Innovation Cards
a Sample Deck for
The M-Prize Competition
on Innovating Innovation
Mark Clare
Northwestern University
New Value Streams Consulting
January 2013
Innovation Cards
• The best innovators are able to:
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Find and be energized by an innovation calling
Reframe thinking to find new ways of creating value
Learn rapidly and deeply from experience
Influence others to adopt new practices.
• We have developed five decks of knowledge cards to
help you master each of these competences and
develop the innovator’s habit.
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5.
Find Your Innovation Calling
Reframe Your Thinking
Sharpen Your Observation Skills
Sharpen Your Interpretation Skills
Sharpen Your Influence Skills
Innovation cards
are a new way to
develop the
habits of
successful
innovators. They
can be used by
individuals
looking to
improve their own
abilities or by
leaders,
educators,
consultants and
others that seek
to improve team
innovation or
establish a culture
of creativity.
Decks 3 and 4 cover the competency of learning rapidly and deeply from experience.
2
Sample Deck
Sharpen Your Observation Skills is one of five decks of
innovation cards. It teaches you how to use all five
senses to drive the deep learning necessary for
innovation. Techniques include:
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Engage sight, hearing, taste, touch and smell
Master mindfulness or being fully in the moment
Study surprise, special moments, emotions and intense beliefs
Field work, immersion, questioning and recording.
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Observation Cards
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Focus Your Mind to Enlarge Your Senses
Practice Watching Daily and Learn to See the World
Listen for the Sounds of Innovation
What You Smell Shapes Product and Service Experience
Explore Touch to Find New Ways to Enhance Products
Taste and Flavor Offer New Ways to Experience the World
Stress Your Senses to Build New Observations Skills
Study Surprise to Gain Insight into How Minds Work
Special Moments and Objects Reveal the Human Heart
Catalog Metaphors that Reveal How Others Think
Read Emotions and Unlock New Opportunities for Innovation
Intense Beliefs and Feelings are Needs to Be Met
Collect Images and Videos to Dig Deep
Map out Surrounding Artifacts to Understand the Ecosystem
The World is a Learning Lab – Use it!
Watch People Work to See Ingenuity and Opportunity
Experience the World: Ask for and Give Help
Immerse Yourself in the Community that Uses Your Innovation
Move from Observer to Participant for Empathetic Insights
Always Be on the Hunt for a Good Story
Get More from Questions That Show Respect and Interest
Think About the Questions You Failed to Ask
Record Observations Before They are Lost or Distorted
Use a Camera to Capture Context, Beauty and Detail
Collect Samples to Generate Insights and New Questions
Sharpen Your
Innovation Skills
includes 25 cards
all backed by
research and
designed to build
the habits of
astute observers.
4
Use Guidelines
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Get started by picking any card that interests you
Play a card every day or every few days
Expect to play a card multiple times
You can play the same card repeatedly or pick a new card
Try each card in the deck at least once unless it is already a habit
To master a card play it as many times as it takes to become a habit
You don’t need to master all the cards to see big improvements
Expect to play a deck for at least 90 days
You should see improvements or gain insight every few days
Jot down ideas for new cards or decks
Share your cards
You can play the cards by yourself, with a partner or in
groups. Use them as standalone program or to augment
other training, development and coaching materials.
5
Focus Your Mind to Enlarge Your Senses
“Walk as if you are kissing the Earth with your feet.”
Thich Nhat Hanh, Buddhist monk
THINK:
Innovators make the richest observations when they are fully in the moment. For
example, thinking about the past or worrying about the future distracts you from
immediate experience.
DO:
When eating today practice focusing on the sensations of the moment. Take a full
minute to scrutinize, breath in, touch, chew, swish, savor and swallow one bit of
food or drink.
Innovation as an everyday everywhere capability in your organization
6
Practice Watching Daily and Learn to See the World
“Watch with glittering eyes the world around you.”
Roald Dahl, writer and fighter pilot theorist
THINK:
Innovators watch with their eyes wide open. For example, designers watch carefully
for gaps and inconveniences as we use products.
DO:
Take part of your day, say a meeting, riding the bus or eating lunch and practice
seeing. Look at the objects, people and motion, see details about size, color, shape
and texture.
