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


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And these ideas may have various purposes . . .


(New )product ideas

New service

ideas

Brand building

and marketing

ideasIdeas for

continuousimprovement

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Ideas may also be


OrchestratedSerendipitous

OR

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Organizations have some

processes to help ideas

reach their objectives


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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)


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


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


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?


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Several serendipitous

ideas may actually be

inherently

synchronous –

they can be combined


Ideas are lonely

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Ideas may be disconnected

from the larger context


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


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


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?


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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


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In addition to Analytical and Logical Thinking

we need . . .


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


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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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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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


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 . . .


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)


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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)


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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


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


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.


idea crafting

Business

present crafting innovation

innovation processes

model ideas

ideas dont

ideas partners

lots of ideas

ideas thatbecome

live ideas