Concept · Product Management
Outcome-Driven Innovation
Origin: Tony Ulwick
Biological Parallel
Darwin's finches radiated into 18 species not by focusing on 'beak features' but by optimizing for outcomes: crack-this-seed, probe-that-crevice, grip-this-insect. Natural selection is outcome-driven innovation—the fitness landscape rewards solutions that achieve measurable results (calories per joule expended), not elegant forms. The woodpecker finch using cactus spines as tools demonstrates how evolution discovers radical innovations when focused on the outcome (extract grubs) rather than inherited constraints (beak shape).