Посты с тэгом: SIT

How to Involve Customers in the SIT Innovation Process

Published date: August 4, 2014 в 3:00 am

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When describing the SIT method, I sometimes say it’s like using the voice of the product. That’s because SIT is based on patterns that are embedded into the products and services you see around you. If products could talk to you, they would describe the five patterns of SIT.

But there’s another important voice in business innovation: the voice of the customer. After all, that’s why you do innovation – to create new value, directly or indirectly, for your customers. A good innovator understands their needs and wants. Here are four ways to gain new insights from your customers.
One of the first things you should do is listen to what customers are saying about a particular product or brand. It’s especially important to hear what customers say to other customers. That’s when they’re the most truthful and objective, even when talking to complete strangers. If you had a way to eavesdrop on a conversation between two customers, you’ll get new insights about their attitudes.
A great way to do that is to use social media. Applications like Twitter and Facebook let you hear what’s being discussed, almost as if you were standing right there with them. It’s inexpensive and it’s easy. When you listen to customers on social media, pay close attention to the specific words or phrases they use. What emotions do they express? What beliefs do they have about a product and how it works? Whether those beliefs are true or untrue, you need to know what they’re thinking so you can design your products accordingly.
Another way to learn about your customers is to watch them. Using field research, you go into the customer’s natural setting where they use the product or service. You observe their behaviors as they do routine, ordinary activities. If you watch carefully, you’ll see things they could never have described for you in words. They’re not even aware they are doing them.
By watching them, you might learn about a new step in how they use the product. That could affect how you use the Division Technique. Or, you might become aware of a new component in their Closed World, and that might affect how you apply the Task Unification technique. Pay close attention to who else is involved, what information are they using or not using, how they prepare the product for use, and perhaps how they store it or maintain it.
A third way to get customer insights is to ask them. You’re probably familiar with marketing research tools like surveys and focus groups as a way to collect voice of the customer data. But there are two simple techniques you always want to be able to use at a moment’s notice in case you engage a customer.

The first is to use open-ended questions. An example of an open-ended question is: “What’s most important to you when using this feature of our product.”  A closed-ended question would be: “Do you like this feature of our product?” The open-ended question encourages a full, meaningful response as opposed to a closed-ended question, which encourages a short or single-word answer. You’ll get deeper insights with open-ended questions.

The second technique when talking to customers is to use laddering. Laddering means asking a series of questions, one after another, but you base the next question on the answer you received from the last one. Like climbing the rungs of a ladder, you first ask about the functional aspects of your product, then ladder up to the values the customers sees in those features.
Finally, a great way to learn about your customer’s needs is to involve them in the innovation process. Use the Function Follows Form process. Once you’ve created the virtual product using one of the five SIT techniques, you ask two specific questions. The first is should we do it? Does the new configuration deliver some new benefit? Who would want this? I can’t think of anyone better to help you answer these than your customers. After all, they stand the most to gain by a new innovation. When they see something they like, they’ll tell you or they’ll tell you how to modify the concept to make it even better.
Customers might also have new insights about the second question: Can we do it? Do we have the know how or the right material or the right processes to make this? Are there barriers that might prevent us from making this? Your customers might have some critical insight or skills about how to remove barriers or make the concept more feasible.
Listen, watch, ask, and involve. The Voice of the Customer, used along with the SIT Method, will help you become a more effective innovator.

Philips study reveals that most North Americans think they are sitting on the “next big thing”

Published date: July 28, 2014 в 3:00 am

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Philips North America announced the launch of the second annual Philips Innovation Fellows competition, in conjunction with the release of its 2014 North America Innovation Report. According to the report, nearly two-thirds of North Americans consider themselves innovators, of which a majority (72 percent) believe they are sitting on an idea for “the next big thing,”  and just need money and ‘know how’ to develop it. The Philips Innovation Fellows Competition awards mentoring and $100,000 in cash prizes to inspire would-be entrepreneurs to bring their ideas to life by entering the competition.
“Philips is committed to meaningful innovation, and we strive to develop technology that makes a real difference in helping people lead healthy and fulfilling lives,” said Brent Shafer, CEO of Philips North America. “We believe impactful innovation can come from anyone, and we want to celebrate the great ideas that have the potential to revolutionize the way we live, work and play. That’s why we’re encouraging all innovators out there to submit their big idea for the next innovation.”

