Innovation Without Execution is Like a Taco Without Filling
Innovation is awesome.
Innovation is also useless without execution.
In 2012 Taco Bell introduced the Doritos Locos Tacos, a standard taco where the shell is made from Nacho Cheese Doritos. Brilliant!
The Doritos Locos Tacos went on to went on to become Taco Bell’s most successful product launch ever, selling 100 million Tacos in 10 weeks!
What’s interesting, as this article points out, is that Taco Bell had the idea for this taco in 1992.
Let that sink in for a moment. Taco Bell’s most successful product launch in history happened 20 years after the idea was conceived.
In all fairness, Taco Bell didn’t drag their heels for twenty years. In 1992 neither Taco Bell nor Frito Lay wanted to pursue it.
However, this goes to show that coming up with a brilliant, innovative, potentially game-changing idea is never enough.
It also shows that thought and analysis are also not enough. Your “best guess” about how well something will work is irrelevant when compared to seeing how the market responds.
Innovation without execution is like a taco without filling: seems nice on the outside but is ultimately an unsatisfying waste of time.
Innovation plus action is where results come from.
In the Ding! Happens system, this is the second level of improvisation: Adaptability.
A key tenet of this level is to take a bold step. Take some action on your idea and see what happens. This doesn’t have to be a giant or risky step, but it has to be action, not just analysis.
If Taco Bell and Frito Lay had simply taken a small step to see how the market would have responded to their idea, they could both have been basking in greater profits for the last 20 years.
How about you? What idea are you sitting on that is just waiting for execution? What simple but bold step can you take to see how the market responds to your brilliant, innovative idea? What opportunities are you missing by staying stuck in analysis?
Don’t wait 20 years – get started now!
Do you want help moving innovation into action? Contact Avish now to find out how to bring these ideas to your group!