In most B2B industries, business leaders tend to solve problems in similar ways. They examine data, brainstorm ideas, study competitors, and strive to enhance existing solutions. These approaches feel safe, rational, and businesslike.

But they also lead to the same predictable ideas.

True innovation — creating new revenue, categories, and advantages — demands more than logic. It requires breaking from established thinking and exploring ideas your competitors wouldn’t consider.

That’s why Edward de Bono created one of the most underrated creativity tools for business leaders: Provocation, also called “Po.” When used effectively, it becomes a strategic tool that helps you break free from industry norms and generate bold, valuable ideas.

Let’s look at what makes Provocation unique and how your organization can use it to gain an edge.

What Is Provocation (Po)?

Provocation is a lateral thinking tool. You make a statement that is illogical, impossible, or absurd on purpose to help your mind see new possibilities.

De Bono introduced the term “Po” to show that the statement should not be judged or dismissed. It permits you to set logic aside.

Some of de Bono’s classic provocations include:

• “Po: houses should be heated from the ceiling down.”
• “Po: Cars should have square wheels.
• “Po: A restaurant should serve dessert first.”
• “Po: a company should hire people with no qualifications.”

These statements are not meant to be true. Their purpose is to provoke new thinking.

When your brain tries to make sense of something absurd,

it can discover insights you would never find through normal reasoning.

Why CEOs Should Use Provocation

1. It breaks your team out of “industry thinking.”

Every industry’s unspoken assumptions limit innovation:

• Customers expect this.”
• “You can’t do that in B2B”.

Provocation helps your organization break through these invisible barriers.

2. It creates ideas your competitors cannot predict.

Most companies use the same strategy tools. Few business leaders use anything that challenges logic itself.

Just one provocation can lead to a solution that gives you a lasting competitive advantage.

3. It accelerates breakthrough thinking.

Rather than just improving your current model, Provocation helps you imagine new models more quickly than traditional brainstorming.

4. It helps teams escape the “gridlock” of expertise.

Even smart teams can get stuck quickly because their expertise makes them repeat old patterns.

Provocation breaks these patterns right away.

When to Use Provocation

Use it when you’re facing:

• stalled innovation
• slow growth
• declining differentiation
• strategic inflection points
• customer complaints that keep repeating
• complexity you can’t untangle through analysis
• an opportunity that requires fresh thinking

It’s especially effective when you know the root cause of a problem but don’t have a solution yet. 

Why it’s so effective:

Make a statement that defies logic, best practices, or common sense.

Example from de Bono: “Po: Cars should have square wheels.” Absurd? Yes.

Is it useful? More than you might expect.

Step 2: Explore the consequences. Ask:

• What would happen if this were true?
• What problem might this solve?
• What assumptions does this break?

Square wheels cause vibration, which could be useful for compacting surfaces.

Insight: “Movement doesn’t have to be smooth to create value.”

Step 3: Extract the core insight.

From the absurdity, a principle emerges.

In business, a provocation such as “Po: we should eliminate customer service completely” might reveal this insight:

“Customers want products so simple they require no service at all.”

Step 4: Move toward practical solutions.

Turn the insight into practical ideas. This final step leads to breakthroughs.

For example:

• Self-guided onboarding
• AI-assisted support
• Proactive issue detection
• A radically simplified interface

All of this starts with an idea that doesn’t seem to make sense.

​Why Provocation Works Better Than Brainstorming

Traditional brainstorming:

• Stays within known boundaries
• Reinforces existing assumptions
• Produces incremental ideas
• Favors loud or senior voices

Provocation:

• Breaks boundaries
• Challenges assumptions
• Produces non-linear ideas
• Democratizes creativity

This isn’t just brainstorming. It’s a structured way to shake things up.

Which kinds of B2B challenges benefit most from Provocation? Consider these categories:

• Strategic reinvention
• Product or service redesign
• Customer experience transformation
• Business model innovation
• Process simplification
• Identifying new revenue streams
• Differentiation challenges

If the problem is routine, logic is enough. However, if the problem is complex or affects the entire system, a strategic approach is necessary. In these cases, Provocation works better.

Final Thoughts

Your competitors are focused on optimizing. But optimization rarely creates a real advantage. Innovation, led by leaders like you, is what makes the difference.

Most teams attempt to generate new ideas by employing the same thinking that led to their existing ideas.