Innovation as an everyday everywhere capability in your organization
7
Listen for the Sounds of Innovation
“You cannot truly listen to anyone and do anything else at the same time."
M. Scott Peck, psychiatrist and best-selling author
THINK:
Innovation flows from listening carefully. For example, a clerk might hear an angry
customer and an entrepreneur might hear an opportunity.
DO:
Take part of your day, say a meeting, riding the bus or eating lunch and practice
listening. Hear each of the words, coughs, laughs, mechanical noises, chirping birds
and other sounds.
Innovation as an everyday everywhere capability in your organization
8
What You Smell Shapes Product and Service Experience
“Memories, imagination, old sentiments, and associations are more readily reached
through the sense of smell than through any other channel.”
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Fireside poet
THINK:
Innovators create breakthroughs by adding scents to products. For example,
Febreze® remade the cleaning experience by adding scents that reward.
DO:
Each day use your nose to identify a product or service that has been differentiated
by scent. Record the results and imagine how they can be applied to your
innovation.
Innovation as an everyday everywhere capability in your organization
9
Explore Touch to Find New Ways to Enhance Products
"Often the hands will solve a mystery that the intellect has struggled with in vain."
Carl G. Jung, founder of analytical psychology
THINK:
Shape, texture and adhesion define our tactile experience. For example, tapered
utensils, tight-grip tools and fine fountain pens feel good in our hands.
DO:
Use your hands today and find at least one object that delights your sense of touch.
Document your findings and include detail on shape, size, materials and overall
feel.
Innovation as an everyday everywhere capability in your organization
10
Taste and Flavor Offer New Ways to Experience the World
“…taste can be categorized into five basic tastes: sweet, bitter, sour,
salty and umami” Wikipedia
THINK:
Innovators find new ways to activate taste buds. For example, flavored envelopes
and pen caps and edible accents engage the sense of taste in new ways.
DO:
Find one object or experience – other than food and drink – that creates a taste for
you today. Document the sensory details include what you smell and see.
Innovation as an everyday everywhere capability in your organization
11
Stress Your Senses to Build New Observation Skills
“Hong Kong…. it will feed your senses.”
discoverhongkong.com
THINK:
Environments rich in complex and novel stimulus challenge our senses. For
example, waterfalls, crowded urban centers and action video games develop our
senses.
DO:
Each day immerse yourself in at least one environment that overloads your senses.
Pause to savor it and identify specific perceptions and new associations.
Innovation as an everyday everywhere capability in your organization
12
Study Surprise to Gain Insight into How Minds Work
“The backbone of surprise is fusing speed with secrecy.”
Karl Von Clausewitz, soldier and military theorist
THINK:
We remember, learn from and can be delighted by surprise. Magic, jokes, games,
sudden good fortune, chance encounters and things out of place all set off our
novelty detectors.
DO:
Watch carefully today for small events that create pleasant surprises for other
people. Document how they work and how they could be used in your innovation.
Innovation as an everyday everywhere capability in your organization
13
Special Moments and Objects Reveal the Human Heart
“Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by the moments that take our
breath away.” Hilary Cooper, artist
THINK:
Life is made special by certain people, events and objects. For example, a childhood
teacher, a chance sighting of a rare animal and a family heirloom all make us feel
special.
DO:
Take time today to experience something that is truly special to you. Make notes
on how your innovation could reproduce the feelings of specialness.
Innovation as an everyday everywhere capability in your organization
14
Catalog Metaphors that Reveal How Others Think
“We mutter about six metaphors a minute.”
James Geary, TED talk
THINK:
Innovators tap into metaphors to discover needs, communicate new ideas and
encourage adoption. For example, this process is like pulling teeth.
DO:
Catalog the metaphors used by the group you are innovating for. Listen to
conversations and read documents looking for sentences that use one thing to
explain or describe another.
Innovation as an everyday everywhere capability in your organization
15
Read Emotions and Unlock New Opportunities for Innovation
“Human behavior flows from three main sources: desire, emotion,
and knowledge.“ Plato, a founder of Western philosophy
THINK:
Successful innovations produce strong emotions. For example, movies make us
laugh, people love their iPhone and lottery tickets deliver a hope of making it big.
