Philosophy, Method & Guidance For Innovation Leaders

INNOVATIONKARMA

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Let us talk first about the term ‘karma’, before we jump into the details. What does it mean? What does it stand for? In everyday life we use the word ‘karma’ and most of time what we mean is ‘atmosphere’. ‘There was bad karma in the meeting’, means there was a terrible atmosphere, in that we could not exchange ideas on a certain topic in an open manner. Or to put it another way, it was a ‘karma’ in which ideas and innovative approaches could not grow. So let’s take a look at what Wikipedia can tell us about the word in the box below.

Karma means action, work or deed it also refers to the principle of causality where in-

tent and actions of an individual influence the future of that individual. Good intent and good

deed contribute to good karma and future happiness, while bad intent and bad deed con-

tribute to bad karma and future suffering.Souce: Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karma

Basically what karma implies is that if you act with good intentions, you get good results, if you act with bad inten-tions, you get weak results.

Chapter I Introduction About Karma and Innovation

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Good Innovation Karma

Aspect of your innovation culture

What creates good innovation karma?

Effect on your inno-vation endeavours

Defining your innovation needs

Identify where your company has weaknesses regarding innovation. Establish a culture where innovation is always linked to a specific brief or challenge description.

An idea and innovation output which is focused on what your organisation currently needs. Build a sense of precision among staff attitudes to innovation.

Inclusion of people Include groups that are as large and as diverse as possible when you create or evaluate new innovation or ideas. Live the mantra ‘Everybody can contribute great ideas when properly guided’.

A diverse collection of ideas and innovations, with true disruptive character, that often come from outside the box.

Creativity process and tools used

Use a specific, systematic process for producing ideas and innovation in response to a defined goal or brief.

Guaranteed innovation and idea output in any situation, no matter who is involved in the process.

Accessibility of tools and processes

Make innovation tools and processes within your organisation accessible, i.e. reduce hurdles. This means providing access to much of your workforce and, even to clients and other stakeholders. Enable individuals to start new innovation projects on even the most apparently trivial topics with ease, at any time, and within their own working environment and team.

A positive, bottom-up innovation strategy that involves your staff and stakeholders in identifying areas where innovation is needed. Build a true culture of innovative thinking throughout your company. Innovation is everywhere, and can come from anywhere.

Dealing with hierarchy, criticism and politics

Make your innovation process a content business instead of a people business. Create an atmosphere and processes that make the question, ‘whose idea was this?’ irrelevant, and even non-identifiable.

A content focused atmosphere where status and politics is minimised, and where ideas evolve instead of careers.

Chapter I Introduction The Innovation Karma Matrix

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A little big bang theory

In astronomy, the most well-accepted big bang theory suggests that in the beginning there was nothing, then the big bang happened, and the universe has been expanding ever since – and will do until the end of time or whatever comes afterwards. But there is also a different big bang theory which has evolved in the past few years. This particular approach claims that the universe is in fact trapped in an infinite sequence of big bangs and universal expansions. According to this theory, once the (current) universe we are living in stops expanding, it will explode and initiate another big bang – the circle starts again. If you transfer this metaphor to your innovation process, you might understand what I am getting at. A successful innovation process is not limited to a strategy for the collection phase of creative content and ideas, it is an infinite circle of creative processes paving the way in a never-ending chain of redefining, and evolving, what you are as an enterprise. Defining your innovation hotspots? Is a creative process. Defining the goals for your next innovation process? Is a creative process as well. Finding your innovation weak spots?

Chapter II Guiding Principles for Innovation Endeavours Define your Innovation Mandate

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Dealing with Politics

Say it aloud: ‘I will not let politics ruin my innovation ecosphere’.

Whenever people interact socially with one another, for instance within the structure of an enterprise, there are certain effects and behavioural patterns we cannot hide from. One of the most depressing insights managers gain when trying to achieve creative goals alongside their employees, is that people tend to primarily follow their own objectives: career, status, money. It is a fact, and yet it needs to be addressed because internal politics can ruin innovation. Do something about it, starting with speaking out.

Chapter II Guiding Principles for Innovation Endeavours Dealing with Politics

Innovation Karma TipMake your innovation process a content business instead of a people business.

Make it irrelevant who proposed an idea.

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Ideation Process Overview

Here are the essential process steps involved in the perfect ideation process. I will describe each one in more detail further on in the chapter.

