Why are some product releases huge hits, with demand so great that people actually queue up to buy? How is it that some companies are able to create hits time and time again, blowing their competition away each time? Leading innovation expert James Gardner argues controversially that such performance has nothing to do with leadership heroics, being the first to market, retaining better talent or even being plain lucky. Neither is it reliant on bigger investments in R&D or on some magical innovation secret sauce. In fact, it is down to companies adopting the "Sidestep & Twist" strategy. The Sidestep is taking an existing product or service and moving it into an adjacent market. When companies add the Twist – one of a limited set of market-specific adjustments – the chances of getting a hit are magnified.