What’s Stopping You?

magenta_stencil

22 Apr 2013

By Maggie Dugan

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Despite our intelligence and immense creative potential, human beings are still very good at pointing out the things that make us suspicious because they are seemingly impossible.

“That won’t work,” is a standard response to a new idea, and anyone who considers themselves to be innovative will probably bristle and as a result, dive into figuring out how to doctor up the idea and make it work. This is a noble approach, one we at Knowinnovation would appreciate more than acquiescing to the can’t-be-done mentality. But there might be a better approach. Keep reading »

Listen Up

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18 May 2012

By Maggie Dugan

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Throughout our formal and informal education, from preschool to postdoc, we’re taught how to read, how to write, how to speak. But we don’t get any instruction about how to listen. Even though it’s how we take in information and get clues about what’s happening around us, even though listening is essential to problem solving and to collaborating with others, it’s rare that listening skills are part of a curriculum. We don’t learn how to listen.

As a result, we may think we’re listening to someone who’s talking to us, when what we’re really doing is thinking about how to talk back. There’s a constant background chatter: Do I agree or not? Have I ever encountered this before? How is this relevant? We instantly filter information and map it against our own experience and opinions. Keep reading »

Throwaway Data

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24 Apr 2012

By Tim Dunne

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During the creative problem solving process, there’s a stage when we encourage people to capture all the information about the problem we’re trying to solve. There are lots of ways to do this, but often we’ll collect people at a table with the goal of gathering data and we’ll ask them to write down all the information about the challenge that might be pertinent. At this point, the client – or stakeholder, or problem owner – will describe their situation. The explanation usually begins with a preamble.

“Well, we tried to propose this research a couple of times before, and I’ve lost some energy because my department head is not supporting me, but here’s what I think we could…”

Then they go on to describe the situation, which is when people start taking notes. Rarely does anyone write down the throwaway data: Keep reading »

Right, then.

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30 Jul 2010

By Maggie Dugan

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We see it happen in working groups all the time. A new idea gets suggested – whether it’s playfully put out or seriously proposed – and someone in the group, often a senior person with some status or authority, shoots it down. Fairly typical phrases are used to do this: That’ll never work. We’ve tried it before. We’ll never get that approved. It’s just not possible.

But hasn’t just about every major or radical innovation been about doing the very thing that couldn’t be done before? You’ve heard the examples: how Thomas Edison got it wrong 10,000 times before he got the light bulb right. Or how Richard Branson‘s been wrong as much as he’s been right, but that risk-taking is what makes him such a notorious and successful entrepreneur. Keep reading »

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