idea crafting
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Idea CraftingWhy do ideas need to be crafted?
June 5, 2009 1© Crafitti Consulting Private Ltd.
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Typically, in an organization,
ideas come from various channels
IdeasPartners,
suppliers and collaborators
Customers and customer facing teams
Competitors
Employees (work)
Business & technology
strategy
R&D
Organizational processes
June 5, 2009 2© Crafitti Consulting Private Ltd.
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And these ideas may have various purposes . . .
June 5, 2009 3© Crafitti Consulting Private Ltd.
(New )product ideas
New service
ideas
Brand building
and marketing
ideasIdeas for
continuousimprovement
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Ideas may also be
June 5, 2009 4© Crafitti Consulting Private Ltd.
OrchestratedSerendipitous
OR
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Organizations have some
processes to help ideas
reach their objectives
June 5, 2009 5© Crafitti Consulting Private Ltd.
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June 5, 2009 6© Crafitti Consulting Private Ltd.
New product or service or business
model ideas –
A typical funnel and stage gate model
Ideas (from various
channels)
The filtration funnel
(based on various criteria)
The stage gate process
(with evaluation and decisions at various stages)
A few ideas
make it
Many get
stuck midway
And most
lose steam
very early
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Continuous improvement models(these typically apply on the grass-roots processes and activities and
are aimed at gradual change)
June 5, 2009 7© Crafitti Consulting Private Ltd.
Six Sigma
Reducing error and
deviations from the norm
(Deviations are bad!)
Standardize and
ensure repeatability
Focus on controlling
system parameters
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The Technology and Intellectual Property value
chains
June 5, 2009 8© Crafitti Consulting Private Ltd.
Idea Invention Intellectual
Property
Trade secret
Patent
Value
ProtectExploit
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Clearly, at any given point in time there are several
different types of ideas being conceptualized,
implemented and pursued across various levels of
the organization
They have different purposes and different
rhythms
All of them contribute to the innovation
quotient of an organization
June 5, 2009 9© Crafitti Consulting Private Ltd.
But a majority of the ideas die
or fall by the wayside
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Why do our innovation processes not work
as well as we think they should?
June 5, 2009 10© Crafitti Consulting Private Ltd.
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Several serendipitous
ideas may actually be
inherently
synchronous –
they can be combined
June 5, 2009 11© Crafitti Consulting Private Ltd.
Ideas are lonely
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Ideas may be disconnected
from the larger context
June 5, 2009 12© Crafitti Consulting Private Ltd.
Ideas end up making an
emergency landing in a context
As opposed to getting launched
out of a context
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Filtration processes systematically
eliminate the outliers -
the ones that don’t fit into the
current and present
June 5, 2009 13© Crafitti Consulting Private Ltd.
The outliers are actually
the real ideas!
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We are used to
Logical thinking
Analytical thinking
Reductionist Approaches
Linear approaches
which helps us to
converge
narrow down
select
decide
June 5, 2009 14© Crafitti Consulting Private Ltd.
Ideas and innovation are
by their very nature
Non-linear
Exploratory
Divergent
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Only live ideas can be productive
How to nurture ideas and keep them alive?
How to craft ideas?
June 5, 2009 15© Crafitti Consulting Private Ltd.
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Idea Crafting
IDEAS are those thoughts that bring in the genesis of change – many times fundamental.
These are thoughts that one doesn’t get in the regular run-of-the-mill thinking.
IDEAS can happen serendipitously in the human mind. They can happen at any time. They
can be fleeting glimpses of problem solutions, can be dreams of possible new
opportunities, can be new design structures or simply new experiences.
IDEAS don’t happen just like that. They come to prepared minds. Only prepared minds
can transform these thoughts into change. It requires ability to generate and execute at
the same time.
IDEAS need to be crafted through orchestrated immersion. Contrary to popular belief of
organizations having lots of ideas and “it is all about execution”, our experiences show
ideas need to be crafted through orchestrated immersion of minds that work inside and
with the enterprises.
Idea Crafting helps generate and build ideas that
become the genesis of change for large enterprises
June 5, 2009 16© Crafitti Consulting Private Ltd.
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In addition to Analytical and Logical Thinking
we need . . .
June 5, 2009 17© Crafitti Consulting Private Ltd.
LIST
(Lean Inventive Systems
Thinking)
Lean Thinking
(Value maximization, experimentation,
learning approach, elegance)
Inventive Thinking
(inventive triggers, laws of evolution, scenario building, focus on function) Systems Thinking
(holistic approach, global optima, expanded and
connected system context)
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Lean Inventive Systems Thinking
June 5, 2009 18© Crafitti Consulting Private Ltd.