Philips practices what it preaches. The company is featured in Inside the Box: A Proven System of Creativity for Breakthrough Results for its use of the Subtraction Technique to create the Slimline DVD player.
Survey Findings
Almost half of respondents feel the best innovations come from individual inventors (47 percent) and startups (24 percent), followed by academics (13 percent) and corporations (11 percent). However, one in two people said financial support from big companies is the key to achieving successful innovation, followed by mentor relationships (47 percent) and government incentives (44 percent).
Top Barriers
Many respondents feel that lack of money and a narrow mindset are the top barriers to preventing people from innovating, indicating the need for collaboration with and support from big companies:
•             Lack of money (70 percent)
•             Narrow/stifled mindset (41 percent)
•             Unsupportive corporate culture (40 percent)
•             Government regulations (37 percent)
Areas for Improvement
North Americans feel that successful innovation has a purpose beyond creating technology for technology’s sake. Sixty-two percent of respondents said successful innovation improves lives, makes daily life easier (57 percent) and meets an unmet societal need (33 percent).
Healthcare (57 percent) was cited as the top area where innovation can improve lives, followed by work/life balance (38 percent), education methods (33 percent), technological solutions for the home (30 percent) and public transportation and infrastructure (30 percent).
Philips Innovation Fellows Competition
Philips is encouraging people nationwide to submit their big ideas for the next meaningful innovation that will help people live healthier, more sustainable lives. Entrants will have the chance to tap into $100,000 in prize money from Philips to help make their innovations a reality. To further promote open innovation, entrants can gain financial support for their idea on Indiegogo.com, a global web-based crowd funding site.
“Indiegogo is dedicated to helping innovators make their ideas a reality by connecting them to individuals from around the world, who can endorse their innovations through financial support,” said Slava Rubin, CEO and co-founder of Indiegogo. “Corporations need to be more involved in helping everyday innovators succeed and we’re thrilled to partner with Philips on this competition to bring new ideas to fruition.”
The grand-prize winner will be announced this fall and will receive a $60,000 cash prize from Philips, in addition to the funding raised through Indiegogo, to help make their innovation a reality. Along with the monetary prize, the winner will receive mentoring from Philips executives around their “next big thing” idea. Each of the remaining four finalists will receive a $10,000 cash prize.
Last year, Philips named Fosmo Med the grand prize winner of the first Philips Innovation Fellows competition. Philips employees selected Fosmo Med’s Maji Intravenous (IV) saline bag, which creates a sterile solution in the field for patients in developing countries from any water, clean or dirty, as the next big, meaningful innovation in health and well-being.
“We were honored to win the Philips Innovation Fellows competition,” said Ben Park, CEO and founder of Fosmo Med. “Winning has not only helped fund the research and development completion for Maji, but more importantly, validated the idea of our product. Philips helped give us the resources and credibility we need to save lives on a global level.”

Be Fruitful and Multiply: The Multiplication Technique

Published date: July 14, 2014 в 9:34 am

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A common problem in photography is the occurrence of red-eye, like you see here. Redeye happens when the flash of a camera goes into the eyeball. It hits the back of your eye which has a lot of tiny blood vessels. The light picks up the red color from the blood in these vessels, and then it bounces straight back into your camera lens. Your friends get that eerie, red-eye look.

