Copyright © Ideas To Go 2006 All Rights Reserved TOOLS & TECHNIQUES FOR GENERATING NEW THINKING

Copyright © Ideas To Go 2006 All Rights Reserved OUR MISSION To ignite people’s and organization’s creativity to help them capitalize on their opportunities.

Copyright © Ideas To Go 2006 All Rights Reserved ABOUT IDEAS TO GO Leading Creative Process Projects for over 25 years. 14 Facilitators with various backgrounds. Work directly with the customers of our clients to help create new ideas.

Copyright © Ideas To Go 2006 All Rights Reserved To introduce the fundamentals of Creative Problem Solving. To outline some tools and techniques that help ignite creative thinking. Our process – use very simple problems to illustrate tools. You will practice the tools. OUR PURPOSE TODAY

Copyright © Ideas To Go 2006 All Rights Reserved Create an environment in which ideas are valued and used. THE KEY TO IDEATION:

Copyright © Ideas To Go 2006 All Rights Reserved YES, BUT.… We already tried that It will take too long It will cost too much “George” won’t like it

Copyright © Ideas To Go 2006 All Rights Reserved SOME RESULTS OF “YES BUTTING” The idea dies People stop contributing Ideas get “safer” - less “new” People argue

Copyright © Ideas To Go 2006 All Rights Reserved

Replace “YES BUT…” response with Forness® response

Copyright © Ideas To Go 2006 All Rights Reserved WHAT YOU’RE FOR I wish... How to... How might we... The WORDS you use are critical! WHAT YOU WISH FOR What’s good? What do you like? What’s useful? What’s valuable? WHAT’S THE POTENTIAL??? FORNESS® Response Thinking

Copyright © Ideas To Go 2006 All Rights Reserved Fur Sink New bathroom fixture products

Copyright © Ideas To Go 2006 All Rights Reserved BENEFITS OF FORNESS® RESPONSE THINKING Pushes towards actionable solutions Keeps the good alive Encourages teamwork and ownership Creates a safe environment Saves time ? ! ! ! 1. Keeps the good alive. 2. Pushes toward actionable solutions Creates a safe environment. 5. Saves time. 4. Encourages teamwork and ownership.

Copyright © Ideas To Go 2006 All Rights Reserved ASSUMPTION BUSTING

Copyright © Ideas To Go 2006 All Rights Reserved ASSUMPTION BUSTING (When do knowledge and experience create problems?) Objective - Think of new ideas for salad dressing. Immediate assumptions, based on knowledge and experience: –Goes on lettuce and vegetables. –Liquid. –In a bottle. –Keep in refrigerator. –Eat from a bowl or plate. –Eat with a fork. Assumption Busting: –What if that’s not true?

Copyright © Ideas To Go 2006 All Rights Reserved Take one of the assumptions and assume it’s not true. Now, think of new ideas. We might now redefine the problem as “new condiments” or “new accompaniments’.

Copyright © Ideas To Go 2006 All Rights Reserved ASSUMPTION BUSTING Use to help define problems differently, to lead to breakthrough solutions. List facts, assumptions, givens, truths about your topic. Now role play as your customers, management, other constituents, and list their assumptions. For each, ask “What if that’s not true?” What possibilities might that present?

Copyright © Ideas To Go 2006 All Rights Reserved “Worlds” Excursion

Copyright © Ideas To Go 2006 All Rights Reserved General Instructions Take a trip to a different “world”. Find examples in that world of things that have the quality you are looking for.

Copyright © Ideas To Go 2006 All Rights Reserved Our problem: How to keep your team motivated? Take a trip to this “world”. Find examples of things that are motivating in this world.

Copyright © Ideas To Go 2006 All Rights Reserved The World of Education/School Worlds Excursion Example

Copyright © Ideas To Go 2006 All Rights Reserved In the “world” of school – recess (play break) is motivating. Worlds Excursion Example

Copyright © Ideas To Go 2006 All Rights Reserved Worlds Excursion Example Worlds Circus Military Outer Space Ocean Philosophy Movies/Television Animals Restaurants Literature/reading Sports Shopping Travel Building Construction Music

Copyright © Ideas To Go 2006 All Rights Reserved How to keep your team motivated? Take a trip to this “world”. Find examples of things that are motivating in this world.

Copyright © Ideas To Go 2006 All Rights Reserved In the “world” of school – the chance to win something is motivating. How might I apply that to my problem? We might have a regularly scheduled “play break”. We might go out for coffee as a team every Friday at 3 pm.

Copyright © Ideas To Go 2006 All Rights Reserved How to keep your team motivated? Take a trip to this “world”. Find examples of things that are motivating in this world. Now use the example to think of an idea for this problem.

Copyright © Ideas To Go 2006 All Rights Reserved Use when ideas must have a specific quality or characteristic. In our example, the ideas must all have the quality of “motivating”. Worlds Excursion Example Worlds Excursion

Copyright © Ideas To Go 2006 All Rights Reserved “GET FIRED” IDEA

Copyright © Ideas To Go 2006 All Rights Reserved GET FIRED IDEA Generate really bad ideas to achieve your objective. (i.e. you’d get fired if you really did it.) Crazy, dangerous, illegal, scary, etc.

Copyright © Ideas To Go 2006 All Rights Reserved GET FIRED IDEA Our problem: Create ideas for breakfast cereal for children.

Copyright © Ideas To Go 2006 All Rights Reserved GET FIRED IDEA Each person (not each group) generate 1 really bad idea to achieve this objective. Write it down on paper. Pass your idea to your neighbor. Use the idea you got as stimulus to generate a new (feasible) idea. –Use a Forness® response to assist you. Take one element or one word or phrase that caught your attention. Use that to create a new idea.

Copyright © Ideas To Go 2006 All Rights Reserved THANK YOU! SUSAN ROBERTSON Innovation Process Consultant Ideas To Go office cell