When so many had so little, it was not difficult to know their needs and aspirations and know what to make. However, current production systems, business models, and consumer living patterns are more complex than in the 1980s. At that time, companies defined themselves by the tight fit among their product mix, use of media and distribution channels.  All of these elements were very stable compared to the volatility of today.  

Once focused on manufacturing and their customers, companies are now driven by overproduction, with too many offerings for people to understand and organizations to manage. The foggy nature of this leaves them suffering from organizational schizophrenia, as they are not only confused about their users, but often not knowing themselves. Additionally, overabundance of consumer choice creates a new risk: it has become increasingly difficult for producers to know what consumers want and need. 

This divergence between greater knowledge of how to produce almost anything and less knowledge of the patterns in users’ daily lives is called the innovation gap.

Awareness of this gap is one of the main reasons that companies are increasingly adopting design. Without proper frameworks to understand what platform to use and which ecosystem join, organizations seek design know-how to reframe what they once thought of as the original problem. They find in design new processes that can lead to better offerings than those currently available. The speed and breadth of Whole View can be useful in this context, as it provides more rigor to innovation processes.

“We know how to make anything, we just don’t know what to make”

COO of one of the three largest mobile phone manufacturers