In this episode of Decoding Innovation, Pete Foley, an independent consultant, shares his insights on how psychology and behavioral science can be applied as a catalyst for innovation.

With the rising disruptions and the advent of new technologies, industries need to focus their innovation efforts on the most crucial component of their businesses: the consumer.

Organizations, from startups to large companies, face various hurdles during their innovation journey — from scale to stage gates. Since, in the end, it's the consumer's action that decides the outcome of an innovation, infusing psychology and behavioral science with innovation can shape and accelerate meaningful innovation.

Pete Foley, an independent consultant who focuses on human-centric innovation, explains why invention and innovation are different, how the core benefit of the product is the true driving force, and why balance is important in an organization for effective innovation.

Key takeaways

• Organizational culture is one of the most important aspects in successful innovation. Innovative culture has passion, expertise and the resources to leverage.
• Consumer research is cyclical, rather than a linear process. After market study, there's always the possibility of changes and improvements.
• Most of the problems encountered are observed as executional, where people don't fully understand the product.
• It is recommended that rather than simply hiring for expertise, people who show a breadth of interests can be more adaptable for innovation.