Meaningful: The Story of Ideas That Fly

by Bernadette Jiwa

I know you worry about being wrong, far more than you celebrate the things you get right.

What companies and entrepreneurs sometimes forget is that the purpose of innovation is not simply to make new, improved products and services; it is to make things that are meaningful to the people who use them.

[Y]ou’ve got to start with the customer experience and work backwards to the technology. You can’t start with the technology and try to figure out where you’re going to try to sell it ... And as we have tried to come up with a strategy and a vision for Apple, it started with ‘What incredible benefits can we give to the customer, where can we take the customer?’ Not starting with ‘Let’s sit down with the engineers and figure out what awesome technology we have and then [ask] how are we going to market that?’ —STEVE JOBS

Every business today, no matter its size or legacy, faces four massive challenges. They are: Clutter Competition Commoditisation Consumer consciousness

New rules of brand awareness: Understand the customers' story. Make something they want. Give them a story to tell. Create brand affinity.