How many products have matured to a point where the Nth-degree improvement is now only noticed by a fraction of only the most sophisticated users? I’d submit that we’re long past the days of “good enough” for the kind of products coming out in the audio, video, lighting market. The pinnacle of perfection is within reach of a larger subset of users than merely the highest-end clients with staggering budgets.

Innovation, it seems, has been reserved for the stratospheric products. There is an ever-increased amount of hype promoting the latest feature and benefit, as if what existed two generations ago wasn’t already more than enough for all but the most unusual of applications. I’ve long talked about the desperately needed shift from features and benefits to a strong value proposition that focuses on the end-user more than on the latest clever feature.

It’s past time to refocus on how to do more with less in a less-is-more culture shift. How refreshing would it be for church leaders to hear that you understand their problems and have been listening to their needs instead of building better (supposedly) hype machines?

At the same time, innovation does continue to make the next level stuff possible. 4K is one such technology that will be visible in the consumer market to such an extent that decision-makers will want to have it in their work environments, too. So, yes, we do need to push technology further, but we cannot forsake the revisiting of the less glamorous and innovate for the sake of simplicity and consistent operation.

Is your organization looking forward but missing the greater opportunity to look back and revisit past successes for even greater market penetration and success?