MIT Sloan Management Review

Management of Technology and Innovation, Marketing

 

Discovering “Unk-Unks”

By John W. Mullins

July 1, 2007

The full text of this article is available free to all site visitors as part of our ongoing Business Insight series compliments of SAS. Jointly produced by MIT Sloan Management Review and The Wall Street Journal, Business Insight offers fresh thinking on crucial management issues supplemented by the deep knowledge of related MIT SMR articles. Download article PDF

How innovators identify the critical things they don't even know that they don't know.

In January 2005, Kenn Jorgensen and Cassian Drew, two British entrepreneurs who were passionate about rock climbing, wanted to know if their sport could be adapted for use in exercise facilities. Indoor climbing walls already existed, but they were used by serious climbers in urban areas as substitutes for outdoor rock formations that weren”t easily accessible. What if a new kind of low-impact, high-tech exercise regime could be created that was done on climbing walls just a few feet off the ground in ordinary fitness studios with ordinary ceilings, invigorating music and a spirited instructor – but with walls equipped with climbing holds?

“A surefire... To read the complete article, login or sign-up using the form below.

 
 

In This Issue

 

Best Sellers