But today’s cameras have a clever and simple way to defeat redeye. They have a dual flash. The first flash causes the person’s pupil to constrict enough so that very little light will get in. At that exact moment, the second flash goes off and lights up the subject matter. Voila! No redeye.
This innovation is a classic example of the multiplication technique. The Multiplication Technique is defined as copying an element already existing in the product or service but changing it in some counterintuitive way.
To use the technique, begin by listing the components of the product, process, or service. You pick one of those components, make a copy of it. You keep the original component as is, but the copied component is changed. That creates the virtual product. Using Function Follows Form, you look for potential benefits, and you modify or adapt the concept to improve it to yield an innovative idea.
NoticeableHere are some examples of multiplication. The consumer products company, Procter & Gamble, used the Multiplication Technique to create the Febreze Noticeable Air Freshener. It’s called Noticeable because it has a clever way to keep you smelling the scent. After a period of time, your nose becomes too accustomed to a smell, and the brain shuts it out. But this product gets around that. It has not one, but two different scents. The first scent pulses out into the room, but then stops right about the time your nose stops recognizing it. Just then, the second scent starts pulsing out into the room. Your nose picks up where the other one left off. Pretty clever.
Trac2Here’s another example. Gillette multiplied the razor blade of a straight edge razor to create the TRAC II Twin Blade Shaving System. The first blade gently lifts the whisker so that the second blade can cut off the whisker for a closer shave. The copied component is different in its location and function. By the way, you may have noticed Gillette and other companies have added even more blades to their razors. They have as many as five blades, but they don’t really do anything differently than the first one. I don’t consider that a creative idea, but rather just a way to improve performance.
Measuring cupLook at this measuring cup. It has two sets of measurements along the side. It has its original measurements, and a second set of measurements at an odd angle around the perimeter of the cup. Why would that be valuable? As you tilt the cup to pour liquid, the second set of measurements allows you to continue measuring the amount of liquid. That’s very convenient.
Multiplication accounts for many new products and services, and it’s straightforward to use. You want to make this powerful technique part of your innovation arsenal.

How to Organize an S.I.T. Innovation Workshop

Published date: July 7, 2014 в 3:00 am

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You can use an innovation method like S.I.T. on your own. But there are times when you want to use it in a group with your colleagues. After all, innovation is a team sport. Innovating in groups lets you harness the brainpower of others. Here are some tips and techniques to get the most out of your S.I.T. ideation session.

Perhaps the most important step is to select the right participants. The ideal number of participants is between 12 and 16. These people should be from diverse, cross functional areas of the company. About one third of the participants should be marketers from different parts of the marketing organization – market research, brand management, and so on. About one third of the participants should be technical – mechanical engineering, software engineering, operations, and so on depending on the project. And finally, about one third of your participants should be customer oriented. These are people that advocate for the customer. They include your salespeople, packaging, and customer service.
It’s also important to have gender diversity. An equal number of men and women is the ideal. Be sure participants are fully committed to participation in the workshop. Avoid letting people drop in and out as it suits their schedule. Otherwise, it interrupts the flow of the workshop.
When you begin your workshop, start by identifying the constraints around the exercise. Without constraints, the ideation will lack focus. You’re likely to generate ideas that are too wild to be considered viable.
Next, make sure you and the participants define the closed world around the problem. The closed world principle states there is an inverse relationship between distance from the problem and the creativeness of the idea. The farther away the solution, the less creative it will be. Where you define this imaginary space around the problem will have a big impact on how you apply each technique.
Once you select the techniques, create a list of the components and attributes by writing them down on a whiteboard, a flip chart, or a pad of paper. With Division, it’s a good idea to put these on sticky notes. Make sure you number the list. That helps keep the workshop more organized as you work through the lists.
When you apply a technique, be sure to work in smaller teams of two or three people, not as one large group. Working this way has many advantages. Pairs give each other their undivided attention. Working in pairs is also more efficient. As you apply a technique, assign each pair a different component from the list. That forces them to really focus, and it increases their chance of coming up with a creative idea. Be sure to set a specific time limit, say 3 minutes. This further constrains their brain to think inside the box.
When ideas are generated, try not to identify ideas with a specific person. Otherwise, people may bias the idea depending on who generated it. A simple way to do this is to have people write down their ideas. When giving credit for the source of an idea, make sure it’s from the pair of colleagues, not just one person. You have to find ways to strip ideas of their identity. This will make sure ideas don’t get thrown out prematurely.
A typical workshop can be anywhere from an hour in length to several days. Innovating is hard work, so be sure to manage the group’s energy level. Take a lot of breaks during the workshop, and mix up the activities to keep people engaged.
The S.I.T. method works because it channels people’s ideation and it regulates their thinking. You and your colleagues will generate many great ideas, so be sure the team has a process in place how you will capture and collect those ideas throughout the workshop.

