The Opposite Approach Spurs Innovation
Artist Pablo Picasso said, "Good artists copy, but great artists steal."
Indeed, art historians theorize that Picasso achieved acclaim by borrowing many ideas from his contemporary colleague, Georges Braque. Braque was a slower, more deliberate artist than Picasso, and his sluggish rate of production enabled Picasso, who worked quickly, to take off and run with Braque's ideas. The story of the two artists demonstrates the close relationship between imitation and innovation.
Managers as Innovators
In the modern business world, newly trained managers are often asked to come up with novel products, innovative services and fresh business models. As a typical middle manager, with a background in finance and management, you probably have not been trained in ideation and innovation. You may struggle to fulfill your organization's demands for fresh ideas. After all, it's been 3,000 years since King Solomon wrote "There is nothing new under the sun." As a middle manager, how are you supposed to create new business innovations today?
Many managers turn to ideation techniques such as brainstorming, design-thinking and observation. However, in doing so they overlook a key element in innovation: imitation with a twist. The twist is what some call the "opposite approach."
Case study: Grameen Bank
The Grameen Bank, founded by Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus 35 years ago, is a modern example of the opposite approach in action. Yunus analyzed traditional banking business models and envisioned a bank that broke the traditional rules -- much like the "opposite" episode of the classic 1990s sitcom Seinfeld. In that episode, the perennial loser George Costanza changed his luck for the better by doing the opposite of what he usually did. For example, instead of hiding the fact that he was unemployed and living with his parents, Costanza announced his status to an attractive new woman who went out on a date with him because his candor impressed her. The Grameen Bank followed the "opposite" strategy to find success in banking.
| Traditional Bank |
The Grameen Bank |
| Seeks wealthy customers |
Seeks poor customers |
| Operates in cities |
Operates in villages |
| Desires large deposits |
Welcomes small deposits |
| Markets services to affluent urban men |
Markets services to poor rural women |
| Analyzes a customer's past |
Analyzes a customer's future |
In adopting a business model that went against conventional wisdom, the Grameen Bank achieved success through innovation. Yunus could have copied the business model of traditional banking and operated a typical bank. Instead, his Grameen Bank achieved worldwide acclaim and fame by adopting the opposite approach.
WebMD the Magazine
The medical information website WebMD adopted the strategy of the opposite approach to expand the reach of its products. Initially an online business, WebMD has successfully expanded into the print business. Many traditional periodicals that began as paper-and ink magazines and newspapers have discontinued publication in favor of online-only versions. They simply can't afford to keep up the failing business model of selling physical copies of their publications to subscribers. In a move that Muhammad Yunus and George Costanza would be proud of, the creative innovators at WebMD took the opposite approach. After establishing a solid reputation as a leading online provider of authoritative healthcare information, WebMD launched a magazine -- a real, paper-and-ink magazine -- devoted to medical and lifestyle health issues. WebMD knew that its online readers were individuals who were researching specific diseases and health conditions that required medical treatment. Therefore, it put its magazines where its readers are: in the waiting rooms of hospitals and doctors' offices. Publishing in print when so many newspapers and magazines were discontinuing their print versions was a move that may have seemed counter-intuitive to many, but it worked for WebMD.
Applying the Strategy
If you're looking for innovative ways of expanding your company's products, services or business model, you have three choices. You can adopt King Solomon's view that there is nothing new under the sun, and give up. You can follow Picasso's advice to copy or steal ideas directly from your competitors. Or you can follow the "opposite" approach -- the approach that created the Grameen Bank, that put WebMD magazine in the hands of its faithful readers, and that landed George Costanza a date with a beautiful woman.
- If your business caters to children, design a strategy that caters to adults or seniors.
- If your business is service-oriented, create a product that relates to your services.
- If your business makes tangible products, create a virtual version that fulfills similar needs.
- If your business targets the frugal consumer, offer a product or service that is traditionally available only to the wealthy.
Ask yourself what the traditional approach is, and then do the opposite. You will soon develop a reputation for creativity and innovation.
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