Leverage hidden similarities and connections to succeed in new markets and avert emerging business risks! Firmly rooted in the latest cognitive science, Thematic Thinking helps you recognize your great opportunities and grave threats in distant but related industries and markets. If you're an executive, entrepreneur, or strategist, it will help you illuminate blind spots on your strategic maps and innovation processes, by radically redefining what you see as similar to your core business.   Using Thematic Thinking to Achieve Business Success, Growth, and Innovation explains why this approach to innovation works so well, and how to successfully apply it in your business. Using realistic business cases, the authors show:  How Thematic Thinking responds to today's radically shifting business environment, and the collapse of traditional market boundaries Why traditional approaches to innovation can often be counterproductive, and how to go beyond them How to systematically uncover deep similarities where most managers only see differences How to understand these similarities as immense new business opportunities – and uncover emerging risks you wouldn't otherwise notice until too late How to explore and combine themes, identify similarities, create and evaluate thematic ideas, organize for Thematic Thinking, and overcome obstacles to success Which Google manager would have imagined people substituting Facebook for Gmail? Which Nike manager recognizes the huge potential competitive threat now presented by Apple? With Thematic Thinking, linkages like this become clear – and innovative, once-hidden strategic options are revealed!

Table of Contents:
Preface xv Chapter 1  Introducing Thematic Thinking: Start Seeing the World with Both Eyes 1 Strategic Opportunity Search 4 Recognizing Strategic Threats 6 Avoiding the Innovation Dead End: Reconsidering What’s “Distant” to Your Core Business 8 Takeaways 12 Chapter 2  Behind the Themes: How Thematic Ideas Are Motivated 13 Four Types of Motivation for Thematic Ideas 14 Improving the Experience 16 Achieving Customer Lock-On 19 Solving Problems 22 Reaching New Target Groups 26 Reaching Untapped Customer Groups: Base of the Pyramid Innovation 27 Insights from the Base of the Pyramid 30 Takeaways 35 Case Overview 35 Case Study: Safe Cooking 38 Chapter 3  Kind(s) of Similar: Defining the Basics of Thematic Thinking 41 Types of Similarity 42 Themes 45 Association 46 Complementarity 48 Sources of Thematic Similarity 50 Operation 52 Evaluation 54 Effect 55 Complementarity 56 Takeaways 57 Chapter 4  Exploring Themes 59 Different Kinds of Themes (Not All Themes Are Created Equal) 60 Creating New Themes (or Combining Existing Ones) 67 Thematic Distance 71 Abstract Themes 74 Analogies 76 Takeaways 79 Case Study: Washing Hands the Thematic Way 79 Chapter 5  The Thematic Power of Brands 81 Extending Brands 83 Coincidental Thematicness 87 Brand Alliances 91 Thematic Threats 97 Thematic Brand Extensions Do Not Work for Everyone 99 Brands as Themes 104 Takeaways 105 Case Overview 105 Case Study: Italians’ Lifestyle on the Road 107 Chapter 6  Thinking Thematic 111 Why Some Think Thematically and Others Don’t 112 How to Create Thematic Ideas—and Don’t Worry, Everyone Can Do This 119 Guided Thematic Thinking 122 Fictional Case Study 1: TMD Furnishings 123 How to Recognize a Thematic Idea When You See One 128 Takeaways 130 Fictional Case Study 2: The Coffee Team 131 Fictional Case Study 3: Tematech 132 Fictional Case Study 4: Lighthouse Theaters 133 Fictional Case Study 5: Tema Air 134 Your Task (For All Cases) 135 Chapter 7  Thematic Ideas in the Corporate Environment—Giving Them a Fighting Chance 137 What Makes a Good (Thematic) Idea? 139 Turning to Customers for Thematic Advice 141 Seeing the Whole Thematic Picture 144 Getting the Message Across 147 Surviving the Execution Gap 149 Selling Thematic Ideas 153 Takeaways 155 Case Study: Swedish Design Meets Chinese Technology 156 Chapter 8  Linking Technological Innovation to Thematic Thinking 159 The New Life of Mobile Phones 162 Apps 167 Putting Real Life Online 168 The Internet of Things 169 Home Automation 170 High-tech Health Care 172 Takeaways 174 Case Study: Teenage Consumption 174 Chapter 9  Wrapping Up: Think Thematic 177 1.) THemes: If there is no theme, it is not thematic 178 2.) INtegration: Entities should be integrated within ideas 179 3.) Keep practicing 180 4.) THematic ideas face great dangers in the corporate context 181 5.) Experience: To understand a theme, you need personal experience 182 6.) Many items make up a theme: Think big 183 7.) Association and cultural awareness matter 184 8.) Taxonomic ideas can be great, but you shouldn’t limit yourself to them 185 9.) Individuals differ in their preferences for ideas and kinds of similarities 186 10.) Customers’ perspectives should be taken 187 Glossary 189 Readings 195 Endnotes 199 Ch. 1 199 Ch. 2 201 Ch. 3 204 Ch. 4 207 Ch. 5 209 Ch. 6 211 Ch. 7 213 Ch. 8 214 Ch. 9 215 Glossary 216 Index 217