demystifying creativity: a handbook for left brainers

Demystifying creativity:!A user guide for left brainers.

David Murphy Founder & Serial Thought Provoker wikibranding

Common refrain of left-brainers.

•  I’m not creative.

•  I don’t have time to be “artsy.”

•  I’ve got to make the numbers.

•  I’m not lighting candles and incense in my office.

•  I don’t know how.

Today’s goals

•  Demystify creativity.

•  Provide a useful framework for creating ideas.

•  Apply this framework to Kimpton.

Kimpton’s culture of creativity.

“We think diverse people will lead to diverse creativity.” ~ Michael Depatie

“We celebrate the tries, even if they don’t work.” ~ Michael Depatie

“If you’re not willing to laugh at yourself and be silly, then we’re probably not the company for you.” ~ Niki Leondakis

My teachers through the years.

My teachers through the years.

What is creativity?

Do we know what creativity looks like?

•  Which company do you feel is the most creative marketer?

•  What has been the most creative product or service in the last 10 years?

•  Who is the most creative person you know?

Creativity is not torture or punishment.

Creativity is not a hollow exhortation.

Luck?!A dark art?!Serendipity?

Think of creativity this way: !

It’s not art – it’s counter-intuitive problem solving.

Click to launch video.

Creativity in a business environment must be a defined, repeatable and measureable process...

…albeit one that is counter-intuitive and freely defies conventions.

What if beer was marketed like a punk band?

What if we ignore the water and focus on the bottle instead?

Click to launch video.

What if we re-imagine jewelry as a mouthwatering indulgence?

What if we think of a sneaker as a fashion accessory?

What if we don’t get too clever and instead focus on what’s hiding in plain sight.

Step one: Remove the self-inflicted obstacles.!

How many can you spot in this video?

Click to launch video.

Stop!

•  The 16 page “brief” •  Poor customer focus •  No prioritization •  Marketing-speak •  Ignoring the simple solution •  Involving too many decision makers •  Losing sight of the original goal

Creativity killers.

•  We accept assumptions – solve the wrong problem.

•  We know what we know – perceptual narrowing / well-trodden mental paths.

•  We don’t pursue multiple solutions – divergent thinking.

Use any of the symbols to make this correct.

I0 I0 I0 = 9.50!

( × − + ÷ )!

Use any of the symbols to make this correct.

Answer: Why assume this is a math problem – 9.50 is ten minutes to ten.

I0 T0 I0 = 9.50!

( × − + ÷ )!

A woman parks her car outside a hotel and realizes that she’s bankrupt.

Explain.

A woman parks her car outside a hotel and realizes that she’s bankrupt.

Answer: A properly populated brainstorming team would expose the problem to a wider range of perspectives and experiences.

By moving only one glass, make both rows the same.

By moving only one glass, make both rows the same.

Answer: Why accept the assumed definition of “move” – pour a full glass into the empty glass.

A man walks into a bar and asks for a glass of water. The barman pulls out a gun and points it at the man’s head. The man thanks the barman and walks out without receiving his drink.

Explain.

A man walks into a bar and asks for a glass of water. The barman pulls out a gun and points it at the man’s head. The man thanks the barman and walks out without receiving his drink.

Answer: Surrounding yourself with relevant knowledge helps unlock new ideas. People also drink water to cure the hiccups!

A framework for creative problem solving.

•  Define

•  Know

•  Collaborate

•  Invert

Define Know Collaborate Invert

“Give me the freedom of a tightly defined problem.”

Norman  Berry  

Define

•  Create a ruthlessly well-honed statement of the problem.

•  Be specific about what you want to achieve.

•  Challenge assumptions and the very definition of the problem to be solved.

Goal: Make it easier for bikers

to grab their water bottle.

Goal: Make it easier for bikers

to grab their water bottle.

Tighter goal: Make it easier for bikers

to drink water.

The Five Whys.

•  Quickly determine the root cause of a problem by asking a series of five whys.

•  Reveal the true problem that needs to be solved.

The Five Whys.

The assembly line keeps shutting down because we’ve got a problem with the

fuses in our machines.

The Five Whys.

Five Whys Root Cause 1. Why did the machine stop? It blew a fuse.

2. Why did the fuse blow? The fuse was the wrong size. 3. Why was the wrong size fuse

in the box? The engineer put it there.

4. Why did the engineer do that? The supply room issued the wrong size fuse.

5. Why? The stock bin was mislabeled.

Solve for this!

Brainstorm.

“We have a problem getting the second visit from around 80% of our guests.”

Employ the Five Whys.

What’s the true problem to be solved?

Illustration of The Five Whys. Five Whys Root Cause 1. Why aren’t we getting more

second visits from InTouch guests?

They only sign up to get free wifi.

2. Why is that the case? It’s the only tangible benefit at check-in. 3. Why aren’t we winning them

over with an emotional experience?

The It takes two or three visits before you experience a Kimpton moment.

4. Why can’t we demonstrate love on the first visit?

We don’t capture enough insightful and useable personal information at the time of booking.

5. Why? Our booking system isn’t designed to do this.

Solve for this!

Radical word pairings.

•  Challenge the problem statement. Underline key words in the statement.

•  Choose a pair of main words – e.g., adjective & noun or noun & verb.

•  Develop synonyms for each. Use these to inspire new word pairings.

•  See if this unlocks a fresh way to redefine the problem.

Radical word pairings.

We don’t get steady attendance at the InTouch training sessions.

Radical word pairings.

We don’t get steady attendance at the InTouch training sessions.