Get INNOVATE! – The S.I.T. App for iPad

Innovation Through Task Unification

Published date: June 30, 2014 в 3:00 am

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The famous inventor, Thomas Edison, lived in a beautiful home. But something was unusual about the gate that led into his house. His visitors had to push the gate very hard to open it, and then again very hard to close it. It seemed odd that such a successful inventor like Thomas Edison wouldn’t fix his gate. Rumor has it that Thomas had attached a pump to his gate so that every time someone opened or closed it, they were pumping fresh water into the plumbing system of the house.

This is a great example of the innovation technique called Task Unification. Task Unification is defined as the assignment of additional tasks to an existing resource. That resource can be a component of a product or service. Or it can be something in the immediate vicinity of the product or service.

Think back to the story of Thomas’s gate. The gate has its primary job of letting visitors through, but it also has the additional job of pumping water. That’s not all to the story. The guests coming to visit Thomas are also a resource. They have their primary job of being friends of Thomas. But now they have the additional job of activating the gate to open and close it.

To use Task Unification, begin by listing the product’s internal components as well as the external components, the things right around where the product is being used. You select a component and assign it an additional task. That creates the virtual product. Using Function Follows Form, you look for potential benefits, and you modify or adapt the concept to improve it.

There are three ways to apply Task Unification:

One way is to have an internal component take a job of another internal component. Think of it as that component is stealing the function of the other component. Here is an example.

  • CmWhat you see here looks like an ordinary coffee maker. In fact, this product has a clever little innovation inside. The coffee maker’s filter has the additional job of measuring just the right amount of coffee to use given how much water was put in. It gives you the perfect brew every time.

You could also have an internal component take the job of an external component.

  • EasyfillNissan, the Japanese auto maker, has a nifty idea to make it easier to fill your tires with air. The car’s horn will beep to let you know when you’ve reached the right tire pressure. It’s called the Easy Fill Tire Alert. In this example, the car horn steals the job of the tire pressure gauge.

You could also have an external component steal the job of an internal component.

  • SubwayHere’s an example from a grocery store in Korea. They placed billboards in train and subway stations that show their products on the shelves just the way you would see it in a store. Commuters use their smartphones to scan the products they need. That shopping list is sent to the grocery store so the commuter can stop by on the way home to pick up the groceries. In this example, they assigned the subway billboards the additional task of becoming the point-of-sale. Very convenient and it saves times.

PlaypumpHere’s another example of an external component being assigned the additional job of an internal component. It’s a concept called Play Pump. It’s a child’s merry-go-round, the kind you would see on a playground. They don’t know it, but as they play on it, they’re also turning a pump to pump fresh water out of a well and into a holding tank. It’s used in small villages in sub Sahara Africa where finding and pumping water is difficult. The kids of the village have the additional job of providing water to the community.

That almost sounds a lot like Thomas Edison and his water pumping gate! And that’s why Task Unification can lead you to some pretty clever ideas.

LEARN the entire S.I.T. Method at Lynda.com…

Mastering the SIT Innovation Method

Published date: June 16, 2014 в 3:00 am

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Let me share with you some tips and advice on how to master the techniques and principles of Systematic Inventive Thinking.

