Significant issues for the future of product innovation
本文包含两篇短文：Souder探讨家族控制小企业的新产品管理方式，强调其有效性和灵活性；Thomas讨论基于类比的新产品预测方法的发展。适合关注产品创新管理实践的读者。
In this issue, William Souder and Robert Thomas present their thoughts on two issues they feel will shape aspects of our approach to effective new product development in coming years. Souder, stimulated by a recent trip to New Zealand, reflects on the different approaches to the management of new products he found in a variety of smaller, family-controlled businesses he visited. Both the need for documented processes and the emphasis on time-to-market were diminished in these organizations, characterized by family involvement and continuity in operations. In these companies, expectations for growth were set by those running and owning the business. There was time to work on projects and fund progress from cashflows. Does this reflect persistence, or flexibility? Souder simply points out that it seems to provide an effective platform for business growth in certain international arenas, asks us to ponder the consequences for ourselves, and states that we should not be too quick to label these practices as limited in scope or only suitable for low-tech products. Robert Thomas reminds us that new product forecasting no longer is limited to projections of future sales. He writes about evolution in the field, with a particular emphasis on our growing need to forecast based on analogies. As we increasingly have access to information about products in other companies and in other lands, we have an increasing opportunity to discover ways to incorporate this knowledge into our business plans. These essays continue a year-long series of contributions that the editor-in-chief solicited from members of the editorial board. Members were asked to reflect upon changes and opportunities that they see influencing our profession during the coming decade. Both of these short essays are designed to introduce new perspectives. It is not essential that you agree with the recommendations, but we hope that you are stimulated as you reflect on the issues they discuss.