These days, with products drowning in a sea of competition and multi-million-dollar integrated marketing communication campaigns no longer generating good return on investment, the next big idea is, ironically, the small idea. It’s a soft innovation that lives on the edge of a product or service – the toy in a box of Cracker Jacks – says best-selling author Seth Godin.

In his highly acclaimed book Free Prize Inside!, Godin introduces edgecraft as the process of identifying those “free prizes.” Lots of people in every kind of industry are using edgecraft successfully as part of their business development strategy. The Boston Consulting Group, for example, did it merely by giving a familiar analysis a spiffy name, “Growth-Share Mextrix.” And at AT&T Park in San Francisco, you can nix the hot dog during the next Giants game and get freshly made sushi. The stadium’s world-class concession service has nothing to do with baseball – it’s an edge, a free prize.

OK, sushi is not for everyone, Godin is quick to admit, but that’s what makes it even more remarkable. “If people aren’t blown away,” he asserts, “they won’t talk about it. If they don’t talk about it, word won’t spread fast enough to help you grow.”

Godin argues that anyone can create a successful soft innovation by learning a few lessons:

• Keep it cheap. No need to come up with the next Segway. That $80 million investment took years and the formation of a new company to realize.

• Be a champ. Say no to the status quo. The difference between success and failure is not a shortage of ideas, it’s about overcoming inertia and standing out in the crowd.

• Sell first, invent later. Learn how to champion your idea so key people will notice you; then show them the prototype to get them on board. The Dyson HEPA filter vacuum cleaner is an enormous success, but James Dyson had to finally go it alone after years of rejection from major manufacturers.

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