Discovery by Doing: What I Learned About Innovation from the Frontline
3 days in the field – 100 days at KPN Consumer Market – a whole new perspective on innovation
You can’t innovate from behind your desk.
Over the past 100 days, I’ve worked on innovation and growth within KPN’s consumer market — a world full of consumer insights, dashboards, customer journeys, and innovation trends. Coming from outside the telecom world, everything was new to me — which made me even more curious to see how things really work in practice. As a corporate innovator, I strongly believe this is where innovation should start:
"Not behind a desk, but out in the field."
You can’t design meaningful solutions without seeing where the real friction — and the real opportunity — lives.
So I decided to step out of the building and into the field.
Three days. I listened in at the call center. Helped out on the shop floor. Rode along with a technician.
Innovation isn’t theoretical — it’s deeply human
In the store, I noticed how diverse the customer base is — and how varied their questions are. Even on a sunny day, people kept coming in. It confirmed just how vital our retail channel still is.
At the call center, I was impressed by the patience and empathy shown. Not everyone finds digital tools easy to use, but offering multiple service channels helps bridge that gap — even when access is blocked.
And out in the field with a technician, I saw how often customers ask more than they initially called about. Human contact mattered just as much as the technical fix. It made me rethink how we frame ‘customer needs’ in strategy sessions — and how easily we underestimate emotional value in service design.
"What struck me most: the reality customers experience is always messier than what we design on paper."
Discovery starts where the customer is
That’s my biggest learning:
"You don’t discover what matters from data alone — you learn it by being there."
Yes, research and analytics are valuable. But if you don’t spend time in the customer’s world, you’ll always innovate from a distance. You risk solving the wrong problems — or solving real problems in the wrong way.
Discovery in innovation means listening without assumptions, seeing through the customer’s eyes, and testing ideas beyond the comfort of controlled environments.
And above all: doing.
Combine the lab with the real world
Lab testing is useful — it gives structure, speed, and clarity. But if you only test in controlled environments, you risk designing for an idealized version of reality.
That’s why real innovation needs both: lab insights and real-world validation.
Because only by seeing how people actually behave — in their real context — do you discover what truly works.
A call to fellow innovators
If you work in corporate innovation, especially in service or consumer environments:
👟 Walk a day in the shoes of your customer.
🧠 Immerse yourself in frontline reality.
🛠️ Let discovery emerge from what people do — not just what they say.
Because innovation that matters isn’t imagined. It’s experienced.
"Innovation starts moving when we stop assuming and start observing — in the real world, with real people."
📩 Contact Jolanda Burgers at jolanda.burgers@innovationsmile.nl
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