• They brainstorm logically.
• They make lists.
• They stay realistic. But Provocation gives you the power to:
• Disrupt old thinking
• Unlock breakthrough thinking with one powerful word: Po.

If you want your team to think in new ways, try a new technique. That’s where Edward de Bono’s Provocation can help.

Jim Zitek

 I turn complex product problems into creative solutions with a competitive advantage.

In a competitive market, the primary goal is to gain a competitive edge. Business leaders do this by learning as much as they can about the market.

The main idea is straightforward: customers purchase products to accomplish a task. For example, people don’t buy a drill bit just to have it. They use it to create a quarter-inch hole, allowing them to hang a shelf and organize their home.

When you start looking into your products, pricing, and what customers expect, it’s easy to fall back on old habits. This is often where strategies fail before they even start. Teams often ask questions like:

• “Is our price too high?”
• “What features should we add?”

These kinds of questions often miss the real issue. 

They don’t focus on strategy. You may obtain data, but not genuine insight. In a crowded market, asking the same questions as everyone else won’t help you stand out. Real advantage comes from asking better questions.

Instead of digging for deeper insights, teams often compare product features rather than what truly drives value. They focus on price comparisons instead of understanding what gives them pricing power. This difference matters.

To gain a competitive edge, you need to determine what sets your company apart from others in the eyes of customers. The goal isn’t to know what everyone else knows, but to discover what truly sets you apart.

To avoid these common mistakes, you need a better approach. 

So, how do you formulate the right research questions? The biggest mistake in research is starting with the questions themselves.

If you start by brainstorming questions, your team will stay stuck in its own biases and blind spots. This leads to vanity metrics, like “85% of users like our new logo.” These numbers might look good, but they don’t help you beat your main competitor.

The right question doesn’t come out of nowhere. It comes from a clear strategy. It’s like a key made to open a specific door.

So, where should you start your research? 

Start with the outcome you want. Most companies start research by asking, “What do customers think about our product?” But that’s not the best place to begin. Instead, ask: What decision will give us a unique and defensible advantage?

Example decisions:

• What value can we deliver that competitors cannot easily copy?
• What specific customer segment will value it the most?
• What tradeoffs will we intentionally make (and which will we ignore)?

Your questions should help you make crucial decisions. Research isn’t just about collecting facts; it’s about finding insights that guide your strategy.

To avoid this, always define the decision or problem before you write your questions.

Before writing any survey questions, ensure you understand the decision you need to make or the problem you want to solve.

Don’t start with, “What should we ask about price?” 

Instead, begin with, “We are losing 30% of customers at checkout. Why?” Then, determine whether the answer involves a pricing change, a simpler checkout process, or the addition of a “buy now, pay later” option.

See the difference? A clear problem statement gives you strong focus. Now your research has a clear purpose.

• Bad Question: “Is our price fair?” (What does “fair” even mean?)
• Good Question: “When you saw the final price, what thoughts or feelings caused you to abandon your cart?”
• Good Question: “You completed your purchase. What other options did you consider before deciding this price was worth it?”

4 Questions That Lead to a Competitive Advantage

​For products and features, your goal is to understand what makes you different and what value you offer—not just what people prefer. When it comes to pricing, focus on understanding how customers perceive the value, not just the price itself. Never ask, “Is this too expensive?”

To address customer expectations, try to identify what needs aren’t being met and what assumptions customers have.

Next, build questions inside these four pillars:

Pillar	Purpose	Example Research Questions
1. Customer Truths	Identify what they actually value, not just what they say	What frustrates you most about current options? What would you be willing to pay more for if someone delivered it to you?
2. Market Gaps	Identify missing value OR underserved segments	Where are current suppliers letting you down? What is not good enough? What is being over-delivered?
3. Value Levers	Identify what could make you uniquely valuable	In what situations does a 2x result matter more than price? What benefit would change your decision immediately?
4. Competitor Blind Spots	Identify areas you can exploit that they ignore	What do all suppliers seem to assume is important that actually isn’t? Where are they investing effort that doesn’t matter?

By focusing your research on these four areas, you can find ways to gain a competitive advantage instead of just collecting general opinions.

Why This Matters

Competitive advantage doesn’t come from just knowing what customers like.

Competitive advantage comes from knowing what customers value most, what competitors don’t offer, and what customers are willing to pay for and rely on.

