Scale, the innovation killer

Someone has an idea for a new product, a new feature, a new service. It sounds promising. Maybe there’s even research that supports the need for it. Then someone decides to ask that killer question way too soon. “How will this scale?” This question is often the poisoned dart that brings innovation crashing to its knees.

Scaling a new idea is probably important, but that discussion should only enter the picture after the need and the idea have been validated. This means keeping the scale question in your back pocket until you’ve completed other critical tasks.

1. Before talking scale, the team should have a high degree of confidence that there is actually a need in the first place. Otherwise, you may end up with a solution in search of a problem. Start with some user research to help ground you in people’s experiences. Interview people. Observe them. Look at the data. See the patterns.
2. When you feel confident you’ve identified a need, then start to think about solutions. Prototype a few that you can test (with real users, not stakeholders) to validate that ideas might meet the need. Design tests that will help expose flaws in the idea. Learn if you are onto something or not.

Only after these key steps is it OK to start thinking about scale. And even then it may still be too early.

It’s tempting to immediately jump to distribution models, staffing models, customer support, sponsorships, partnerships and other scale related topics. Without evidence that a solution is actually needed, why spend time on a scaling strategy? It’s a waste of time that usually leads to one of two outcomes.

1. It may kill an idea too early because scaling sounded hard
2. It may create an idea no one actually needed because scaling sounded easy

Instead, test an idea at a small scale first to determine if it’s really needed and useful. If the answer is yes, then keep iterating and testing.

Iterate your way through users in the same way you would iterate your way through features of an idea.

Along the way, the “user” you focus on may change. Let’s say you have a validated need and solution. You are confident it will work for the end user, but don’t have the staff or infrastructure to scale the idea yet. That’s OK! You have more work to do, but you’ve taken a critical step forward.

Now your user changes from the actual end user to an another user, one that could help this idea come to life. It might be members of your sales team, your deployment teams or customer service teams. You now have the opportunity to apply the same user research and testing techniques again. This time the one with the unmet need is the user who will support and deliver the idea. If there are multiple groups necessary to support the idea, apply this process to each of them. It will be worth the effort.

Being able to show support team members that an end user need is real and an idea is valid helps them understand why they would support it at all. Involving them in the scaling process helps them feel invested.

So the next time you are in a meeting and someone drops the scale question too soon, offer an alternative approach! You’ll be happy you did.