First, work on mastering one at a time, not all five at once. It’s better to limit rather than dilute. Don’t overwhelm yourself trying to be an expert in all five right away.
One way to develop your expertise in the SIT techniques is with pattern spotting. A key premise of SIT is that for thousands of years, innovators have used patterns in their inventions, usually without even realizing it. Those patterns are now embedded into the products and services you see around you, almost like the DNA of a product. You want to develop your ability to see these patterns as a way to improve your use of them.
When you go to the store or when you’re watching TV and you see some new, innovative product, try to figure out which of the five SIT techniques could have been used to generate that novel concept. You’ll begin to realize that these patterns are all around you. That helps boost your confidence in the method and in the existence of these patterns.
At some point, you’ll use pattern spotting automatically. You’ll see some new product or service and instantly your mind will try to search which of the five techniques applies. When you get to that point, you have what we affectionately call, the SIT virus. It means you are well on your way to mastering the method.
Another way to master SIT is with mental simulation. Mental simulation is used by athletes and other professionals to improve their performance. They mentally simulate performing an event or series of events as a way to groove it into their mind.
You can also use mental simulation with the SIT techniques. When you’re out and about in your daily routine, pick an object randomly and pick one of the five SIT techniques. See if you can mentally work through the steps of the method to invent some new clever product or service right on the spot.
For example, imagine you’re at the airport standing in line at security. Pick an object or the process itself and see if you can apply one of the techniques to create some beneficial service or a new product. By mentally stimulating the SIT techniques, you’re going to perfect their use and you’re going to build your confidence in your ability to apply the techniques on demand.
While learning the SIT method, be sure to leverage social media. Find other people who use the SIT method. Share ideas and stories of how it’s been used in practice. Join this growing community of SIT practitioners.
Check out blogs, webinars, LinkedIn, Facebook and Pinterest. If you visit my Pinterest site, for example, you will find a board for each of the five techniques with examples of products that demonstrate that pattern.
Check the Resources link for this website, you’ll find recommendations for books, articles, and even an iPad app that can help you facilitate each of the five techniques. You want to become a student of creativity, because ultimately that is what will help you master SIT as your dominant method of idea generation.

Business Innovation Fundamentals: The SIT Course on Lynda.com

Published date: June 9, 2014 в 11:29 am

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Just released! Lean the entire SIT Method on Lynda.com.

Innovation propels companies forward. It’s an unlimited source of new growth and can give businesses a distinct competitive advantage. Learn how to innovate at your own business using Systematic Inventive Thinking, a method based on five techniques that allow you to innovate on demand. In this course, author and business school professor Drew Boyd shares the techniques he’s taught Fortune 500 companies to innovate new services and products. Drew provides real-world examples of innovation in practice and suggests places to find your own opportunities to innovate.

In the bonus chapter, Drew shares insights from his own career and answers tough questions on resistance to innovation, innovation and leadership, and the difference between generating vs. executing innovative ideas.
Topics include:
•    What is innovation?
•    Understanding the myths about creativity and barriers to innovation
•    Understanding the characteristics of innovative products and services
•    Using the five techniques of Systematic Inventive Thinking
•    Creating new services and processes at work
•    Running innovation workshops
•    Involving customers in innovation
•    Mastering innovative thinking

Creating New Opportunities in the Digital Space

Published date: June 9, 2014 в 4:42 am

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The SIT method is great for creating exciting new products and services. But you can also apply these techniques to digital assets.

