Costovation

Book excerpt: Cutting costs is a common corporate refrain. But if you constantly slash expenditures, what happens to innovation? How can you stay competitive and satisfy customers? This book's revolutionary approach broadens the definition of innovation beyond products to the business model itself. With costovation, you let go of assumptions, take a fresh look at the market, and relentlessly focus on what customers really want. Consider Planet Fitness--it grew to 7.3 million members by concentrating on casual exercisers. They want easy, low-cost access to good equipment. Although it's inexpensive to run, Planet Fitness ranks highest in gym satisfaction. Packed with examples and interactive exercises, Costovation explores cost innovation strategies that work for big and small companies alike including: open innovation and cost-sharing, simplifying products and turning waste into new offerings, how rivals are carving out niches, protecting positions, and dominating industries. Innovation and cost-cutting are not opposites. Combined, they expose untapped opportunities to outsmart and underspend competitors.