“THINKING TOOLS” FOR VALUE INNOVATIONSNarendran, S S

Happy Mind is the Most Innovative & Productive Mind.

Happiness is logical but often forgotten goal of every human endeavour.

Strive for Happiness Quotient and Innovate Happily.

I like to give credits to Dr. Rekha Shetty PH.D for her wonderful book “Innovate Happily” as some of the extract of this slide is direct outcome of the book.

INTRODUCTION

These Thinking tools are for generation of Ideas & solutions on the Identified Problems

Same can also be used to create new problem Statements from the existing problem.

Problems are wonderful opportunities to Innovate

BRAIN STORMING Discuss with teams to bring out new ideas. Focus on Quality Withhold Criticism – Analytical solution &

Feasibility should not be judged Welcome Unusual & Wild Ideas Combine & Improve Ideas

BRAIN WRITING Similar to Brain Storming but Focus on

Quantity instead of Quality. Make people to write ideas as much as they

could. Will bring in many ideas from passive

individuals.

BUG LISTING Ask the team to identify things that irritate &

bug them at least 5 to 10 items Brainstorm ways to resolve bugs.

CRAWFORD BLUE SLIP Similar to Brain writing but large ideas to be

collected with in short time without the name of the originator.

Ideas generated should be focused on specified problem.

ATTRIBUTE MATCHING Try to Match the Attributes of entirely

different actions/process/things to derive solutions for generated Ideas or problems in hand.

The action/process/things which you compare need not form a analogy or could not be related metaphorically.

METAPHORS Things convinced as representing another.

With “Like” & ”As” metaphors can be captured.

Egs., All the Worls’s a Stage. How people in the organization resemble animals in the Jungle

Find many such metaphors to identify new ideas & analogies.

SANCTUARY FORMATION Create a sanctuary of ideas. Ideas generated always does not remain

feasible. Protect the impossible ideas from immediate

destruction Make attribute matching to shed fresh

thoughts. Collaborate & Build it on others ideas - “None

of them are smart as all of us” Find Alternatives. Log all ideas and revisit often with a

checklist.

DIVERSITY TOOLS Use Naïve resources – speak to people

outside team irrespective of technology & position they hold.

Ask people to take up new session / drama / skits.

Bring in alternative ways to spread innovativeness infectively.

Make the new team members to speak up for their expectations and what they find they could innovate. Encourage them to work on burning issues.

TENT THINKING Meant to demand making use of limited

resources even in the presence of huge available resources.

Tent thinking will refine & reduce the resource usage & help us to think about using the available resources effectively.

Simplify – Reduce, Reuse, Replace & Repair.

REINVENT WHEELS Reinvent wheels to make the wheels better. Solve the problems already solved to bring

new scalable, extendable & high performing solutions.

TURN COAT Play Devil’s advocate Hold opposite views & interrogate the

existing ideas & solutions

WEAR THINKING HATSWe are wearing a Blue Cap and Thinking about ThinkingNow

EXCURSION Make an Excursion to visit ideas of other

teams & visit other ideas in internet and outside company.

SPRING BOARD Developing the existing ideas generated by

another person by appreciating the existing values.

WISHFUL THINKING Get the wishes each individual require out of

the existing environment on a frequent basis.

FREE FALL THINKING No one can make an egg stand but one can

break to make its base flat & then make it stand.

Challenge the Constraints, boundaries & Limitations.

VALUE INNOVATION Any innovation that adds value both to the

customer as well as the service provider or at least one of them without affecting the other.

Goal: Reduce time & effort, Maximize product, service & Profit.

PATH TO MAKE SUSTAINED INNOVATIONS

Identify Problems

Restate the Problems to Identify alternative

Problems

Generate Ideas &

Solutions

Put the Ideas in Incubation Period to nurture, weed out &

develop

Analyze Defined Ideas

Implement & InnovateChallenge the

“Status quo”

MORE TOOLS Bloom's taxonomy 5 Whys & Fishbone(Ishikawa) diagram SWOT Mind Map & Lotus Diagram Concept Map

CLASSIFICATION OF PROBLEMS & SOLUTIONS

Kaizen Lean

Ask an Expert Six Sigma

Problems &

SolutionsCaus

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SolutionsSimple Complex

THANK YOU