Oana Coșman
Innovation is not about ideas, it’s about systematically addressing unmet customer needs. What should entrepreneurs do to scale globally? The most common mistakes entrepreneurs make when trying to innovate. These are some of the topicss that Tony Ulwick, the pioneer of Jobs-to-be-Done (JTBD) and the inventor of Outcome-Driven Innovation® (ODI), a powerful strategy and innovation process will be tackling on the webinar.
On Thursday, March 13th, starting at 15.00 (GMT+2), Tony Ulwick will host an exclusive webinar for the Romanian business community. Those interested must register on the link https://lu.ma/lqwa6yhr.
Tony Ulwick - innovation expert, author, and the founder of the strategy and innovation consulting firm Strategyn - has been granted 12 patents for his game-changing innovation practices, which result in products and services that help customers get a “job” done better. Through his involvement in hundreds of innovation initiatives, Tony has helped companies reinvent underperforming products, create new business models, and build and implement company-wide innovation programs.
Tony Ulwick will hold this webinar as part of a national research on innovation in the Romanian business environment that was launched by the Romanian Tech Startups Association (ROTSA), Romanian Business Leaders (RBL), Startup Reaktor, the management consultancy The Network and the research company Strategis RBC. The research aims to help companies to innovate by providing entrepreneurs and managers with an analysis of the current level of innovation, both at the individual and national level.
Innovation is not about ideas, it’s about systematically addressing unmet customer needs
“Innovation is not about ideas—it’s about systematically addressing unmet customer needs. Companies fail at innovation because they lack a precise definition of what a “need” is and how to measure it. Using Jobs-to-be-Done and ODI, businesses can define markets based on the job customers are trying to get done, identify where the biggest opportunities lie, and develop solutions that precisely target those unmet needs. When innovation is approached as a science—using customer-defined metrics, rigorous analysis, and structured methods—it becomes predictable. This eliminates guesswork, reduces failure rates, and ensures that companies create products and services that deliver real, measurable value to their customers”, said Tony Ulwick.
He added that successful innovators focus on understanding and addressing customers' unmet needs rather than generating random ideas and use a structured, data-driven approach like Outcome-Driven Innovation (ODI) to identify opportunities, measure value, and systematically create winning solutions.
What should entrepreneurs do to scale globally?
“The most common mistakes entrepreneurs make when trying to innovate are focusing on ideas instead of needs, but innovation should start with understanding customer problems, not brainstorming solutions. Another mistake is assuming customers can articulate what they want, but customers can describe their struggles, but not the solutions, entrepreneurs are those who must translate unmet needs into actionable insights. And another big mistake is failing to quantify opportunities. Without measuring which needs are underserved, businesses risk investing in the wrong areas. Use data-driven methods to prioritize the biggest opportunities and reduce risk”, explained Tony Ulwick
The innovation expert considers that entrepreneurs who want to scale globally have to identify universal Jobs-to-be-Done that transcend geographic and cultural boundaries, to prioritize underserved needs using a quantitative, customer-centric approach and to develop scalable solutions by focusing on the functional, emotional, and consumption-related aspects of the customer experience.
The national-scale innovation research project is the first in Romania to use Tony Ulwick’s ODI&JTBD (Outcome-Driven Innovation & Jobs-To-Be-Done) methodology—an innovation process considered to be among the most customer-centric and scientifically rigorous in the world, with a success rate of 86%. The Outcome-Driven Innovation & Jobs-to-be-Done methodology explores 26 key drivers of innovation performance and identifies the greatest opportunities for improvement.
The project is being launched as 84% of CEOs worldwide see innovation as a key driver for growth over the next five years, according to Boston Consulting Group data, but Romania is 34% below the EU average in terms of innovation, according to the European Innovation Scoreboard 2024 (EIS 2024). The most innovative countries in Europe are Denmark, Sweden, Finland and the Netherlands (performing more than 125% above the EU average), while Croatia, Poland, Slovakia, Latvia, Bulgaria, Poland, Latvia and Romania are at the bottom (emerging innovators performing below 70% of the EU average), the same study shows.
What do companies who participate in the research receive?
Founders and top executives interested in participating must complete a personalized questionnaire that they will receive by e-mail from ROTSA and RBL.The two questionnaires are adapted to the company maturity, for startups and developed companies.
Companies participating in the research will receive benefits such as:
- A free assessment and a customized report of innovation performance and specific recommendations to improve innovation capabilities.
- Access to the ODI&JTBD methodology that can optimize innovation processes and improve companies' market position, profitability, and efficiency.
- Networking and Visibility: Participation in webinars and panel discussions will allow startups and mature companies to connect with industry leaders and discover valuable collaboration opportunities.
- The book "Jobs to Be Done: Theory to Practice" by Tony Ulwick, pioneer of the JTBD method, with forewords by Philip Kotler and Alex Osterwalder.
- Access to national research findings for an in-depth understanding of innovation in the Romanian business and founder communities.
