Category — Thinker Tools
Thinker Tool: SCAMPER
Creative thinking author, Michael Michalko, popularised the SCAMPER technique. He credits Alex Osborn with its thinking principles and Bob Eberle with the mnemonic:
S=Substitute
C=Combine
A=Adapt
M=Magnify/Modify
P=Put to other uses
E=Eliminate
R=Rearrange/Reverse
We’ve found this technique particularly useful when looking to develop new applications, uses or extensions of an existing technology. Applying each of these actions to the current paradigm forces a shift in thinking and changes the filter through which you view your situation.
February 18, 2010 No Comments
Thinker Tool: Movie Metaphor
#ThinkerTool: Tonight’s movie is a jump-point for analysing your business. Protagonist = you. Antagonist = your customers. Discuss.
Last night I watched Cate Blanchett in ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’. No, you’re right. It’s not a film. It was a production of the Sydney Theatre Company. But I’m using artistic license to interpret this Thinker Tool and hoping the fresh inspiration will get me into the swing of it.
Protagonist = Me. Discuss:
“Streetcar’ was written in 1947. At the time I’m sure its protaganist, Blanche Dubois’, antics would have been considered extremely risqué. In today’s world however, a little indiscretion is almost a rite of passage. When undertaken while suffering personal tragedy, I would say almost mandatory. So the potential disgust its original audiences may have felt for Blanche’s sexual behaviour has become somewhat muted through today’s lens.
Metaphor for my business:
1) I’ve been reading a few business coaches who all seem to be on at this lately… when pushing socially acceptable boundaries, people are generally far more accepting than you often give them credit for. I worry that I may be seen ‘too pushy’ on the sales front, and yet, people expect businesses to ask them for a sale and it’s neither rude nor distasteful to do so.
2) It’s not Blanche’s sexual antics that are the main issue. It’s her delusions of grandeur and pretence that so antagonise Stanley and lead to his maltreatment of her. This is also true for today’s consumers. Transparency and authenticity are key in building loyal customer relationships. Social media is forcing short, accurate sound-bites so long, waffly, literary and padded commentary are considered distasteful. Be succinct. Make sense. Be honest.
Antagonist = My competitors. Discuss:
Blanche’s antagonist, Stanley Kowalski, is a confident, swaggering 2nd generation immigrant on the rise. She describes him as “survivor of the Stone Age” and he displays uncivilized manners, demanding and forceful behavior, lack of empathy, crass selfishness, and a chauvinistic attitude towards women.
Yet, he is the ‘winner’ at the play’s denoument. As Blanche is led away to a mental institution, his wife (Blanche’s sister) and his friend (Blanche’s almost-fiance, Mitch) choose to believe his stories over hers. His boldness and cruelty are rewarded.
Metaphor for my competitors:
1) Business is ruthless and the ‘nice guy’ rarely wins. Being shy and retiring does not serve one well in trade. Emboldened and ‘loud-mouth’ competitors raise their profiles and are rewarded for their chest-beating.
2) Raw emotion and base instinct exaggerate confidence and win followers. In today’s world, readers want to hear your story. Though the truth may be cruel, it’s appreciated.
3) If you are a truth-sayer your indiscretions will be forgiven. We all make mistakes but if you are known for your honesty, bad behaviours will be accepted as part of your personality and perhaps even become part of your raw appeal.
Real life case studies
Take Naomi Dunford for instance. Her USP is built on ‘hating people’ and swearing. Yet she is making a fortune as a small business coach. People come back time and time again though she prides herself on being slow to return email and ignoring people. Truth is, Naomi does look after her flock. By showing ‘deliberate cruelty’ to those outside the circle, it makes customers want to join her inner ranks. Once there, they still forgive the odd latent reply as ‘forewarned is forearmed’ and yet the in reality, Naomi is generally excellent at making her loyal fans feel loved.
Closer to home, Vince Frost, has made a huge name for himself as a premium brand designer. Frost is the master of self-promotion. He has never been afraid of public speaking and talks at any and every event he can. Frost Design enters (and wins) numerous awards, endlessly spades (and so gets) press in high-end design magazines and is a prolific generator of its own self-promotional content including blogs, EDMs, Twitter and Facebook. The relentlessness of his chest-beating is paying huge dividends. And furthermore, noone sees this as gauche. Frost is considered the epitome of design success in Australia and is paid handsomely for it.
Final Takeout
You can find inspiration in everything you do. Even (perhaps especially) in sideline past-times. If you’d like to read more on that, I’ve a whole blog post on ‘When Procrastination Works Best’. In the meantime, enjoy your movie tonight then analyse it for inspiration on how you can move your business forward.
Get those thinking hats on,
Charlotte
October 9, 2009 1 Comment
Thinker Tool: The Perfect Customer Experience
Australian author, Ken Hudson, delivers a very practical creative business book with, ‘The Idea Generator’. In it he suggests a stream of activities designed to build and develop ones business. He categorises these under six core goals:
- Solving Problems
- Creating Growth Opportunities
- Improving Performance
- Enhancing Team Performance
- Selling with Impact
- Breakthrough Leadership
Under ‘Creating Growth Opportunities’ he recommends as Tool #2
Design the Perfect Customer Experience
Rather than following than following the traditional practice of refining based on customer feedback, Hudson suggests taking time out to ‘imagine what the perfect customer experience feels like.’
