Becoming Innovative.

Each of these three words quotfreshquot quotinsightfulquot and quotconnectionsquot helps not only identify what is innovative but even more importantly help one become innovativeInsightsInsight brings humanity and people into the innovation equation Since much innovation is eventually experienced by people it is critical to understand peoples unstated needs by watching listening and learning from their behaviorAfter all the best innovation solves a problem finds a better way of doing something or brings tangibility to an unspoken gapData is not insights but insights can be gleaned from data by looking for patterns or idiosyncrasiesNetflix uses correlation a form of pattern finding to both recommend and greenlight new contentAmazon uses idiosyncrasies about how people navigate its experience sudden twists and turns in their transaction journey for one to ask whyFreshFresh is a better word than newNew really is about time and the calendar and not about a way of thinkingFresh implies something different from the status quo It is about a never seen or never thought about approach Today we see so many of the same images and find so many of the same things all over the world that we really wake up when we see or come across something fresh So fresh that it fits no clichamp233 and often requires its own languageYou remember the unusual the moments when your travel fell out of a wellplanned itineraryFresh awakens and makes for tattoo moments that will be embded in us and our customersConnectionsConnections is about the process where the human mind takes the same letters of the alphabet but puts them together in a unique way to create something far more compelling than the parts that went before All the components for innovation existed The magic was in the connectingIn the creativity of the connections one unlocks the combination that unleashes innovationGoogle39s connected the insight that a more heavily referenced citation in an academic document should be ranked higher than a less cited one with how pages linked to each other and gave birth to a fresh approach to searchThe iPad connects the insight that there was no computing device optimized for consumption and slouching phones are for communication and walking while computers for creating and sitting with a tactile almost sensual approach to interacting with content to create a new object of lustIn category after category one sees these three factors in innovation Fresh Insightful ConnectionsSo begin by gleaning insights then put all the ideas one has down on paper that help solve unmet needs driven by these insights Now shake and stir and step away and come back and see if you can connect things in fresh ways that still resonate with the insightsThree Simple Methods to Drive InnovationUnbundlingRebundling Break down your product or service or customer experience or journey into its component parts and ask what parts can be eliminated or how can they be reconfigured or rebundledA bank removed multiple steps from the process of opening an account by breaking down the steps and then eliminating some that were duplicative or no longer relevant digitizing others importing data into the process rather than needing people to fill in forms or bring data with them and making the process available 247Unilever outsold Procter and Gamble shampoos in India by recognizing that instead of selling many head washes at a time in a bottle they should sell a singlewash in a sachet that was more affordable to the millions who earn daily wages and do not have the money to buy an entire bottleAirbnb will soon launch a new threat to landlords and the legacy rituals of renting by asking why a need for a security deposit is there and why should leases be yearlong This insight came from the fact that almost a quarter of their stays were over a month long during the pandemic Why own a second home when you can have thousands of second homes available for a month or three months everywhere in the world without any of the fixed costs maintenance hassles and the dreary ritual of returning to the same placeBlank Sheet of Paper with a Red TeamBlue Team Create two teams One that works to find ways to enhance your current product or service based on insights and a second whose only goal is to vanquish destroy and put your brand out of business Both teams are free to use all legal and scientifically available tools with some economic constraints like the need to break even within x months or yearsOften the attacking team ends up being more innovative because of two keys to innovation which are a no anchor of legacy structure or thinking and b refusing to accept anything except the law and science as a givenDiversity of Voices A key to fresh insightful connections is to have different people with different backgrounds and experiences working together in an environment where every voice is heard Diversity of ethnicity gender and expertise are all key but even more critical is a culture where people can speak up challenge the status quo and take leaps of imagination This requires both a diverse work force but also a culture that is supportive and provides trampolines of trust for the hesitant or questioning voices and the daring risk takersTo be innovative think quotfresh insightful connectionsquot and then decompose and recompose your product service or experience while suppressing legacy thinking and constraintsYou will be surprised at how many ideas you will come up withThen the key is to implement the good ideasBecause if you do not someone willPhotography byamp160Alex BurkeClick the social buttons to share this story with colleagues and friendsThe opinions expressed here are the author39s views and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNetamp160

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Rishad Tobaccowala

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