For example, let’s apply the Attribute Dependency technique to a website. You start by listing the internal and external attributes of the site. You list the attributes, and you create a two dimensional matrix that pairs internal attributes to other internal and external attributes.
Next, select a cell on the matrix and imagine a relationship between the two attributes. For example, “location of visitor” and “graphics,” meaning how the information is displayed on your website. As the location of the visitor changes, the information and graphics that you display on your website changes. Why would that be valuable? In what situations would it make sense to have that relationship in place?
Think about it. Imagine if your customer is browsing your website right inside one of your retail stores. Perhaps you would change the kind of information and graphics you would use to show your products.
What if they were browsing your website from one of your competitor’s stores? Could that change how you display competitive pricing information?
What if your customer is browsing within a healthcare facility, or from an airport, or inside a restaurant? Would it change the products, the prices, or other service elements that you display? It just might.
Applying attribute dependency can make your website responsive and adaptable. It services your clients better by understanding more about them.
Let’s apply this same approach to a social media application. For this example, let’s use Facebook. List the internal and external attributes of a Facebook Page, and create your matrix. Let’s imagine a relationship between “likes” and “wall postings.”  There is no relationship there now, so let’s imagine one. For example, as the number of “likes” increases over a particular period of time, your wall postings change. Why would that be beneficial?
Perhaps you would put different products or special promotions there once you reach a certain level of likes. In other words, you change how you engage with your customers who visit your Facebook page based on how they engage. A relationship between these two attributes would give you a cue to know when it’s appropriate to do something different on your page.
Let’s go further with digital innovation and look at mobile apps and how to apply SIT techniques.
For these, I like to use the Task Unification technique. In that case, we took a component of a product or service and we assigned it the additional job of addressing a specific business issue.
You can do the same thing with mobile apps. We create a virtual product by saying: the App has the additional job of addressing this business issue. The trick is to pick an app that has absolutely nothing to do with the issue now. That’s where you find some surprising innovations.
Let’s do an example. Imagine your company makes a household product that helps get rid of odors in your home. It’s a spray product that you would use to get rid of odors from your cat or dog. Imagine you’re the marketing manager for this product and you want to find creative ways to promote its benefits.
First, find a list of mobile apps. You can find many on iTunes, or a site like this one: Gotoweb20.net.  Pick one of these randomly and plug it into the phrase: the app has the additional job of promoting my product.
Here is an app called Micello. Micello is a provider of comprehensive indoor venue mapping. It’s like Google maps only for in indoor spaces like shopping malls or airports. You imagine this app has the additional job of promoting your spray for pet odors. What would be the benefit? How it would work, and how would it increase brand awareness of your product?
Suppose this technology is used to create an internal map of your home. What if it could also track where your pet spends its time as it moves from room to room. Perhaps the app creates an odor heat map of where the pet has been so that you know exactly where to spray the product.  I love this idea because it’s both functional and it reinforces the brand promise.
Task Unification can help find new uses for existing apps, and it can help you create completely new apps.
Your digital assets are just as important as your products and services. Using the SIT Method will unlock more value for your customers and find new ways to engage them more effectively  through digital channels.

The Innovator’s Challenge: Fighting Back

Published date: May 19, 2014 в 3:00 am

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Even though companies want innovation, resistance to it is strong. After all, innovative ideas, by their very nature, are risky. They are likely to cause some form of change, and people are naturally fearful of change. A new disruptive innovation might be seen as a threat to someone’s job or their status in the organization. People worry that a highly innovative project might steal away some of their resources in terms of budget and manpower.

Even the leaders within your company may resist change. They might worry about the riskiness of a project and whether or not it’s going to work. No one wants to be responsible for a failed project.
Your customers sometimes resist innovative ideas and the change that goes along with it. A new product or service might cause them to have to change their habits. An innovative product might require special training or customer support. Your innovative idea might cause them to have to do things differently with their customers.
So how do you deal with resistance? First of all, don’t view resistance as a negative, as something that you have to overcome or defeat. Instead, embrace resistance as a potential benefit to your project. Use that resistance to stimulate healthy discussions and constructive feedback. By challenging your ideas, people are actually helping you strengthen them. They’re pointing out the negative aspects and soft spots in your idea. That’s a huge benefit to you, because now you know where you need to improve your idea. Without that resistance, you may never have known these issues.
The second big challenge you should expect as an innovator is competition for resources. Companies have to make choices on where to invest resources to create growth. Think of any company as a portfolio of potential projects. A company might invest in a new advertising campaign, or a new sales program, or perhaps a new technology, or the company might invest in your idea. One thing’s for sure – there’s never enough money to go around for everyone’s project.
So what can you do to earn your share of the budget? You need to understand that managers invest in projects the same way investors buy stocks in the stock market. They look at the track record of the people involved in the project and whether they’ve been successful in the past. But even more importantly, they look at the future potential of a project. What will this project produce today, and what is the pipeline of innovative ideas right behind the project to keep the machine moving?
Those teams or individuals that have a track record of success and the healthiest pipeline of new concepts are going to get the most money. What that means for you in practice is that you have to innovate continuously. Don’t put all your chips just on today’s project. You need to spend some of your time and resources generating new concepts, even if those concepts might be years away from getting investment dollars.
As you generate new ideas, you also need to make people aware of them. Create visual images of your new concepts, or build small prototypes. That helps bring your ideas to life. It gives you a way to show off your pipeline and the long term potential of your business unit.
Being an innovator is one of the most rewarding aspects of any job in any career field. After all, “The world leaders in innovation and creativity will also be the world leaders in everything else.”

