garygilliland:

I’ve written about ideas like this before but just because it’s a repeat doesn’t make the idea any less important.

In the December 2009 issue of Wired, Ideo talk about how they would manage the problem of urban rage and in particular the stresses caused by queuing. The idea is simple, convert the queue from an object of stress into something positive.

Members of the public can register for a card which allows them to log the time spent queuing at participating locations. The time accrued on the card can then be converted into time which the member organisations then ‘donate’ to nominated charities.

The whole article is worth reading both for a fuller explanation of the queuing idea and also for an overview of the thinking processes within Ideo itself

Wired: Reinventing British manners the Post-It way

CNN have published the results of a study by Harvard Business School, Insead and Brigham Young University into the secrets of innovation. According to the study the five keys are Associating, Questioning, Observing, Experimenting and Networking.

These are certainly critical skills but the key skill they left out was Selling. While networking sort of covers selling, the definition used “innovators go out of their way to meet people with different ideas and perspectives” doesn’t hit the mark.

Good ideas die everyday not because they are worthless but because no one is willing to buy into them. Successful innovators need to know how to connect with an audience and sell them an idea. Steve Jobs isn’t necessarily the most creative or innovative person but as a salesman he has few equals and that’s why he’s successful. 

Learn the five secrets of innovation – CNN.com

In my last post I listed some bit ’n’ pieces from The Art of Looking Sideways but I thought this one was important so I’ve lifted it out separately. In the book Fletcher points out some attributes of creativity.

• challenging assumptions
• being receptive to new ideas
• recognising similarities or differences
• making unlikely connections
• taking risks
• building on ideas to make better ideas
• looking at things in new ways
• taking advantage of the unexpected
• taking chances

As a checklist for developing your creativity pretty much covers all the bases.

Thanks to generosity of others there are some great free idea generation tools available on the web. None of the tools will solve your problems or produce an earth shattering idea by themselves but they will lead you towards the solution you are seeking.

Google Sets is a simple service, enter a few items from a set and Google will try to predict the rest of set. Useful for widening the scope of an ideation session.

Whack Pack cards  are Roger von Oech’s classic collection of creativity strategies. Refresh the page to be presented with another card.

Free The Genie is a set of four brainstorming games presented by Idea Champions.

Brian Eno’s Oblique Strategies are a set of cards designed to provide inspiration for creativity or problem solving. The minimal design application provides a quick web based application to access the first four editions of the cards. The key is to draw one card only and trust it. Regardless of how inapplicable the card may seem on initial viewing, spend time and consider how the strategy could be applied to your current situation.

Wikipedia Mind Map Generator a very powerful visual tool for exploring the connections to a topic. Enter a keyword and the software will examine the associated Wikipedia article and generate a mind map of connected articles. The resultant mind map can then be exported to the free mind-mapping application Freemind.

* I have no affiliation with any of the organisations above.

I was out looking for a Digi-box for an old TV when I came across something called the Zapbox Eco Digital TV Receiver. Almost immediately my mind went into rant mode. "Why are they calling it Eco? Bloody marketing people just tag on the fashionable word of the day" etc etc.

Then it occurred to me , this is a green product.  In fact it’s one of the greenest products around. It brings new life to an old product. It stops something which is full of toxins ending up as land fill. Finally it stops the carbon / pollution required to produce a replacement.

Let’s be honest at this point in time the digi-box is hardly considered innovative but the idea should serve as an inspiration for others. In a lot of cases the new ‘eco friendly’ version is actually more expensive in carbon terms than extending the life of the existing product.

What if instead of spending our efforts on building new cars we devoted our efforts to improving the efficiency and durability of the existing vehicle fleet? After all the carbon cost of manufacturing a new car out weighs the inefficiencies of keeping an old one on the road.

The design and application of innovative add-ons for other products can provide a useful contribution to the challenge of climate change. So where can you apply something new to save something old?

In their own words Project H Design is

“a charitable organization that supports, creates, and delivers life-improving humanitarian product design solutions. We champion industrial design as a tool to address social issues, a vehicle for global life improvement, and a catalyst for individual and community empowerment”

In Adobe’s Inspire E-zine Emily Pilloton founder of Project H Design, outlines her 5 tenet credo for a revolution in design which drives the work of her organisation. Emily is fortunate, in that her work is focused on more noble, humanitarian goals than most of us. Nevertheless the framework she outlines in the articles provides a basis for projects in the commercial world.

There is no chapter without action

In short, stop talking and start doing.

Design with not for

a process of "co-creation" is an absolutely necessary approach that makes clients not just recipients of services, but partners in the development of solutions that are appropriate and sustainable over time

If we’re sitting next to clients, hashing out details of what’s really important to them, we’ll find ourselves pleasantly surprised when our final, co-created designs, are not just good by our own standards, but great solutions for real people.

Start locally, scale globally

… scalability represents a new approach to mass production—by building in adaptability to our single solutions, we ensure replication that is both large in scale and personal to each of our end users

Document, share, and measure

To document, share, and measure means to diligently document every step of your design process (so that it can be improved and replicated), to measure its impact both quantitatively and qualitatively, and to share those solutions (along with the documentation and metrics) with other designers and users. The credo reads: "We keep a record of all work as a means to measure, and ask for feedback as a means to constantly improve. Our designs are never "done." We share practices between chapters so that we never have to start from zero.

Design systems, not stuff

“designing systems that can be adapted, replicated, and implemented, by users, in sustainable and infinitely relevant ways.”

"Systems over stuff" means not designing a bridge, but finding a way to cross a river—looking at the root problem rather than a quick fix, and thinking beyond the material

Take the time to read the full article and see what impact the framework has on your thinking for your next project.