Powerful scientific structured
mechanisms to
Help individuals tap and
exploit their creative skills
Help teams synergize better and
exploit the non-linear energies of
brainstorming and set-based
concurrent approaches
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Lean Inventive Systems Thinking
June 5, 2009 19© Crafitti Consulting Private Ltd.
Help teams and individuals
• Effectively diverge and converge
• Expand the context
• Explore non-linear paths
• Build future scenarios
• Generate truly novel ideas
• Connect ideas together
• Identify key value parameters
• Assess solutions in a structured
manner
• Take informed decisions
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Lean Inventive Systems Thinking
June 5, 2009 20© Crafitti Consulting Private Ltd.
Help organizations craft their own
unique innovation processes that
are in sync with the overall
organizational culture and vision
There cannot be any cookie-cutter
solutions
One size doesn’t fit all!
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The cogs of the organizational
innovation wheel
June 5, 2009 21© Crafitti Consulting Private Ltd.
more and better
functionality
More creativity and skill in
individuals and teams
More productive, reliable,
efficient internal processes
Seamless integration with
external ecosystem processes e.g.
the supply chain
Ability to reach out to and utilize
external talent and people networks
Improved fit in
the ecosystem
Closer to
customer needs
For the wheel to move forward,
all cogs have to move
synchronously, in unison and
feed energy to each other
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A question that often crops up . . .
June 5, 2009 22© Crafitti Consulting Private Ltd.
Does this mean that in order for ideas to be effectively
crafted
We need to have all the systems and processes in place
All people trained on various frameworks, tools and techniques
Buy-in from top management across the organization
Before we can get started?
In effect, is it “all” or “none”?
Do we have to boil the ocean first?
The short answer is NO.
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Embedding Innovation DNA in organizations
• Short cycle experiments
• Application of innovation frameworks to multiple contexts – ranging
from grass-roots project activities to business and technology strategy
• Small successes breed larger successes
• “Learning by doing” is the best way to inculcate innovative thinking
• Build unique organic perspectives on innovation and design innovation
processes accordingly
• Innovation buzz and conviction spreads faster sideways as opposed to
top down – internal word of mouth marketing works best (only possible
if real value is seen by the people using the innovation processes)
June 5, 2009 23© Crafitti Consulting Private Ltd.
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To help craft ideas in any context,
Crafitti uses a broad 3-stage process
• Explore
– Connect with the practitioners; understand the context
– Explore multiple perspectives and dimensions
– Come up with a customized approach (usage of frameworks)
• Engage
– Co-craft innovation in a “live” context using the customized approach
– Facilitate deep learning of the innovation frameworks through “learning by
doing”
• Empower
– Hand-hold to maximize the probability of success
– Set the context for future experimentation and application
– Create a cadre of minds prepared for idea crafting (for organic diffusion)
June 5, 2009 24© Crafitti Consulting Private Ltd.
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Finding the right problem/ opportunity
Generating multiple novel and interesting solution directions
Creating solution execution strategies and roadmaps
Idea Crafting for a Business Strategy and Growth Context -
Using the LIST framework in the Engage Phase
June 5, 2009 25© Crafitti Consulting Private Ltd.
Crafitti recently conducted a series of workshops for one of the world’s
leading data and content providers to generate new strategic directions and
roadmaps for one of their business units.
More than 30 senior associates came together over 4 days to generate more
than 300 ideas, later clustered into 5 key strategic initiatives.
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Finding the right problem/ opportunity
Generating multiple novel and interesting solution directions
Creating solution execution strategies and roadmaps
Set-based concurrent
approach
Solution Evaluation/
prioritization•Key Value parameters
•Analytic Hierarchy Process
•Playing out scenarios
Create Solution depth•Clustering
•Resources and constraints
Converge•Key Value Parameters
•Prioritization using the
Analytic Hierarchy
Process
Details of the Idea Crafting Process used in business
strategy and growth contexts
June 5, 2009 26© Crafitti Consulting Private Ltd.
Collect and connect•Mind Maps
•Clustering
•Dependency Analysis
Expand and explore the
context•Scenario building
•Space-time expansion
•Value Networks
Idea Explosion•Inventive triggers
•Scenario building
•Brainstorming
SPOT•Strategy
•Process
•Organization
•Technology
Crafitti recently conducted a series of workshops for one of the world’s
leading data and content providers to generate new strategic directions and
roadmaps for one of their business units.
More than 30 senior associates came together over 4 days to generate more
than 300 ideas, later clustered into 5 key strategic initiatives.
Confidential
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Crafitti looks forward to
active collaboration and help
craft ideas in multiple
innovation contexts.
June 5, 2009 27© Crafitti Consulting Private Ltd.