Then, he says, ‘once you have created the perfect scenario you can compare and contrast the ideal one with the current situation. Where are the gaps and how can you address these?’
July 7, 2009 No Comments
Thinker Tool: ‘Po’ Thinking
de Bono suggests applying the prefix ‘Po’ to any mechanism (such as ‘Po-Cars’) to get thinkers to break out of their familiar thought patterns, and create an entirely new construct, which could either replace or extend the original. As opposed to logical thinking, which restricts responses to ‘no’ or ‘yes’, Po thinking allows us to entertain the many realms of ‘possible.’
An example
For instance: in workshopping a ‘Po-Car’ one may start by listing a normal car’s attributes and applications ie a four-wheeled form of transport for passengers and a driver.
This would kick-start a brainstorm around how each of these attributes and applications may be rethought: varied or enhanced – which could lead to phenomenal developments on the basic model.
In our workshop, a ‘Po-aeroplane’ became a mile-high disco. The activity on the second floor of a Boeing would encourage activity thereby reducing the risk of DVT. Rather than seeing flying as unavoidable and tedious, passengers would be happy to pay more for their tickets as the journey became an essential component of their party-trip.
May 14, 2009 No Comments
Thinker Tool: Opposites
Using opposites forces you begin at a distant starting point and see your discussion through an entirely new lens.
Take your discussion statement and identify its key words. Put them in a list to the side. Alongside each key word, write its opposite. Now substitute your keyword with its opposite and see how it affects your discussion statement and the outcomes of your conversation. Often the more ridiculous the substitution seems, the better results you will generate.
Opposites in practice
Discussion Point: Our company’s mission is to encourage people to help one another.
Opposites of Keywords
company – individual
encourage – discourage
help – hinder
another – themselves
Each (individual’s) mission is to encourage people to help one another…
This may start the idea that to really bring a mission statement to life, each individual should be personally enacting the mission. This may encourage a practice whereby each employee writes their own strategy for ‘living the company mission’ during their everyday.
Our company’s mission is to (discourage) people to help one another…
This statement would provoke a conversation around why the company’s mission may not be working to its optimum and what the company is doing which may be discouraging a helping attitude. This may reveal discontent from the workforce and how the company is treating them. It may uncover dissatisfaction from customers or encourage the idea of running a customer satisfaction survey.
Our company’s mission is to encourage people to (hinder) one another…
Such a statement would continue further discussions as above. It may encourage a review of current policies, practices and procedures which may be affecting performance and holding the company back. It could provoke a competitive analysis to see how the opposition is beating the company’s performance.
Our company’s mission is to encourage people to help (themselves)…
Through allowing this conversation to take place, management may receive feedback that this is a situation that employees would prefer. By changing the focus off ‘helping others’ staff may suggest better activities for the company to make their mission. It may throw up ideas for self-empowerment which would ultimately ‘help another’
May 14, 2009 1 Comment
Thinker Tool: Random Words
This creative thinking technique is used world-over in various ways. De Bono has dedicated an entire book to the practice, titled: Creativity Workout. In it he supplied lists of random words and number tables to enable the random selection of the random words. Others, such as Michalko, simply suggest picking your random word from a dictionary – eyes closed.
When using the random words technique, follow these rules.
- The random word should be a noun.
- You can not decide you don’t like the random word, then change it. You must use the word selected.
- Random words may have multiple meanings/interpretations. Allow each participant to spend up to one minute writing all the possible interpretations they draw from this word and use each in your discussion.
- Though finding a ‘connection’ between your random word and discussion point is useful, don’t be limited by this. Working in concepts and values, rather than simple associations, will improve your output.
Random Words in Practise
Write your discussion statement up somewhere that the group can see it. Now have everyone choose a random word from a dictionary. Put these in a column next to your discussion statement. One at a time, insert the random word into your discussion statement and use its inclusion to generate new extensions of your original thought.
An example
- What is the impact of wearing school uniforms.
- Random word selections: analogy, order, touching
These random words might provoke discussions such as:
Analogy – ‘Use an analogy to discuss the impact of wearing school uniforms’
Wearing a school uniform is like being a prisoner. One is made devoid of any personality and distinguishing features. It discourages innovative thinkers.
Order – ‘How does the idea of order relate to wearing school uniforms?’
Wearing a uniform pervades a school with a sense of calm and order. It minimises visual chaos and distraction so students can place their priority on learning rather than fashion. Less time is wasted on worrying about what to wear.
Touching – ‘Discuss touching with regards to wearing school uniforms’
“It is touching to see how well everyone get along”… Wearing a school uniform softens the emotional volatility of teenagers. When everyone looks the same, wealthier students have less chance flaunt it and those who struggle financially can find ways to shine beyond mere appearance. Uniforms and second-hand clothing pools can make schooling more affordable and limit the divide between rich and poor.
NOTE – As each active keyword can be open to individual interpretation, this approach works well by allowing each participant to gather their own thoughts on paper before sharing them with the group in an open discussion.
May 14, 2009 1 Comment