The questions you ask in research shape what you learn. Average questions lead to average strategies. If you focus on competitive advantage, you’ll find insights that help you stand out.

​Conclusion

Good research questions make strategy possible. They bring clarity, show where you can gain an advantage, lower risk, and help you focus creativity on what matters most.

The quality of your research questions shapes your competitive advantage. It’s both a design challenge and a test of creativity.

 

Jim Zitek

I turn complex product problems into creative solutions with a competitive advantage.

 

The Corporate Habit of Competition

Walk into almost a strategy meeting, and you’ll hear one phrase repeated: “How do we beat the competition?” It sounds strategic, but it’s actually a trap. 

When your strategy revolves around beating others, you’re playing their game. You’re reacting. You’re not creating advantage—you’re defending territory.

True competitive advantage is different. It’s about designing value that others can’t easily copy. Yet few companies do it. Why?

1. They Don’t Research Deeply Enough

Many companies know their markets but don’t understand their customers well enough.
They measure what’s easy—market share, pricing, and brand awareness—but not what matters: customer motivations, frustrations, and desires.

 Without insight research, they can’t discover the opportunities that fuel innovation or create distinct value.

The Problem

Most companies spend their energy fighting competitors instead of creating something competitors can’t match. The result?

• Shrinking margins
• Price pressure
• Market fatigue
• Imitated ideas

The Core Reasons

Barrier	Description	Consequence
Weak Research	Focus on data, not insights	Competing on the exact dimensions
No Creative Process	Creativity is seen as random	No breakthrough ideas
Short-Term Thinking	Quarterly obsession	No sustainable differentiation
Fear and Risk Aversion	Avoiding bold choices	Bland, safe products
Price Dependence	Competing on cost	Margin erosion
Creativity–Strategy Gap	No integration	Ideas die before impact
Leadership Culture	Rewards safety, not curiosity	Innovation suffocates

The Cost of Competing

• Lower profitability
• Limited pricing power
• Higher customer churn
• Loss of strategic identity

2. Creativity Is Missing—or Misunderstood

Creativity is often treated as a marketing or product function, not a business discipline.
But every advantage begins with creative insight: a new way to solve a problem or frame a value.

Vertical thinking is a logical, sequential, and analytical approach to problem-solving. It involves building on existing ideas and moving step-by-step toward a single, correct solution. This method relies on a defined framework, and excludes any idea that is not logically sound.

Lateral thinking, a term and method coined by Edward de Bono, is a creative, non-linear, and indirect approach to problem-solving. It involves disrupting established patterns and “thinking outside the box” to generate new and unexpected ideas. Instead of selecting one path, it aims to create as many alternative ideas and perspectives as possible.

3. Strategy Become Short-Term

Quarterly earnings dominate the leadership focus, so strategy turns tactical—optimize pricing, cut costs, tweak features. This creates motion without progress.Long-term strategic advantage requires patience, research, and experimentation—three things quarterly metrics rarely reward.

4. Fear Often Rules

Creating advantage means making choices—what to pursue and what to ignore.
That takes courage. But fear of failure, uncertainty, and being different keeps teams safe.Safe ideas are comfortable but invisible. Bold ideas make you visible but vulnerable.

5. The Price Trap

Price feels controllable. You can lower it tomorrow. But when companies can’t define or deliver unique value, they default to competing on cost. This erodes margins, weakens brands, and limits the ability to invest in innovation—the very thing that could create an advantage.

6. The Missing Connection Between Creativity and Strategy

Competitive advantage lives at the intersection of creativity and strategy.

• Creativity generates the ideas that make you different.
• Strategy validates and focuses those ideas into a market advantage.

Without integration, creativity drifts and strategy stagnates.

7. The Benefits of Creating a Competitive Advantage

• Higher Profit Margins — Pricing power replaces price cuts.
• Stronger Customer Loyalty — Customers buy into your value, not your price.
• Distinct Market Position — Competitors can’t imitate what they don’t understand.
• Reduced Risk — Innovation is validated and aligned strategically.
• Long-Term Leadership — Your firm shapes the market, not follows it.

 Conclusion

Most companies don’t fail to create a competitive advantage because they can’t.
They fail because they choose the easier path—fighting competitors instead of out-creating them.

In a world of copycats, sameness, and shrinking margins, the companies that integrate research, creativity, and strategy will dominate the next decade. The real goal isn’t to fight harder and make the competition irrelevant. That’s the power of creating a competitive advantage. 

