Ideation 101

Feed the Brain

Feed the Brain

Feed the Brain

Business ideas…HEADLINEPROBLEMPROMISE.PROOFPROFITPASSION

MU = SF

D

Meaningfully Unique Ideas!

Leverage Diversity

Drive out Fear=

Explore Stimulus

Stimulus Available # of practical ideas inventedLow Stimulus

Medium Stimulus

High Stimulus

22

38

47

Value of StimulusStimulus Feeds The Brain

Traditional ModelTraditional Model

Individual Brainstorming

draining

Before After

Suck Method Uses Your Brain Like A

LIBRARY

COMPUTER

Stimulus sets off a CHAIN Reaction!!!

Where To Go On Vacation?

More Stimulus

More Ideas (Quantity & QUALITY)=

At Their Most Basic, IDEAS

are Feats of Association

Best practice 3 Steps

Step 1: Define your needsStep 2: Get stimulus (Stimulus mining)Step 3: Mix and match (Association)Today steps 1 and 3

Step 1: Help request• Define your Requests for Advice• Background: Describe why you need

ideas and any critical background responders should know.

• Request: Describe what you're looking for. Be greedy

• Don't Request: Describe things you are NOT interested in, if any.

• Constraints: Describe any specific constraints or issues that need to be considered. (time, resources, specs, etc.)

Take 5 minutesto write your needs

(we’ll use them later)

Step 1: Help request• Define your Requests for Advice• Background: Describe why you need

ideas and any critical background responders should know.

• Request: Describe what you're looking for. Be greedy

• Don't Request: Describe things you are NOT interested in, if any.

• Constraints: Describe any specific constraints or issues that need to be considered. (time, resources, specs, etc.)

A sample…

Define your Requests for Advice

A great new semantic search plug-in "Snarc" and semantic search technology… We need help identifying a profit modelOur thought now: consumers, collect data, then advdertisers

Background

A better way to search for information. Intelligent search in a side barLike Amazons's you might like this, but very high tech

Request 3 ideas to make money that we can test

We are not interested inA fee for use of the plug-inPeople will not pay

ConstraintsWe have around 100 K to grow the business, so the solutions need to be low cost

Step 2: StimulusMining

Fast & Easier to Find

Harder & Deeper Thinking Involved

5 Categories for Stimulus Mining

TECH Mining Market Mining Insight Mining Future Mining

33 11 22 44

+“Gut Instincts and Ideas”55

According to this blog, keeping coffee hot is definitely a problem, but there is already a pretty good solution out there. How can we offer customers the benefit of keeping coffee hot in a better or different way than a thermos?

“But perhaps the best approach of all for keeping your coffee hot is to get a good thermos – one that has the ability to keep your coffee hot for hours at a time...”

http://silversolutioninfo.com/

Insight Mining

Example

Market Mining

Team, check out this cup innovation from Japan. How can we borrow brilliance?

“Hot Magic CupTokan Kogyo Co. Ltd., developed the, what they call the Surprise-Eco-Container or Hot Magic Cup. The, in principle, ordinary standard coffee cup automatically changes its outer layer shape as the thermal insulating layer pops out automatically when hot water, more than 85 is poured into the cup.℃

http://bestinpackaging.com/2012/01/28/innovations-in-coffee-cups/

Example

http://pps.sagepub.com/content/3/3/224.abstract?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&andorexacttitle=

TECH Mining

Example Here is a patent for a special insulated cup. I don’t its exactly applicable, but might be good inspiration as we strive for uniqueness in our new cup offering

http://www.google.com/patents/US7597246

Future Mining

Example Hey guys here is the latest trend briefing from Trendwatching.com

How can our coffee cup idea be linked with people social circles? Is there a cause? A campaign or contest that people can have fun with while engaging their friends and our coffee shop?

Step 3: Association

3 tools I like…

•Round 1: 666

•Round 2: Don’t sell me

•Round 3: Take over time

In practice…Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4 Group 5 Group 6 Group 7

1 4 7 10 13 16 19Round 1 2 5 8 11 14 17 20 Stationary

3 6 9 12 15 18 21 = idea

1 4 7 10 13 16 19Round 2 20 2 5 8 11 14 17 Moving right

6 9 12 15 18 21 3 = idea

1 4 7 10 13 16 19Round 3 17 20 2 5 8 11 14 Moving left

9 12 15 18 21 3 6 = idea

Working together•Groups of 3 •25 minutes per exercise focusing on

1 idea (note: 25 minutes is tough.. Go fast; quantity > quality)

•Rotation after exercise (1 person stays, 1 to right, 1 to left)

•Present idea/ express need•1 person writing for each round

(preferably not the person with the idea)

A format for ideasNEWS HEADLINE:In a sentence - what makes your innovation MEANINGFULLY UNIQUE.

PROBLEM:WHAT problem, specifically, does this idea address?

PROMISE:Make a SPECIFIC or numeric promise to SOLVE this problem.

PROOF:WHAT is the Innovation & HOW does it work..

PROFIT:HOW will you make money

NEWS HEADLINE:In a sentence - what makes your innovation MEANINGFULLY UNIQUE.

PROBLEM:WHAT problem, specifically, does this idea address?

PROMISE:Make a SPECIFIC or numeric promise to SOLVE this problem.

PROOF:WHAT is the Innovation & HOW does it work..

PROFIT:

HOW will you make money

That is the problemConsumer first then

Advertisers

Easy search for info

Technology awards

Snarc- your place for info

Too hard to find the right information

Handouts