2 Mirrors or 81? Innovate by Simplifying

A new study on the auto industry released this week by the Harbour-Felax Group includes a lot of scary facts about how far GM, Ford, and Daimler Chrysler are lagging in their innovation strategies. One very telling detail: One of the Big 3 (the report doesn't specify which one) is about to release a new model that has 81 different options for the side view mirrors. The comparable Honda has 2 options.

Consequently, the American firm has 5 people responsible for sourcing mirrors; Honda has just one person. This is probably an extreme example, but even if you discount the difference, extrapolating this disparity across the complexity of an entire car, and then across the entire range of offered products, it becomes clear that the increased cost burden becomes a significant competitive factor.

"Simplify" is a powerful innovation strategy. Not sufficient unto itself, of course, but a key element in a complete methodology.