Key Message

Don’t fight competitors—outthink them.
The strongest companies build a value monopoly, not a price war.

Jim Zitek

 I turn complex product problems into creative solutions 

with a competitive advantage.

 

 

In business, problems are not just obstacles. They can be opportunities to grow and gain an advantage over competitors, but only if you understand and solve their root causes. Many companies fix only surface issues, which leads to more trouble later. That’s why it’s important to use both research and diagnosis.

Research and diagnosis each play a different role, but both are important for solving problems in a company. Research helps you understand the basics and explore options. Diagnosis looks closely at the specific issue. Together, they create a solid way to find, understand, and fix tough challenges.

Phase 1: Leveraging Research for General Knowledge and Context

Business research is a systematic investigation into a particular area. It aims to discover facts, develop new understanding, or create products or services. The main goal is to generate information that informs strategies, products, and operations.

How companies use Research to solve problems:

• Market Research for Product-Market Fit:

• • • Problem: A new product isn’t selling as expected.
    • Research Approach: Conduct extensive market research. This could involve surveys, focus groups, competitive analysis, and trend forecasting.
    • Outcome: Discovering that the target audience finds the pricing too high, the features confusing, or that a competitor offers a similar solution with better benefits. This knowledge suggests potential avenues for diagnosing and solving problems.

• User Experience (UX) Research for Product Adoption:

• • • Problem: Users are abandoning a key feature in an application.
    • UX research encompasses usability testing, user interviews, and the analysis of user behavior data, including heatmaps and session recordings.
    • Outcome: Gaining general insights into user mental models, pain points, and preferences across the user base. This helps establish norms and identify potential areas of friction that may contribute to the abandonment of the specific feature.

• Competitive Analysis for Strategic Positioning:

• • • Problem: Losing market share to a competitor.
    • Research Approach: Conduct a comprehensive analysis of competitor strategies, product offerings, pricing, marketing tactics, and customer reviews.
    • This research provides industry benchmarks and best practices, helping you see where competitors are strong or weak. This context is key to understanding why your business might be underperforming.

• Technological Research for Innovation:

• • Problem: Outdated technology hinders efficiency and product capabilities.
  • Research Approach: Investigate emerging technologies, assess their capabilities, costs, and integration challenges.
  • The research helps you fully understand new technology’s limits and costs. This information sets the stage for diagnosing technical problems and finding solutions.

Phase 2: Employing Diagnosis to Pinpoint the Specific Problem

Diagnosis uses what you’ve learned from research to focus on a specific problem in the company. The goal is to discover precisely what’s wrong and why, so you can take the right action.

How companies use Diagnosis to solve problems:

• Product Problem: Feature Non-Adoption  

• • • Research Context: UX research has shown that users value ease of use and clear instructions.
    • For diagnosis, run A/B tests on the feature’s onboarding flow. Analyze detailed analytics data for just that feature—interview users who abandoned it. Use the ‘5 Whys,’ focusing strictly on the feature’s non-adoption.
    • Outcome: Despite the feature’s usefulness, diagnose a confusing button label and a missing visual cue as specific problems.

• Business Problem: Declining Sales in a Specific Region  

• • • Research Context: Market research has revealed a general shift in the market towards online purchasing and personalized services.
    • Analyze region-specific sales data. Focus on product lines, sales channels, customer groups, and competitive activities. Interview the region’s sales teams and customers.
    • Outcome: Pinpoint a strong local competitor’s superior online experience as the cause behind the regional sales decline.

• Operational Problem: Recurring Production Delays  

• • Research Context: Industry research on lean manufacturing identified best practices for supply chain management.
  • Map the production process step by step with a flowchart. Conduct time-motion studies at each stage. Analyze past data on delay points. Use Fault Tree Analysis to find recurring bottlenecks.
  • Outcome: Identify a frequently failing machine, due to poor maintenance, as the cause of production line delays.

The Synergy: Research Guides, Diagnosis Confirms

The real strength lies in combining both approaches.

• Research gives context and helps you form ideas about what might happen. It shows you the big picture and points you in the right direction. This knowledge is the foundation for diagnosis and solutions.
• Diagnosis checks these ideas and finds the real cause. It turns broad research into a clear understanding of the problem.