Continuous participation

Ongoing learning

Active buy-in

Strong commitment

Inspiration festival

Motivation show

Me time

Knowledge jam session

Radical word pairings.

Continuous participation

Ongoing learning

Active buy-in

Strong commitment

Inspiration festival

Motivation show

Me time

Knowledge jam session

Should it even be a “training program” or is it a steady stream of motivational tips?

We don’t get steady attendance at the InTouch training sessions.

Brainstorm.

Use radical word pairings to further refine the second stay challenge statement.

How would this restate the challenge?

Define Know Collaborate Invert

“A man paints with his brain and not with his hands.”

Michelangelo  

Know

•  Creativity flows from knowledge, not guessing.

•  Exposing yourself to new information disrupts preconceived solutions.

•  Institutional knowledge is helpful, but only as guidance, not rules.

•  Toyota approach to innovation – Kaizen. Learn from mistakes…continuous improvement.

Facts can make a big difference.

Original brief: Create new Grand Marnier cocktails.

Grand Romance Grand Cool Grand Crush Grand Tropical

New information: The most commonly ordered drinks:

Margarita Rum & Coke Vodka & Cranberry Bloody Mary Jack & Coke Vodka & Tonic Scotch & Water

New Grand Marnier cocktails:

Grand Marnier & Tonic Grand Marnier & Cranberry

Three boxes.

Turn data dump of information into areas of focus.

Must Haves Historic Balls & Chains Our Ideal future.

Bucket relevant knowledge into three categories. Ideal mix is 33%/33%/33%.

Brainstorming can now focus on (1) ideas that eliminate historic barriers and (2) ideas that move toward the ideal.

Brainstorm.

Thinking about the challenge to get that second visit…

What information do we need?

What are some examples of information that would fall into the

three buckets.

Define Know Collaborate Invert

“We > Me”

Collaborate

•  Practice collaborative creativity.

•  Creativity is the collision of disparate ideas, perspectives, experiences and people.

•  Are you an idea catalyst?

Six Hat Team

•  Use Edward de Bono’s “six hat” model for lateral thinking.

•  Disrupt “perceptual narrowing” and locking in too soon.

•  Populate brainstorming team with people designed to fulfill designated brainstorming roles.

•  Switch up roles in follow up meeting to keep ideas fresh.

Six Hat Team

Team Member Role Contribution Blue Hat Facilitation What process will keep the team on track?

White Hat Information What do we need to know to solve this problem?

Red Hat Emotions How will the idea make people feel?

Yellow Hat Positivity What is good about the idea?

Black Hat Risk What are the possible pitfalls and how can we get around them?

Green Hat Growth What’s the ideal? Can we make this idea even bigger?

Discussion.

What would be an ideal six hat team to solve the second stay challenge?

Why type of expertise should be on that brainstorming team?

Define Know Collaborate Invert

“Imagination is more important than knowledge.”

Albert  Einstein  

Invert

•  Practice lateral thinking…disrupt mental routines.

•  Look at the problem from a radically different perspective.

•  Think beyond your specific relationship with your customer. What are the other passion points in your guest’s life – epicurean, technology, discovery, health, etc.?

Turn lemons in to lemonade.

•  Start a brainstorming session by developing a list of bad ideas (e.g., what would be the worst way to design a welcome kit?).

•  This creates comfort and early participation.

•  Ask the group to then brainstorm ways to fix the bad ideas and turn them into great ones.

Category role play. •  Think beyond your specific relationship with your customer. What are the other

passion points in your guest’s life – epicurean, technology, discovery, health, etc.?

•  Imagine you are in a completely different category. How might you approach the problem if you were:

–  Amazon

–  Nordstom

–  A kid’s lemonade stand

–  An indie corner coffee shop

Moons, planets and suns.

•  Write down your initial ideas as fast as possible. These are moons.

•  Step back and observe the how some of these ideas my intersect. Combine them. These are moons.

•  Keep looking for intersections and opportunities to make a big creative leap.

•  Combine these planets until you arrive at a Sun.

Moons, planets and suns.

Inner Circle Amenities

Greeting Make guest feel good

Moons, planets and suns.

Inner Circle Amenities

Greeting Make guest feel good

First impression Fun

Appreciation

Moons, planets and suns.

Inner Circle Amenities

Greeting Make guest feel good

First impression Fun

Appreciation

Memorable moments

Moons, planets and suns.

Inner Circle Amenities

Greeting Make guest feel good

First impression Fun

Appreciation

Memorable moments

Send singing telegrams!

Parallel brainstorms. Break down the problem into distinct parts – e.g., customer insights vs. brand values. Brainstorm each individually. Then combine disparate ideas into something larger.

Dasani Drops Value: Spontaneity

Customer Insight: Seek inspiration

Flash  mobs  Random  acts  Skywriters  Street  teams  Surprise  par>es  Scavenger  hunts  

Mo>va>onal  speakers  Emo>onal  affirma>on  Op>mism  Posi>ve  people  Children  Art  

Daily  affirma>ons  wriEen  in  the  sky  (in  the  Dasani  fruit  colors).  

Street  corner  mo>va>onal  speakers.  

Flashmob  a  kids  chorus.  

Brainstorm.

Think about the challenge to get that second visit…

Break down the challenge into distinct parts.

Brainstorm ideas for each part.

Combine into larger ideas.

A framework for creative problem solving.

•  Define

•  Know

•  Collaborate

•  Invert

Try some things that make you uncomfortable.!

Find a style that works for you.

Thank you.