Industry Innovators: Terry Jones, Founder of Travelocity.com
He founded Travelocity.com and now serves as the Chairman of the Board for Kayak.com – Meet Terry Jones
John Filippelli : You have a rich experience in product development, from your time at Sabre and American Airlines, so, what are the keys to identifying – and implementing – the technological tools needed for today’s end user? (Research, etc.). I
Terry Jones : I’m just speaking in Paris at a very large IBM conference designed to bring CIOs and CMOs together. The point is that both sides need to be driving the company forward to keep up with the technological demands of the user. I think the key to identifying tools is to read widely, to continuously scan your industry and others for ideas you think might apply in your business. To walk the edge aisles of trade shows where the small and perhaps most innovative vendors are to find new ideas. For implementation I encourage building prototypes and testing like crazy. At Kayak.com about 20% of our users see an experiment every day. We are constantly testing to see what they like, and then we can run those experiments through full development, case harden them, and expose them to everyone.
John Filippelli : In the nearly 20 years since Travelocity.com’s inception, and now with Kayak.com, what would you say are the most interesting developments in the digital economy
Terry Jones
Terry Jones : One of the most interesting has been the adoption in B2B. At the beginning all the pundits got B2C but decried that B2B would amount to anything. Yet now it is growing just as fast and it includes everything from pens and pencils to huge industrial products.
John Filippelli : To that end, where do you see things heading in the next few years?
Terry Jones : I think the greatest influence for change will be mobile. The conversion rates on tablets are staggering. The penetration of mobile smartphone, worldwide and the fact that people seem to like the app interface better then the web says, ‘watch out for mobile”
John Filippelli : That is very interesting, so what do you believe are the key principles for true innovation as it relates to company growth?
Terry Jones : Innovation is built on the twin pillars of culture and team. You have to have a culture that encourages new ideas, one that embraces failure along with success, one that is ok with experimentation. You need a team composed of internal and external members, older and younger members and people who just might not fit in. Fresh sources create fresh thinking. And while 70% of your innovation work will be around your core products, 70% of your new income will come from those 10% radical ideas that are hard to manage, and have little chance of success.
John Filippelli : In your consultancy role, is how long your firm spends with a company affected by whether it is a start up or mature company? That said, are there consistent lessons you share or does each company present its own set of challenges and opportunities? Please explain.
Terry Jones: Startups usually need help with focus and a crisp explanation of their idea to raise money. They need to move past their emotional belief that their idea will change the world and get some data to help prove it. In mature companies it is usually more about creating the environment where innovation can exist. It is about organizational structure, getting buy in, creating appropriate funding and insuring the boss is committed to providing the air cover necessary to keep the new idea alive.
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