Art of Innovation 10. Creating Experiences for Fun and Profit

Chapter Takeaways

• Think of an entire experience, not just a single product.
• User retailers, who have been doing this for ages, as an example.
  

Going Off-Broadway
Think about experiences, not just products.

Make Experiences Entertaining
Learn from retailers who have been focusing on entertaining experiences already.

Learning from Vegas
Stay away from trapping your customers, like cattle.

Make the Human Connection
Turn even the most mundane into an event.

Tell a Story
Create an experience out of telling a story - how did you get here? where are your products from?

Fix It
Look for broken experiences and fix them.

Save a Life, Take a Journey
"Make simple things simple and complex things possible."

Little Experiences Count

Art of Innovation 9. Barrier Jumping

Chapter Takeaways

• There are many hurdles to innovation, including cultural and nostalgic. However, when realizing them early and addressing them directly, they can often be overcome.
  

Watching the Border
Products and features that are well-liked in the US, may be scorned abroad for cultural reasons.

Stubbornly Unmetric
The US refuses to adopt the metric system due to a simple lack of innovation.

Sidesteps

When the public is slow to accept a new technology, you need to reexamine your assumptions.

Deal Killers
Recognize what may kill your product and address it early - if something is safe, make it look safe; if your user-base it's handy, ensure simple installation.

Patent Pending
When you're competing against an existing, established product, sometimes the best thing to do is start from scratch.

Opening the Floodgates
A list of barriers and their corresponding bridges.

• Hierarchy-Based --> Merit-Based
• Bureaucracy --> Autonomy
• Anonymous --> Familiar
• Clean --> Messy
• Experts --> Tinkerers

Skill Sets
All sorts of skills are much more within your reach than you think.
*I need to take this one to heart.*

Handshakes
Provide affordances to "shake hands" with your users, make themselves approachables and guide them on what to do.
Look for ways that people are using a products natural affordances for new and novel uses.

Rituals Reward
Old habits provide strong nostalgia.
People don't want to break old traditions.
This can be a tough barrier to new ideas.
Good rituals don't die, they just get reinvented.
Provide incentives for people to switch.

Evangelism Works
Some new products need a lot of marketing muscle to succeed.

Running with Al Gore
Effort and clever persistence can be key to landing new projects.

Art of Innovation 8. Expect the Unexpected

Chapter Takeaways:

• Take advantage of unexpected situations whenever possible.
• Invite a variety of viewpoints.

Balancing Unpredictability
Many past innovations have come out of accidents.

Unexpected Ups and Downs
Even the best companies make mistakes and wrong predictions (e.g. the glorious flameout of Momenta).

Good Timing Doesn't Hurt
Great innovation can be a result of accidental good timing. *Sometimes it's about being at the right place at the right time.*

Nimble Response
If you see your customers using your product in unexpected ways, don't resists, support them.

Looking Cross-Eyed
Look for how products made for one use, can be used for another.

Seven Planting Tips

1. Subscribe and Surf: "idea wading".
2. Play director: become expert at watching people perform even the smallest tasks.
3. Hold an Open House: learn from others.
4. Inspire Advocates: include different viewpoints.
5. Hire Outsiders: fresh blood invigorates a company and introduces new ideas.
6. Change Hats: put yourself in your users shoes.
7. Cross-Train: user experiences from other places (*sounds similar to #5*)
   

Art of Innovation 7. Build Your Greenhouse

Chapter Takeaways:

• The right work space creates happy employees and encourages innovation.
  
• Allow evolution of personalization and continuous play.
• Open the space up for collaboration, but allow for private thinking.
  

Building Neighborhoods
Create small offices to allow teams to put their own stamp into the space. But keep them in the same neighborhood.

Think Project, Think Personal
Keep spaces evolving, elastic and personal.

Inspiration from Adversity
Encourage innovation to solve space problems.

Prototype Your Space
Integrating prototypes into the work environment.

Create a Team Icon
... that reflects your work or project.

Watch Your Body Language
Consider the message that your office space is sending to current and potential employees.

Simple Team Space
Find a balance between crowding and sparsity. Keep it cozy and bustling while allowing space for privacy and thought.

Hierarchy is the Enemy of Cool Space
'Nuff said.

