---
id: "quote-workaround-is-rd"
type: "quote"
source_timestamps: ["¶11"]
tags: ["innovation", "product-development"]
related: ["claim-workarounds-fund-rd", "contrarian-workarounds-are-prototypes"]
speaker: "Donna Henrike Bohrer, Karolin Frankenberger and Joakim Wincent"
speakers: ["Donna Henrike Bohrer", "Karolin Frankenberger", "Joakim Wincent"]
quote: "A workaround isn’t a complaint; it’s a customer funding the R&D for your next business model, with willingness to pay already proven. Just not by you."
sources: ["commercial"]
sourceVaultSlug: "hbr-seg-commercial"
originDay: 5
articleStem: "hbr-tier2-09-customer-workarounds"
sourceUrl: "https://hbr.org/2026/05/what-customer-workarounds-can-reveal-about-your-business-model"
sourceTitle: "What Customer Workarounds Can Reveal About Your Business Model"
---
# "A workaround isn't a complaint; it's a customer funding the R&D"

> "A workaround isn't a complaint; it's a customer funding the R&D for your next business model, with willingness to pay already proven. Just not by you."
>
> — [[entity-donna-henrike-bohrer|Donna Henrike Bohrer]], [[entity-karolin-frankenberger|Karolin Frankenberger]] and [[entity-joakim-wincent|Joakim Wincent]] (¶11)

The punchiest statement of [[claim-workarounds-fund-rd]] and the contrarian reframing in [[contrarian-workarounds-are-prototypes]]. The phrase "just not by you" captures the strategic urgency: the value has been created but not yet captured by the incumbent.

**Related:** [[claim-workarounds-fund-rd]] · [[contrarian-workarounds-are-prototypes]] · [[concept-customer-workaround]]