232: Mantra Leadership and Mantra Design: Innovate, Buy, or Die with Dana Oliver

Who wants to work for a jerk? No one, that's who! Dana Oliver from MantraLeadership.com has a lot of "best practices" for start-up communities and entrepreneurs to get along with others and manage others effectively. Pay attention to peoples' needs, identify what they want, and trust them.

Dana Oliver is a seasoned professional with approximately 30 years of experience in the medical device industry. He previously served as a senior director of research and development at Medtronic, helping grow the company from $100 million to $2 billion in annual revenues. Dana has applied for over 30 patent applications and been granted 25 US patents. As an author, he has written two books: "Mantra Leadership: Don't Become the Emperor with No Clothes" and "Mantra Design: Innovate, Buy or Die". These books focus on leadership skills and innovation strategies for businesses.

He also has a concept called Mantra Design, where simple beats better. You should get onto the peer level with your customers to discover their unmet needs and long-term pain. Run your product by 12 to 20 people to tease out the 75% to 90% of features (and hot buttons) to focus on.

Quotes:                                                                                                                                   

“Who wants to work for a jerk? If you want the best from your employees, they need to feel motivated to come to work and give their all.” – Dana Oliver

“Innovation starts with an eye—not the letter ‘I,’ but the eyeball—meaning you immerse yourself in your customer's world.” – Dana Oliver

“Simple always outperforms better. Even if superior technology exists, if it’s not simple to use, people won’t fully adopt or embrace it.” – Dana Oliver

Takeaways:

08:18 Innovation starts by deeply understanding your customer's world and observing their actual behaviors, not just listening to what they say.

11:23 Simple solutions beat complex technologies every time, focusing on features that delight 80% of customers.

18:30 Every morning, identify the single most important task to accomplish and the longest lead item that needs addressing.

21:16 Technology and product development should solve real problems in people's ecosystems, making their lives easier and more efficient.

24:13 Getting close to customers and seeing through their eyes is the foundation of successful product development and business strategy.

Resources

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Filed in: Archive 1: 2012-2016 • Interview • Podcast

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