Give Your Workers a View
User the window spaces for collaboration, rather than offices. Create beauty and openness all around.

Tell Stories
Show off your latest accomplishments to visitors and employees through visible iconic narrative, and tours.

Make Your Junk Sing
Turning office junk into accessible idea inspiration.

Art of Innovation 6. Prototyping is the Shorthand of Innovation

Chapter Takeaway: Prototype early and often.

The Water's Rising
Prototyping may have to be done fast and in less than ideal conditions.

Kid Stuff
Be playful and be iterative.

Build to Learn
Build only the parts that you need, don't worry about the entire thing.

How Amazon Did It
"Quick prototyping is about acting before you've got the answers."
"Think about tackling the problem when you don't have the answers. Once you get in gear, you'll be surprised at how easily some of the solutions appear.

Make Your Luck
"Sketch ideas and make things, and you're likely to encourage accidental discoveries."

Prototypes Beat Pictures
They are wonderfully tangible, they keep things moving.
Living, moving prototypes can help shape your ideas.

Bit by Bit
Check in early and often.

Shoot the Bad Ideas First
Faster to shoot down a bad prototype then a bad concept. *don't think i quite agree with this one*

Art of Innovation 5. A Cool Company Needs Hot Groups

Chapter Takeaways:

• A hot team is not an accident.
• A passionate team is made from passionate individuals.
• Balance of challenge and time pressure is key to innovation.
• Fun + shared goals + trust = good ideas.
  

Great innovation happens from teams, not from lone geniuses. To make such a hot group, consider:

1. Shared goals and dedication.
2. Aggressive deadlines. (*right amount of challenge is key to success*)
   
3. Non-Hierarchical structure.
4. Respect through diversity of skills and backgrounds.
5. Open, eclectic space.
6. Empowered to go and get whatever they needed.

Hot studios...

• ... are small and self-chosen.
• ... are full of passion.
• ... go for crazy deadlines and seemingly unreachable goals (*again, i think balance is key!*)
• ... find opportunities in obstacles.
• ... thrive in close quarters.
• ... allow for teams to co-locate as needed.
• ... have no "they".
• ... cultivate trust.
• ... give unique gifts to reinforce team spirit.
• ... share ideas and accomplishments regularly.
• ... boost morale through celebration and field trips.
• ... meet and eat.
• ... look through the part through custom kit.
• ... need characters...

8 Crazy Characters for Hot Groups

• Visionary
• Troubleshooter: doesn't suffer fools gladly and cuts to the chase.
• Iconoclast
• Pulse Taker: unlocking the insights of exceptional and ordinary people
  
• Craftsmen
• Technologist
• Entrepreneur
• Cross-Dresser: formally educated in 1 area, working in another
  

"end one project by beginning another. That way, when you do take a break, you already have an opening, a beginning to from, rather than starting from scratch".

Art of Innovation 4. The Perfect Brainstorm

Chapter Takeaways:

• Brainstorm through fun thinking & doing.
  
• A facilitator should prepare for the session, including the space, the problem statement, and the know-how to lead productivity.
• Brainstorming should be practiced.
• Sixty minutes is optimum.
• This is a chance for individuals to shine.
  

"The best way to get a good idea is to get a lot of ideas." - Linus Pauling

"Brainstorming can be a skill, an art, more like playing the piano than trying your shoes... exercise your brainstorming muscle"

Seven Secrets For Better Brainstorming

1. Sharpen the Focus. Start with a well-honed problem statement, with no particular solution implication.
2. Playful Rules.
3. Number Your Ideas. This can be motivational. Allow jumping around w/ out loosing track of where you are.
4. Build & Jump. Important to keep energy going.
5. The Space Remembers. Cover every wall with paper prior to session.
6. Stretch Your Mental Muscles. Esp when group has not worked together, most of the group does not brainstorm often, or when group is distracted. This can be prior to session or at the beginning.
7. Get Physical. Bring things. Build things. Act things out.

6 Ways to Kill a Brainstorm

1. The boss gets to speak first: send him out of the office.
2. Everybody gets a turn: this is not about going around in a circle.
3. Experts only please: not about degrees, it's about insight.
4. Do it off-site: creativity should buzz through the office.
5. No silly stuff.
6. Write down everything: writing detracts from contributing.