I am an innovation strategist who operates at the intersection of business and design to create compelling offerings, envision engaging experiences and develop new processes. My approach to innovation starts by standing in the shoes of the user to create empathy and understanding around the context in which they live, work and play.     

I spent twelve years developing and refining my innovation skills at Doblin, a pioneer in the discipline of design and innovation strategy. At Doblin I wore many hats while conquering human-centered design challenges working on multidisciplinary teams of researchers, strategists, designers, engineers and social scientists. Currently, I am an innovation strategist at Grainger bringing a human-centered design approach to innovation for the world's largest industrial supply company.


EXPERIENCE

I have experience in both corporate and consulting environments leveraging the disciplines of design research and design strategy to identify and solve business challenges. I work with organizations to identify new opportunities, envision differentiated offerings, set innovation strategies, and develop new tools and methods. I am skilled at synthesizing user-centered insights to generate ideas for new concepts, engaging experiences and novel processes for accelerating innovation.
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APPROACH

I function at the front end of innovation strategy employing human-centered design methods to understand how the world is changing, discover unmet user needs through empathy and create compelling stories of the future. By immersing myself in the research from the user's perspective, I help draw out insights that lead to new ideas which position stakeholders with a clear trajectory for growth. Working with cross-functional teams I help to detail prototypes, outline strategies and launch pilot programs through an iterative learning and refining process.

IDENTIFYING OPPORTUNITIES

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I am adept at identifying relevant opportunity spaces based on emerging trends, unmet user needs and disruptive technologies. By working in a collaborative environment to identify and define white space through
​pattern recognition, I provide a lens through which to envision the future. 

SK TELECOM

Identifying opportunity spaces for new ventures
Roles and Responsibilities: trend analysis & user exploration

Challenge & Approach
  • Explore potential opportunity spaces for new business ventures for South Korean-based SK Telecom. 
  • Led secondary research to identify and understand emerging trends that are changing everyday life. Mapped behavioral and cultural trends occurring around health, education, travel, food and family. 
Insight & Solution
  • Identified nine opportunity areas as potential platforms: Whole Health, Better-than- Wellness, Pervasive Learning, Re-Placing Work, Accelerating Discovery, Re-Forming Relationships, Restoring Roots, Mastering Food and Home Platform. 
  • Opportunity areas were synthesized into more detailed concepts for further assessment. 
Outcomes
  • Led to three-year engagement with client to further refine identified opportunity areas into forward-thinking concepts.
  • Developed go-to market strategy for “Nest” green space retail platform which was eventually launched to the South Korean market. 

PRECOR

Creating a strategic roadmap for innovative offering
Role & Responsibilities: trend analysis, user exploration, precursor analysis & product planning


Challenge & Approach
  • Prioritize and develop roadmap for new exercise concept to be launched in stages. 
  • In-depth research into fitness trends and understanding the user's changing expectations around fitness equipment features. 
Insight & Solution
  • Tracking fitness through digital platforms which were migrating from the fringe to a baseline expectation.
  • Identified three challenges around creating a differentiated fitness experience, scaling & building relationships, and extending & expanding the fitness experience. 
Outcomes
  • Delivered roadmap highlighting elements which would accelerate adoption in the fitness equipment market.
  • Created detailed outline of staging process for launching specific concept features, along with ideas for leveraging existing networks and partners.​

ENVISIONING NEW OFFERINGS

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I thrive working on collaborative teams to define and envision new products, service offerings and customer experiences. User insights are analyzed to identify unmet needs and values, which are translated into compelling new concepts.  Working with designers and engineers to employ an iterative approach to detail, prototype and refine the concepts with the mantra of fail early, fail fast and learn cheaply. 

FORD

Moving beyond performance to craft a new experience
Role & Responsibilities: trend analysis, user exploration, new product definition & product planning

Challenge & Approach
  • Ford’s F-150 truck was facing increasing competition from foreign automakers focused on truck performance..
  • Conducted deep ethnographic research to understand truck users, secondary research to understand market factors and underlying trends specific to light-duty and medium-duty truck drivers.
Insight & Solution
  • Employed contextual inquiry to discover that general contractors treat their truck as a mobile office, but the current state of truck features lacked the functionality to meet their needs.
  • Created a platform solution that provided drivers with a truck experience which maximized uptime for managing workers, tools, equipment, materials and jobs. 
Outcomes
  • Ford Work Solutions® launched as a business tool platform for providing truck drivers with the ability to manage all aspects of their work through their truck.
  • Ford Work Solutions® won Best of Innovations in the In-Vehicle Accessories category at the 2010 International Consumer Electronics Show. 

