New product and service commercialization efforts fail all the time.  Companies get excited about innovation opportunities, become focused on somewhat arbitrary milestones they want to hit and believe internal knowledge (which there tends to be a lot of) is substantial enough to navigate the market.  They rush to get a product to market - one doomed from the start.  To avoid similar missteps, it is imperative that you pause early in the process and consider the following four things first.  You need to make sure that your product solves an actual need, occupies a meaningful position within the market, has a solid and achievable plan and goals, and that you identify the means to evangelize lead customers...