In cities around the world, areas comprised of smooth surfaces with interesting curves and bumps have become a magnet for skateboarders. In most instances authorities are quick to clamp down on this behaviour and so starts an on-going battle between the skaters and the users of the area. The result is an under utilised resource and two disgruntled user groups.

In an effort to combat this problem Foreign Office Architects, have designed the Opera House in Oslo to incorporate skateable areas. To ensure that skaters are kept to the designated areas, smooth marble is used for skating routes. Whilst rough marble is used to deter skaters in the more acoustically sensitive areas.

By embracing the skaters, the creative energy which would have been dissipated on discouraging skaters has been applied to creating something which is welcoming to everyone. This has created a building which hasn’t been bound by the constraints normally imposed on large public areas and a resource which is useful to a wider demographic and is in use more of the time.

What if the music industry encouraged file sharers? What if oil companies worked with green energy providers to provide solutions which combined the best of both? What if you worked with your competitors to combine your R&D efforts?

What opportunities can you find by embracing your enemies?

via Wired

Flickr Photo by pacmikey

I was lucky enough to hear the chairman of a large pharma company speak about the company’s innovation strategy. The most important thing he said was that the company was a jumbo jet flying on 4 large engines but those engines were failing. Changes in regulation, markets and limits in science mean that to survive the company needs become a jumbo with 100 smaller engines.

This reflects the changes in the pharmaceutical industry where until recently the mega corps relied on a few blockbuster products for between 80% and 90% of sales. Previously the company rejected smaller potential products as they were considered to be too niche. These products were often sold off to small and medium sized pharma companies who made a very nice living from them but mega corp considered inconsequential.

The change in thinking from a few blockbusters to a portfolio which embraces more niche products across a range of areas is an acknowledgement not only that science has reached limits but that wider portfolio reduces risk. 

There is lesson we could all learn here. How many times have you dropped an idea simply because it wasn’t world changing enough or because it was in the wrong niche for your organisation? This type of thinking is stopping organisations maximising the ideas that exist within the organisation.

• We live a global economy where niches that were impractical because we could only service them locally are now accessible globally.
• Companies with a diverse portfolio are more resilient to political, economic, social and technological changes. Not only does a diverse portfolio improve resiliency but it actually increases opportunities for innovation because of the matrix / network effect of combining ideas from multiple areas.

I know that I’m changing the metaphor from the start but fishing with a single line may occasionally bring you the kudos of landing 600lb marlin but a net will catch 1000 herring everyday. Which would you rely on to feed your family?

The Institute of Directors and Barclays have released a report on the state of forward thinking / planning in the UK. The report provides an analysis of who’s doing what, what’s stopping them and how the situation can be improved.

Most usefully the report provides advice on how to improve competitiveness by introducing forward thinking into an organisation.

The report’s advice is usefully summarised in the follow 15 point checklist.

1. Take time to think about whether or not your organisation really does examine the future external environment as well as it could.
2. Look back; see if you can identify changes in the external environment which have had significant impact on your organisation. How would you have acted differently if you’d anticipated these changes?
3. Discuss your findings from (1) and (2) with senior management. Expect negativity from colleagues who assume forward thinking to be too difficult. Encourage them to identify potential opportunities lost in the past.
4. Identify the key barriers to forward thinking in your organisation – cost, in-house skills, corporate culture etc.
5. Decide how you can overcome these barriers – commit resources, cooperate with other organisations etc.
6. Consider teaming up with trade associations or group together with other forward thinking enterprises in ‘Forward Thinking Clusters’, hosting events or seminars to discuss the future external environment and its impact on your specific sector. Talking to your peers may suggest solutions or resources that you otherwise would not have considered.
7. Seek partnerships with others, from banks and industry organisations to conferences and think tanks in order to develop forward thinking.
8. Provide incentives for staff and customers to encourage the development of actionable ideas based on their analyses of the future external environment.
9. Adopt on-line tools such as forums for staff and customers to easily contribute to a debate on the future environment and its potential impact. These tools may be internal or external – available to the wider public at large.
10. For SMEs with limited resources, focus on how to exploit freely available material like internet sources. Analyse US websites covering your sector. Economies of scale in the US mean that many sectors have trade bodies and analysis unavailable in the UK. Speak to your bank about obtaining sector reports they produce.
11. Identify academics with expertise in different areas of forward thinking, particularly for those that will have the greatest impact on your market. Consider offering them non-executive directorships, and look to their work for inspiration.
12. Make sure somebody at Board level has ‘ownership’ of forward thinking. Within the executive, delegate a Head of Forward Thinking even if this is only part of their role.
13. Review the process by which forward thinking is absorbed into the creation of a corporate strategy. Check that forward thinking is effectively integrated within strategy.
14. Explore the various forward thinking tools (scenario planning, economic forecasts etc) you wish to use. Question what each provides and then prioritise the most important for early adoption within your strategy.
15. Create a climate where alternative viewpoints challenging received wisdom are encouraged. Make sure that the views of senior management don’t smother ideas from elsewhere in the organisation.

Forward Thinking Report

The Boston Consulting Group has released the 2009 editions of its Innovation Surveys.  The first of the reports covers topics core to corporate innovation such as objectives, tactics, and perceived strengths and weaknesses. The second focuses on the measurement of innovation.

As usual these reports make for an interesting and informative read which offers a snapshot of the state of innovation in large organisation. 

Innovation 2009: Making Hard Decisions in the Downturn

Measuring Innovation 2009: The Need for Action