Without research, diagnosis can be too narrow and may miss new trends or creative solutions. Without diagnosis, research stays theoretical and may not lead to real answers for urgent problems.

Conclusion

By using both research and diagnosis, companies can shift from just reacting to problems to growing in a planned way. This approach leads to solutions that last and give a real advantage, not just temporary fixes.

Thanks for your time. I know it’s valuable.

Jim Zitek

I Turn Complex Product Problems into Successful Solutions 

With a Competitive Advantage

 

Every sale begins with a story, and every strong story starts with a clear concept. Your concept is the heart of your message. Once you know it and use it to create strong sales ideas, you move beyond selling features and start offering real value.  

To do this effectively, let’s break the process into clear, actionable steps so you can turn a core idea into compelling messages that customers can’t resist.

 

Framing Your Concept (1–2 Sentences)

Let’s start with this: a concept should always be one or two sentences. The reason? Clarity wins every time.

For example:

‘A subscription service that delivers healthy meals in 30 minutes.’

‘A platform that guarantees 99% uptime by fixing problems before customers see them.’

Keep it short and precise. This helps your team stay on the same page and makes a strong impression on your customers.

 

Defining Creative Techniques

Once you have your concept, the next step is to generate sales ideas from it. This is where creative techniques help, including both vertical and lateral approaches.

 

Vertical thinking uses logical, step-by-step methods to turn your concept into practical sales ideas.

• SWOT Analysis: This involves examining strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. For instance, if your concept is about speed, a SWOT might reveal that your strength is quick delivery, your opportunity is premium customers who value time, and your sales message becomes, ‘We save you hours every week.’
• SCAMPER: Substitute, Combine, Adapt, Modify, Put to another use, Eliminate, Reverse. If your concept is fast service, SCAMPER could generate sales ideas like offering a “speed guarantee” or combining service with automatic renewals.

Lateral thinking means making creative jumps that help you break old patterns and assumptions.

• Reverse Thinking: Instead of asking, ‘How do we sell more?’ try asking, ‘How could we make it impossible for customers to buy?’ The answers will reveal obstacles you can remove, which can then become strong sales hooks.

• Metaphors and Analogies: Compare your concept to something outside your industry. If your concept is reliability, compare it to a “trusted airline pilot” or “a bank vault.” These metaphors become powerful sales messages.”

 

Evaluation Criteria

After you come up with several sales ideas, it’s important to evaluate them. Not every idea will work, and that’s actually helpful. The best ideas become clear when you use specific criteria:

• Customer Appeal: Does this idea directly solve a pain point your ideal customer cares about
• Differentiation: Does it set you apart from competitors, or does it sound like everyone else
• Feasibility: Can you deliver on this promise consistently?
• Profitability: Will this idea bring in profitable customers, not just more volume?”

 

Selection, Validation, and Refining Results

Select your top 2–3 sales ideas and validate them. Test with customers through interviews, surveys, pilots, or A/B tests.

Ask: Does this idea resonate? Would you pay for it? Does it solve your biggest problem?

Refine based on what you learn. You might find that customers love the guarantee, but the price point needs to be adjusted. Or they like the speed but care even more about reliability.

Validation turns bold ideas into market-ready sales strategies.

 

Benefits of This Approach

What’s the benefit of this process? You base your sales ideas on insight, creativity, and evidence, which takes the guesswork out of the process.

• You stop wasting time chasing ideas that don’t land.
• You create sales messages that hit exactly where your customers feel the pain.
• You gain the confidence to sell on value, not just price.

In short, this approach helps you turn your concept into a strong sales tool.

 Research is Ongoing

Remember: research doesn’t stop after launch. Continue to listen, measure, and refine. The best companies continually test and adjust their sales messages to stay ahead.

 Conclusion

So here’s the big picture:

1. Start with a crystal-clear concept that you can sum up in just one or two sentences.
2. Use vertical and lateral techniques to generate multiple sales ideas.
3. Evaluate them with rigorous criteria.
4. Select, validate, and refine until you have messages customers can’t resist.
5. Keep researching and adjusting as the market evolves.

To sum up: This process gives you clear concepts, helps generate winning ideas, ensures rigorous evaluation, and provides ongoing refinement so your sales messages truly stand out.

By following these steps, you do more than keep up; you take the lead. Clear and compelling sales messages give you a real advantage.

​Cheers, Jim Zitek

I turn complex product problems into creative success 

with a competitive advantage.