Fitness for Needs

"Fitness for needs" is a concept that synthesizes the two critical components of business success: invention and execution. It is the ultimate criterion for a product that delivers total customer satisfaction.

A product that is "fit for needs" must satisfy the customer on two levels:

1. It must be the right product. This is the role of invention. The product must be a creative and innovative solution that effectively solves the customer's problem and keeps pace with changing tastes and technologies. A company that fails at this is suffering from marketing myopia.
2. It must be a quality product. This is the role of execution. The product must be well-made, reliable, and delivered with excellent service. This is the principle of "fitness for use" from total quality control.

A company that is committed to "fitness for needs" will not suffer from the weaknesses of relying on either invention alone or execution alone. It will constantly search for better ways to solve customer problems (invention) while also committing to the work ethic and attention to detail required to deliver those solutions with excellence (execution).