Managing Innovation

To remain competitive, established firms must continually seek out opportunities for growth and new methods for strategically reviewing their performance. Changes in customer needs, new technologies, and shifts in the competitive landscape require that companies continually innovate and initiate corporate ventures in order to compete effectively.

Identify important customer needs:

• They identified a need to redefine what "endurance" means and how to test all-around mental and physical strength.  People were bored with endurance and Will Dean identified that need and found a gap in the marketplace that wasn't being filled by the 3 mile, fun mud-runs, marathons and various road races, and ultra races.
• Through the Tough Mudder website, anyone is able to submit comments or questions.
• Tough Mudder employees are at the events, interacting with people, observing the race, and then coming back together at TMHQ with feedback and some new ideas on ways to make it better for next time.

Create Solutions that fill those needs:

• I think that Tough Mudder often works to fill customer needs mainly through process innovation -- they continually work to improve the efficiency of their service.

Build Innovation Teams:

• It seems as though Tough Mudder has cross-functional innovation teams.  Teams are functionally structured, but as all teams are dynamic, I can imagine that they are interactive and integrated with each other.  The best ideas to fully develop new concepts often come through collaboration from many different backgrounds.  

Innovation champions who keep effort on track:

• Will Deal is without doubt an innovation champion. He has created a culture of "intrapreneurship" within the company that thrives on creation of new value and ways to keep up Tough Mudder's competitive advantages.  He runs a business that is complete with happy employees to love their jobs and love coming to work.

Align the entire enterprise around creating value for customers:

• It is Tough Mudder's goal to challenge and inspire participates all over the world.  They want Tough Mudder to be more than just an event for people, but as a way of thinking.  They create value to customers by creating an opportunity for individuals and teams to experience a true sense of accomplishment, have fun, and to experience camaraderie with fellow participants. * It's not a race; it's a challenge.

Collaborating with innovation partners:

• In choosing partners, Tough Mudder asks themselves what competencies they are looking for and what the innovation partner will or can contribute. This may include knowledge of markets, technology expertise, contacts with key players in an industry, etc.  The big innovation partner for Tough Mudder is Under Armour.  UA sponsorship was huge and helped tremendously with increasing the quality of the Tough Mudder brand and reputation, in addition to increasing the amount of people who were exposed, aware, and interested in Tough Mudder.