THRIVENT FINANCIAL

Configure a new offering for underserved and growing segment
Role & Responsibilities: trend analysis, user exploration, new product definition & concept testing

Challenge & Approach
  • Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, the largest non-profit in the Fortune 500, wanted to grow its customer base by creating a suite of product offerings targeted towards the stable mass market financial customer.
  • Conducted in-home interviews with users, in-depth interviews with financial experts and internal staff to better understand the characteristics and financial needs of the stable mass market.
Insight & Solution
  • An unexpected life event combined with poor financial planning could dramatically impact a person's financial situation.
  • Created online digital prototype that customers could leverage to gain control of their finances and provide a layer of stability currently missing from their financial situation.  
Outcomes
  • In 2012, Thrivent launched a new business - Brightpeak Financial www.brightpeakfinancial.com  to address the financial needs of the stable mass market client. 
  • A customer framework developed for the project was highlighted by Thrivent CEO Brad Hewitt as a tool the company uses when thinking strategically about their customers  in the Minneapolis Star Tribune .

SETTING INNOVATION STRATEGY

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I help leading businesses navigate the discipline of innovation by challenging orthodoxies and encouraging organizations to accelerate the pace of change in their organization. I work with teams employing rigorous research protocols focused on internal processes, cultural norms and customer experiences to identify areas of the business that can affect change. Equipped with the
​right tools and support, organizations can excel and increase their overall innovation hit rate.

CHICAGO COMMUNITY TRUST

Shape strategy to focus on customer experience innovation
Role & Responsibilities: trend analysis, user research, competitive analysis & organizational design

Challenge & Approach
  • The Chicago Community Trust lacked a differentiated customer experience and was losing its relevance with a younger generation of donors.
  • Conducted in-depth interviews with Trust employees, donors and grantees to understand the unique philanthropic experience of a community foundation.
Insight & Solution
  • The Trust operated with many inconsistencies around its mission and in its relationships with outside partners. This impeded its ability to adapt to the changing needs of the community and its donors.
  • Developed a set of initiatives to create a unique experience for all constituencies of the Trust.
Outcomes
  • Developed strategic  innovation initiatives to move the Trust forward and deliver an engaging customer experience for its employees, donors and grantees. 
  • Leaders from both the Trust and Doblin co-presented an overview of the case at the Council on Foundation’s Annual Conference in 2013.  

INNOVATION TOOLS AND METHODS


Innovative thinking requires constant development of new tools and methods used for diagnosing conditions, evaluating alternatives and understanding transformative change. I have contributed and led the development of several of these new methods that have helped drive the adoption of innovation as a competitive advantage. I actively participate in opportunities to learn and adopt new methods to promote and move human-centered design as a core competency for strategic growth.

INDUSTRY ORGANIZATIONS

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Design for America is an idea incubator, a motivated community, and a way of approaching complicated challenges. DFA shapes the next generation of social innovators.

I am actively involved with Design for America at Northwestern University where I have served as a studio coach, workshop facilitator and advisor to critique students design innovation projects tackling social problems. 
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I have been a member of Ethnographic Praxis in Industry Community for the past 2 years. EPIC is dedicated to providing practitioners, businesses, and partner organizations with access to the best practical ethnographic expertise from around the world.
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Contact:
johnjleach45@gmail.com
773.459.2973
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SKILLS
Design Research
Design Strategy
Secondary Research
Competitive Analysis
Innovation Strategy
Trend Analysis
Scenario Planning
Organizational Design
Brand Strategy
SELECT CLIENTS
American Electric Power
Autodesk
Bath & Body Works
Baxter
​Boeing
Bristol-Myers Squibb
Callaway Golf Company
Chicago Community Trust
Condé Nast
Dow Corning
​Emerson Electric
Ford Motor Company
FedEx
Novo Nordisk
Pfizer Consumer Healthcare
​Precor
SK Telecom
Thrivent Financial
W.W. Grainger
Zurich Insurance Group