Power of the brainstorm
Noted business author Tom Peters says, “Nobody does innovation better than IDEO.”
What can Hudson Valley organizations, both large and small, learn from IDEO, the firm that helped design Apple Computer”™s first mouse, Palm”™s handheld, Heartstream”™s defibrillator, and many iPhone applications?
Thomas Kelley, author of “The Art of Innovation,” points out that only by observation, by “looking at people in real-life situations ”¦ can businesses find out what makes them tick, what confuses them, what they like, what they hate, and where they have unmet needs.”
The people at IDEO aren”™t big fans of focus groups. They go to the source, talking to the people using the product or service. Many well-meaning businesses claim they already “know” how people use their products or services, rattling off good reasons why an innovation is impractical.
Don”™t ask people what they think for the same reason that prevents you from learning that your meatloaf tastes like sawdust. Your dinner guests are too polite to tell you the truth. See and hear things with your own eyes and ears. This is the critical first step in innovating.
Visualizing the satisfaction of unmet needs can be thought of as predicting the future. This is where the brainstorming-intensive phase of the process kicks in. IDEO offers a few simple guidelines for “the perfect brainstorm,” as cited in Kelley”™s book.
Start with a well-honed statement, a simple question or a well-articulated description of the problem.
Their second secret is to have playful rules. This is not the time to critique or debate ideas because that will sap energy quickly.
Numbering the ideas in a brainstorm can motivate participants. Or might begin by saying, “Let”™s get a hundred ideas before we leave the room.”
Write ideas down in a medium visible to the whole group. IDEO uses Sharpie markers, old-fashioned butcher shop paper and cover every wall.
Watch for chances to “build” and “jump.” Once a plateau is reached, build on a good idea by giving a gentle push in that direction or jump back to an earlier path.
Get physical. Have materials such as blocks, foam core, and tubing on hand to build crude models of a concept.
“Body-storming” occurs when group members act out current behavior and usage patterns to see how they might be altered.
No idea is so good that it can”™t be improved nor is any business so good that it can”™t stand some additional innovation leading to even better outcomes. Sue Siddall, managing director of IDEO”™s London office challenges businesses to ask, “What are we giving consumers beyond the product or service we are selling? What is our higher purpose?”
Once you have completed brainstorming, evaluate and refine the ideas. Brainstorming is the starting point and as with computer programming, garbage in, garbage out. The perfect brainstorm guarantees quality in which provides the raw material to get positive, productive, problem solving solutions out.
Remember to begin by firsthand observation and watching people in real-life situations as they attempt to solve problems and challenges. Visualize the satisfaction of unmet needs and become a predictor of the future thru the use of “the perfect brainstorm.” No matter how exciting your innovation, it can and will always be improved upon.
Questions for discussion:
Ӣ How can we better understand and fill the needs of our customers by observing them using our or our competitorӪs products and services in real life situations?
Ӣ What brainstorming techniques can we immediately implement and how can we involve customers, suppliers and strategic partners in the process?
Joe Murtagh is The DreamSpeaker, an international keynote speaker, meeting facilitator and business trainer. For questions or comments, Joe@TheDreamSpeaker.com, www.TheDreamSpeaker.com or call 800-239-0058.