Step 1 Preparing the Ideation Brief Define goals and rating criteria for your project.

1. Preparation (Steps 1 – 4)

Step 4 Define your community and find your participants Specify the profiles of the people you would like to involve in the creative process. Take the necessary action to hire the people you need.

Step 3 Process Setup Carry out all necessary preparations for your web-based creative process or your live ideation workshop.

Step 2 Project Split-down Break what might be a complex ideation brief into easy to answer sub-questions.

Chapter III The Ideation Process Ideation Process Overview

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Sub topic Question trigger

Combined brainstorming sub-question

Opening and closing mechanisms

Nature and/or the out-side world

Imagine nature invented clever ways to open and close boxes, containers or bottles. What would these mechanisms look like? Look at the pictures and let yourself be inspired.

Figure 13: Example pre-cascaded sub-question

Example 3: Pre-cascaded approachThe pre-cascaded approach is for those times when you

need the result quality offered by a cascade, but you want to keep people happy. It works by taking the fast lane and skipping the first stage of the cascade by providing your creative thinkers with a pre-prepared selection of stimuli instead (words, pictures, magazines, etc.). This saves your participants the bother of undertaking the first iteration, yet still gets the variety you need into the task. In my example shown below, participants are confronted with different pictures of plants and other natural phenomena, and are asked to think up innovative opening and closing mechanisms for drinks containers based on what they see. Picture this: A participant notices a picture of a carnivorous plant, and is inspired to draw a mechanism that opens and closes in much the same way as the plant does.

Chapter III The Ideation Process Project Split-down

134Name creation using idea forms

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a strong influence over the outcome. This impact could be at times positive, but also sometimes negative. In addition, the variety found in the names created will only be as large as the variety of syllables you provide in the first place.

Chapter III The Ideation Process Process Setup

Figure 17: The syllable gap filling method in action

You will find some examples in the box on the previous page where participants fill in their own syllable ideas along the gaps, shown as lines.

Vowel and consonant patterns A different way to use the creative power of syllables in

your naming workshop is to use the vowel and consonant pattern method, which I developed for a project I undertook for a major Swiss TV station that was looking

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1. Single, triggering Idea Fragments are collected

3. Synthesis of complete, specific idea

Carry-a-long bottle – With magnesium – Provides energy – Bubble tea for grown-ups – Ingredients that calm you down – Contains aspirin – Edible packaging –

Single grapes like on grapevines

Idea title: Aspirin grape drink

Idea DescriptionAspirin grape drink is a pack of 10 single doses of aspirin presented as 10 refreshing single grapes. The grapes can be plucked and directly put into the mouth. Upon biting into a grape, a refreshing fluid (different flavours

available) goes directly into the consumer’s mouth. The membrane holding the drink can also be swallowed. The drink also contains muscle

relieving magnesium. The product is categorized as a medicine. Of course, this packaging principle can also be used for a conventional drink that

does not contain any active ingredients.

2. Idea Fragments are discovered and isolated

How does a creative reaction work?

- With magnesium - Contains aspirin

- Single grapes like on grapevines

Moment of idea creation

Chapter III The Ideation Process The Creative Workshop

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Vector based illustration This method gives you the most flexibility in choosing

what to display, because you don’t have to rely on any pre-existing material. Deciding on this route also allows you to choose between many possible styles, as there are many different graphic designers and illustrators around with the necessary skills to create such graphics. Used for: service ideas, app ideas, product ideas.

Hand drawn sketches For certain projects, hand drawn sketches add a certain

warmth and authenticity. Most designers I know who work with this method create a sketch by hand, before scanning it and adding colour digitally. This makes it quicker and easier to make changes further down the line. Used for: service ideas, app ideas, product ideas, virtual product ideas.

3D renderings For some clients, realism in the visualisations presented

is very important. Although the goal of visualising a product idea is not to show the final design, the client-side decision process is often easier when the creative output presented has a realistic, ‘final’ feel to it, even if the final result after the implementation will end up looking very

Chapter III The Ideation Process Idea Presentation

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Creativity Tools

Appendix

On the following pages you will find a selection of creativity tools designed for use during the Idea Boost.

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Paste what you foundin the magazine here

What idea comes to yourmind when looking at the input on the left side?

Magazine Inspiration Working form

Appendix Creativity Tools