Logitech – a leading Swiss manufacturer of computer peripherals and software – is best known for bringing the computer mouse to the market several decades ago. Today, the company is operating worldwide and manufactures all kind of popular devices such as webcams, keyboards, computer speakers, presentation clickers and other accessories. Logitech employs more than 7000 people and is listed at the NASDAQ stock market, with a valuation of greater than 9 Billion USD. The company has experienced impressive growth in the past years.

Like any other established firm, the manifold new developments in technology – including some disruptive technologies – challenge existing businesses for Logitech and at the same time present significant new growth opportunities. At a speech in Lausanne in 2018, Logitech’s CEO Bracken Darrell made the important statement “Everything can be reinvented”. This perspective is very visible within the culture of the firm, as the company is focusing strongly on innovation.

Early in 2020, Logitech partnered with us to explore new market opportunities for their keyboard & mouse business, which is one of their most important business lines. The collaboration included 3 steps:

1.Setting the ground

To launch the process, a joint preparatory meeting was set. The goal was three-fold:

a) Clarify ambitions and goals of the workshop

b) Discuss desired participant profiles at the workshop

c) Perform preparatory analysis

The company desired to identify new market opportunities that could drive their growth in the future. Our discussion about the participant profile emphasized heterogeneity, involving individuals beyond the business unit, and outside the company.

As a preparatory analysis, Logitech mapped their current and potential future competences in the area, and participants were invited to familiarize themselves with the Market Opportunity Navigator (with a dedicated video and the Where-to-Play book).

2. Workshop day: It’s time for a structured brainstorming

The workshop involved about 40 individuals from Logitech as well as from companies operating in other sectors – such as the transportation and luxury goods industries. It began with a presentation about the Market Opportunity Navigator, and then switched to group work covering the first step of the Navigator with Worksheet 1 – the identification of manifold new market opportunities based on Logitech’s current and potential future technological competences. The results were amazing: within 1 hour, more than 200 ideas were generated by the groups with the help of Worksheet 1.

Next, the second step of the Navigator was pursued and with the help of Worksheet 2, we performed a first, quick evaluation of the opportunities in order to begin to understand their inherent potential and challenge.

After lunch, the company then used Worksheet 3 to learn where to focus and to identify ways to further learn about the opportunities and how to test them with prototypes etc.

3. After the Workshop: Time to roll up your sleeves

Logitech now engages in dedicated examination and testing of the most promising opportunities – in their quest to develop new drivers of firm growth.

Overall, the workshop showed that within a short time frame the company was able to develop manifold new market opportunities that they have never thought of before. Of particular value was the inclusion of individuals from other sectors, as they brought highly novel perspectives to the company and its products. Moreover, participants loved the engaging process and the high utility of the Market Opportunity Navigator worksheets and process.

Steve Harvey, Director of Innovation, summarized this nicely: “The worksheets are very clearly laid and simple to follow. Very quickly, within one morning, we have already structured new opportunities for us and assessed how easy or challenging they would be in a very robust way… it certainly gives us a lot of food for thought and a lot of opportunity areas to explore further”.

We have gathered additional feedback from several of Logitech’s innovation leaders, which you can see in this video:

If you would like to invite us for running such a workshop, contact us at: info@wheretoplay.co