How Patterns Boost Our Performance…Without Even Knowing It

Published date: May 5, 2014 в 4:59 am

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Humans are creatures of habits, and these habits can be analyzed and codified into rules that help us perform better. Many times, we’re not even aware of the habits that control our choices.

Conside the child’s game, Rock-Paper-Scissors. The odds of winning are one in three. At least, that’s what chance predicts. But people do not play randomly – they follow hidden patterns that you can predict to win more games than you should, a study has revealed.

At a rock-paper-scissors tournament at China’s Zhejiang University, scientists recruited 360 students, placed them in groups of six and had each of them run 300 rounds against their fellow group members. As an incentive, winners were paid for each individual victory.

When players won a round, they tended to repeat their winning rock, paper or scissors more often than would be expected at random (one in three). Losers, on the other hand, tended to switch to a different action. And they did so in order of the name of the game – moving from rock, to paper, to scissors. After losing with a rock, for example, a player was more likely to play paper in the next round than the “one in three” rule would predict.

Humans follow patterns in many other domains including creativity. Research by Dr. Jacob Goldenberg suggests that or thousands of years, inventors have embedded five simple patterns into their inventions, usually without knowing it. These patterns are the “DNA” of products that can be extracted and applied to any product or service to create new-to-the-world innovations.
The five patterns are:

  • Subtraction: Innovative products and services tend to have had something removed, usually something that was previously thought to be essential to use the product or service. The original Sony Walkman had the recording function subtracted, defying all logic to the idea of a “recorder.” Even Sony’s chairman and inventor of the Walkman, Akio Morita, was surprised by the market’s enthusiastic response.
  • Task Unification: Innovative products and services tend to have had certain tasks brought together and “unified” within one component of the product or service, usually a component that was previously thought to be unrelated to that task. Crowdsourcing, for example, leverages large groups of people by tasking them to generate insights or tasks, sometimes without even realizing it.
  • Multiplication: Innovative products and services tend to have had a component copied but changed in some way, usually in a way that initially seemed unnecessary or redundant. Many innovations in cameras, including the basis of photography itself, are based on copying a component and then changing it. For example, a double flash when snapping a photo reduces the likelihood of “red-eye.”
  • Division: Innovative products and services tend to have had a component divided out of the product or service and placed back somewhere into the usage situation, usually in a way that initially seemed unproductive or unworkable. Dividing out the function of a refrigerator drawer and placing it somewhere else in the kitchen creates a cooling drawer.
  • Attribute Dependency: Innovative products and services tend to have had two attributes correlated with each other, usually attributes that previously seemed unrelated. As one attribute changes, another changes. Transition sunglasses, for example, get darker as the outside light gets brighter.

Using these patterns correctly relies on two key ideas. The first idea is that you have to re-train the way your brain thinks about problem solving. Most people think the way to innovate is by starting with a well-defined problem and then thinking of solutions. In our method, it is just the opposite. We start with an abstract, conceptual solution and then work back to the problem that it solves. Therefore, we have to learn how to reverse the usual way our brain works in innovation.

This process is called “Function Follows Form,” first reported in 1992 by psychologist Ronald Finke. He recognized that there are two directions of thinking: from the problem-to-the-solution and from the solution-to-the-problem. Finke discovered people are actually better at searching for benefits for given configurations (starting with a solution) than at finding the best configuration for a given benefit (starting with the problem).
The second key idea to using patterns is the starting point. It is an idea called The Closed World. We tend to be most surprised with those ideas “right under noses,” that are connected in some way to our current reality or view of the world. This is counterintuitive because most people think you need to get way outside their current domain to be innovative. Methods like brainstorming and SCAMPER use random stimulus to push you “outside the box” for new and inventive ideas. Just the opposite is true. The most surprising ideas (“Gee, I never would have thought of that!”) are right nearby.
We have a nickname for The Closed World…we call it Inside the Box.

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