarding high performance, etc. 

Similarly, companies that want to establish a value discipline of innovation need to be willing to pay the price. In the development phase alone, Apple makes a huge investment. For example:

• A small team of extremely well-paid, top-notch designers with a maniacal focus on perfection.
• Who create 10 perfect mock-ups for each potential new product feature, from which three mock-ups will be selected for further exploration, to result in the feature in as perfect a form as possible.
• Which means Apple knows in advance that they will get rid of 90% (9 of 10 mock-ups) of what they create.
• And happily makes that investment.
• Fueled by leadership that is relentlessly committed to winning by innovating.

Which results in game-changing, industry-inventing, highly profitable products with incredible demand.

And Apple's style of innovation invite a fundamental re-positioning of form and function. As Alain Briellat put it in his excellent analysis:

"Apple doesn’t sell functional products; they sell fashionable pieces of functional art."

So... two simple questions for you, dear reader:

1) What do you sell?

2) Are you willing to invest what it takes to be a top innovator in your space?

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P.S. Check out these classics: Peter Drucker on The Discipline of Innovation, and Treacy & Wiersema on Value Disciplines.

I was the "branding guy" on a Social Media panel in San Diego yesterday. Most of the attendees were from biotech, pharma, and life sciences. I recommended these rules:

1. Just because you can, does not mean you should. Deploying social media has an upside and a downside for your brand. Do not make the mistake of automatically doing social media just because it is available and popular. It is a strategic choice that needs to be integrated into your overall business planning.

2. Assess the value of social media like you would any other marketing and communication tools. Separate out the "cool and trendy" factor and evaluate how each tool individually and collectively will impact your brand. Think of the variables that constitute blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Linked In, and other tools; things like speed, interactivity, reach, user control, etc. Each tool has its trade-offs.

3. If you do it, do it right. Maintaining an effective brand presence in social media requires a sustained commitment. You need to keep providing updated content of value, manage and moderate it, and track results. Otherwise, it will backfire as a broken promise.

4. In one word, social media is about engagement. Customer engagement with your brand leads to customer intimacy with your brand which leads to increased revenues (check out this Gallup study). Customer intimacy reflects a fundamental set of values and priorities that directly shapes how you do business and what constitutes success. Are you as committed as you want your customers to be?

We'll see you out there!