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Don't just "Think Outside the Box"... Think in New Dimensions

  
  
  
  
9 dot puzzle matrix

By Jay Terwilliger

Should Innovation Be Top-Down Or Bottom-Up?...It Depends!

  
  
  
  
Structuring for Innovation

We are often asked if the best way to structure for innovation is top-down or bottom-up? The answer is both if you are going to succeed in the long run.

3 Keys to Avoiding Groupthink When Collaborating

  
  
  
  
Groupthink

By Jay Terwilliger

The Person Who Can Say “Yes” to Innovation Without Permission

  
  
  
  
The over-arching truth about big innovation is this; “You Get What You PlayFor,” because the processes and tools for managing core businesses don’t work when the goal is to identify and successfully introduce ideas that don’t exist today; true innovations not incremental ones. So you get what you play for and it’s who gets to play that makes all the difference.

When executives create teams to pursue breakthrough innovation they typically push the work down to the operating levels, just like they do so successfully with their core businesses. That sounds eminently laudable – after all, they’re “empowering” a group of hands-on people. They think they are too busy to deal with innovation but there’s another reason for taking that approach: Leaders don’t want to get involved in big innovation. They are afraid of it because they haven’t experienced it or been schooled in managing it; and bosses don’t like being visibly vulnerable.

Let's not confuse good brainstorming with the new "Groupthink".

  
  
  
  
groupthink, team, brain

By Jay Terwilliger

Lin-sanity, Innovation and The Educated Gut

  
  
  
  
Jeremy LinThough I'm not a Knicks fan, I must admit that I've been caught up in "Lin-sanity": the meteoric (and still very early) rise of Jeremy Lin, an unheralded, journeyman bench player who several weeks ago was on the verge of another cut but has put together the most impressive start for a player's first 5 games in the past 40 years. Better than Bird, Jordan or Lebron. Who could have guessed?

Finding the stars in your portfolio of ideas is a little like finding an NBA player -- some are fast-tracked for stardom and shine (or don't), and it's the 'scouts' (product managers, marketers, R&D folks) job to sniff out the good and great ones. Some ideas are like Jeremy Lin was -- they have the potential, but fall through the cracks, maybe not even making it to the 'bench'. What if you could find those diamonds in the rough, just one or two, that reside in your organization? What value would that bring to your organization? To your customers?

So how do you do that? One way is to revisit your old ideas with new eyes, but lets stick with our athletic analogy for the moment. As in sports, the larger business world has a variety of metrics (definitive market potential, ROI after x years, etc.) that are used to pick the strong ideas. With breakthrough ideas -- ones that bring something truly new to the game -- these types of metrics are often what we call "imaginary numbers", because breakthrough innovation by definition means there is nothing to compare it to; it has no frame of reference. Then what do you rely on? To me there are two major tools: a process that nurtures rather than kills new ideas and something that we call The Educated Gut.

Criteria vs. Metrics
We once worked with a client who had historically required the Net Present Value of an idea immediately following ideation. Truly new ideas wither and die rather quickly in this environment. Instead, rate beginning ideas on a few (4-5) criteria, and use that in concert with an evaluation model that preserves what's good about an idea, while clearly identifying flaws (and they've all got them) in a way that encourages problem solving. We call this an Open-Minded Evaluation. Some of the criteria we find are the most powerful are:

  • Strategy:  Does this fit with our strategy and align with our vision of the future?
  • Need: Does this address an important consumer/customer need (whether articulated or not)?
  • Impact: Opportunity Size -- Is there a sizable market with money to spend?
  • Feasibility:  Can it be done technically within a given timeframe?
  • Feel:  Most important -- What does your “Educated Gut” say?


At this early stage, do your ideas pass this SNIFF test? The answer is likely very different than if you use traditional metrics. And even these criteria should be used to evaluate the whole picture, not just as a "yea/nay". A few informative dimensions will help you look objectively at the concepts from both a 'business' and 'gut' point of view, so that you can make more holistic decisions.

The Educated Gut
What if you were able to harness the collective experience of your organization, to get at what they really believe about an idea vs. what they can absolutely justify? And what if that was valued in your organization? Your people have boatloads of experiences and knowledge from inside and outside of your industry that inform their sense of value. This goes beyond 'the numbers' and taps into the vast pool of the unconscious (that large percent of our brains that we don't actively use and gets pounded into silence in pursuit of The Right Answer). Here are some ways to tap into it:

Innovating a Superior Experience

  
  
  
  
sad UX happy1

In the last few years, the user experience has come increasingly to the forefront of innovation and design thinking.  Colloquially known as UX design, considering how the consumer interacts with a product or brand is a way of meeting tough to articulate needs beyond pure functionality.

Is Bill Belichick a Design Thinker?

  
  
  
  
Bill Belichick Design Thinking

Bill Belichick is widely regarded as a football genius, contrarian, and grump. He is also an innovator. All of the X's and O's of design thinking can be found under the hoodie.

Success Factors for Breakthrough Innovation

  
  
  
  
iStock 000016209723XSmall

This is not a revolutionary list – there are a number of these lists out there, and within the collection there is both clear overlap as well as room for customization.  In talking through these I hope to get people’s reactions as to what really is necessary to achieve breakthrough innovation, and in so doing I hope to get a sense of what the industry standards are and where the differentiation tends to lie.

On Creativity - How has the economy impacted creative thinking?

  
  
  
  
iStock 000018462268XSmall

What is the state of creativity today?  Is creative thinking following the roller coaster ride of the economy (with lots of stomach-churning drops)?  Or, is creativity going the way of gold, holding steady in spite of the tumultuous times? 

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