BrazilNew Metrics on how human-centricity can pave the way to successful innovation
Researchers from around the world shows that human-centred innovation leads to a significant uplift in the success of new businesses innovations. To find out more about the concept, its benefits and workings, we sat down with Alaa Halawi, an expert in the field at consultancy firm New Metrics.
Amid all the uncertainty and changes that organizations face both within and externally, successful innovation has become one of the most daunting tasks for any C-level member. Illustrating the challenge at hand, dozens of years of research have consistently found that over 9 in 10 innovations fails, and similarly, lengths of time have been put into understanding what is needed to get innovation right.
One of the key success factors that is rapidly making strides is human-centred innovation. This concept aims at ensuring organisations work on innovation while “continuously listening to their customers and evolving along with them.”
“An innovation truly succeeds not just through the creativity behind it, or the technology that brings it to life. Neither alone is enough,” explains Halawi. “The real magic happens when innovation resonates deeply with people – when it solves their needs, reflects their values, and becomes part of their lives.”
“By placing people’s needs, experiences, and behaviors at the core of an innovation, innovation ultimately create products that are intuitive, efficient, and easy to use.”
Apple is arguably the best-known example of a company that has applied human-centred innovation early on to make its product loved by its customers. For decades, Apple has created user-friendly products that are clean, simple, and high-quality. Steve Jobs once said about the firm’s goal for products: “It’s not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.”
In recent years, many companies have followed suit with successfully embracing the concept, such as Netflix, Spotify and Airbnb. In the Middle East, companies such as Careem, noon, and Aramex stand out for their customer-led innovation approach.
“These companies have managed to shift the focus from ‘What can we build?’ to ‘What do people really need?’ – an area which is often forgotten in the haste of companies to simply innovate for fear of missing out. Instead, it helps organisations re-engage with the concept of empathy, which can reinvigorate the way customers engage with their products, and provide them with a competitive edge in the process.”
Against a backdrop where disruption can turn the status quo upside down in record time, innovation is at the forefront of their future success. According to Halawi, that means that for organisations aiming to stay relevant and achieve long-term success, “human-centered innovation isn’t just an option – it’s essential.”
Truly understanding the customer
In the Middle East, New Metrics has championed the concept of human-centred innovation. From its offices in Muscat, Dubai, Riyadh, Beirut and Belgrade, the award-winning consulting firm helps its clients adopt the approach through a mix of advisory, implementation and training services.
In essence, Halawi said that getting human-centred innovation right thrives on three key concepts.
First is the idea of empathy – which sits at the nucleus of human-centred innovation. More specifically, building new products needs to start by fully understanding and accepting people as they are, “without judgment” – and rather than “focusing on what people should do”, companies need to design services aligned to who their customers “actually are”.
“Innovators can’t afford to just guess what customers want,” Halawi goes on. “Organisations must take the time to truly understand the lived experiences of their audience. This level of insight leads to solutions that are not only functional, but create authentic and meaningful connections in the process.”
Further to that, companies should build on this to co-create – engaging their customers directly to truly understand their needs. Working this into the design process allows organisations to “gather meaningful feedback”, before iterating to “ensure that final products resonate with customers’ lived experiences”, Halawi argues. But the engagement should not end there.
Finally, human-centred innovation involves rapid prototyping and testing with the people a company hopes to serve with its products,” Halawi notes. “Instead of isolating development, the innovation process involves constant testing and refinement with real users, enabling organisations to fine-tune solutions until they are genuinely impactful.”
Human-powered disruption in practice
Over the years, cases around the world have given innovators extensive insight into how human-centred innovation is helping companies successfully launch new products and services. The concept has also provided new challengers the means to rapidly disrupt their respective industries.
“One great example of sustained relevance through human-centred innovation is Netflix,” says Halawi. “When the company first started, it focused on DVD rentals by mail. However, as the way people consumed content changed, so did Netflix. The company’s constant monitoring of customer behaviours, like the shift to streaming and the demand for original content, allowed it to innovate at just the right moments.”
Netflix famously transitioned fully to streaming services, allowing customers to instantly access movies they would have had to wait days for previously. But the company didn’t stop there. Netflix launched its own line of high-quality content (‘Netflix Originals’), introduced smart technology to tailor its service to customer needs (driven by AI), and adopted a global-local approach in its content to meet the diverse demands of people worldwide.
“Tesla is another example of the power of human-centricity,” Halawi continues. “Tesla did more than just build electric vehicles – instead reimagining the entire relationship people have with cars, focusing on user experience, sustainability, and societal impact.”
In some cases, truly unravelling the customer need is just part of the equation. It may also need a true understanding of other stakeholders, such as investors or indirect consumers. That is exactly what Airbnb did to build out what is today the largest accommodation sharing platform in the world.
“Back in 2010, Airbnb was still an emerging company, facing scepticism from investors,” reflects Halawi. The basic idea of people staying in a stranger’s home instead of a hotel seemed risky and even unthinkable to many. But the founders shifted their focus from merely providing an alternative accommodation option to “deeply understanding their customers—both hosts and travellers”, outflanking traditional accommodation providers in the process.
“By staying with their hosts and experiencing the platform firsthand, they unearthed a fundamental insight: it wasn’t just about offering a room; it was about creating a sense of belonging, trust, and community.”
Meanwhile, around the same time, industry incumbents where pouring investments into new hotel concepts for various segments. “But while they innovated in product and experience, they often missed the mark by failing to circle back to the individual – the person they were ultimately serving. They optimised processes but didn’t prioritise the human connection that travellers sought.”
Resonating with the future
All these examples underscore the essence of human-centred innovation, Halawi says. “It’s clear that companies benefit when they shift the focus from the product or technology, to the requirements and behaviours of the people being served. Today’s most successful innovations not only add features or improve efficiency, but they are aligning closely with human needs.”
Halawi concludes, “Ultimately, human-centred innovation is more than just a methodology; it is a mindset. It encourages organisations to ask, ‘Who are we really innovating for?’ and to recognise that the best innovations don’t simply solve problems – they enhance people’s lives.”
“As the pace of change continues to accelerate, those that embrace this human-first approach will be the ones leading the future, delivering not just products, but meaningful experiences that truly resonate with their customers.”
