Opportunity is hidden in plain sight

All innovations must deliver on a customer value space to be successful. However, the word ldquoinnovationrdquo literally means ldquonew valuerdquo: so how can an innovation deliver on a value space that does not yet exist, at least as far as the customer can perceive it? The dilemma is rooted in the fact that the customer has a latent demand that they themselves cannot perceive but which the innovator must perceive. There are many examples of success in overcoming this dilemma, the iPod, the cardiac stent, or the BlackBerry, so obviously it can be done. The question is: how?.