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68 THE PRACTICE OF INNOVATION

And without such a tool, there was an internal incongruity in the
logic of the process that upset and frustrated customers.
Does the identification of such internal incongruity within a
process rest on “intuition” and on accident? Or can it be organized
and systematized?
William Connor is said to have started out by asking surgeons
where they felt uncomfortable about their work. O. M. Scott grew
from a tiny local seed retailer into a fair-sized national company
because it asked dealers and customers what they missed in available
products. Then it designed its product line around the Spreader.
The incongruity within a process, its rhythm or its logic, is not a
very subtle matter. Users are always aware of it. Every eye surgeon
knew about the discomfort he felt when he had to cut eye muscle—
and talked about it. Every hardware-store clerk knew about the frus-
tration of his lawn customers—and talked about it. What was lacking,
however, was someone willing to listen, somebody who took serious-
ly what everybody proclaims: That the purpose of a product or a serv-
ice is to satisfy the customer. If this axiom is accepted and acted
upon, using incongruity as an opportunity for innovation becomes
fairly easy—and highly effective.
There is, however, one serious limitation. The incongruity is usu-
ally available only to people within a given industry or service. It is
not something that somebody from the outside is likely to spot, to
understand, and hence is able to exploit.