DO:
Take time out today to observe one emotionally charged event in detail. Make note
of the facial expressions, hand gestures, posture and vocal tones of the people
involved.
Innovation as an everyday everywhere capability in your organization
16
Intense Beliefs and Feelings are Needs to Be Met
“One person with passion is better than forty people merely interested.”
E. M. Forster, writer
THINK:
Customer’s intense beliefs and feeling are opportunities innovators. For example,
a strong belief in the value of self-expression drives the popularity of blogging.
DO:
Listen carefully today for “I believe” or “I feel” that is stated with verbal or gestural
intensity by those you are innovating for. Make notes and include related beliefs
and justifications.
Innovation as an everyday everywhere capability in your organization
17
Collect Images and Videos to Dig Deep
“Have you ever wondered what your subconscious mind looks like?”
David Icke, writer of conspiracy literature
THINK:
Hidden assumptions and complex emotions can be expressed through images. For
example, collages of pictures are used to uncover metaphors and mental models.
DO:
In preparing for an innovation meeting today ask participants to Google an image or
video that best expresses the key issue of the meeting. Take time to examine one in
detail.
Innovation as an everyday everywhere capability in your organization
18
Map out Surrounding Artifacts to Understand the Ecosystem
"A system is a network of interdependent components that work together to try to
accomplish the aim of the system.” Edwards Deming, statistician and quality guru
THINK:
Products and services don’t work by themselves they are part of an ecosystem. For
example, dinner out includes, a table, chairs, menu, food, wait service, music and
many other artifacts.
DO:
Take time today to map out the ecosystem for your innovation. Identify the objects,
people and processes involved and diagram how they connect.
Innovation as an everyday everywhere capability in your organization
19
The World is a Learning Lab – Use it!
“A discovery is said to be an accident meeting a prepared mind.”
Albert Szent-Gyorgyi, Nobel Prize winner
THINK:
Daily routines are filled with opportunities to test ideas and learn. For example,
travelers on long flights can interact with others they might not otherwise meet.
DO:
Each morning identify questions, observations or simple requests you can make
that day to refine your innovation or expand your thinking. Carefully record the
results.
Innovation as an everyday everywhere capability in your organization
20
Watch People Work to See Ingenuity and Opportunity
“Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.”
Aristotle, philosopher and teacher of Alexander the Great
THINK:
Every day best practices and needs are showcased to alert innovators. For example,
new businesses have started from watching people wait for cabs or struggle with
reservations.
DO:
Today study happy drug store clerks, restaurant workers, bus drivers or others.
Make note of practices and emotions and how to adapt them to your innovation.
Innovation as an everyday everywhere capability in your organization
21
Experience the World: Ask for and Give Help
“Wherever a man turns he can find someone who needs him.”
Albert Schweitzer, medical missionary and philosopher
THINK:
Small kindnesses reveal needs and opportunities to innovate. For example, holding
a door, giving directions or showing someone how to work a gadget are kindnesses
or services.
DO:
Help someone that does not expect it today. You will need to watch closely for
people that need assistance and appear open to help.
Innovation as an everyday everywhere capability in your organization
22
Immerse Yourself in the Community that Uses Your Innovation
“A little experience often upsets a lot of theory.”
S. Parkes Cadman, Clergyman and writer
THINK:
The best innovators observe needs, problems and opportunities first-hand. For
example, both Steven Jobs and Tim Cook of Apple spend time responding to
customer emails.
DO:
Define one small but new way to immerse yourself in the customer’s world today.
Be sure to record what you see, hear, smell, touch and taste.
Innovation as an everyday everywhere capability in your organization
23
Move from Observer to Participant for Empathetic Insights
"Empathy… seeing with the eyes of another, listening with the ears of another, and
feeling with the heart of another." A. Adler, founder of individual psychology
THINK:
New observations flow when you are the customer. For example, you have new
observations about bikes learning to ride them than you do just watching others.
DO:
Work today for at least an hour in the area your problem or innovation comes from.
Document new and interesting thoughts, feelings, sensations or other empathetic
observations you have.
Innovation as an everyday everywhere capability in your organization
24
Always Be on the Hunt for a Good Story
“The universe is made of stories, not atoms.”
Muriel Rukeyser, American poet
THINK:
Innovators like good reporters can sniff out the important story. For example,
conflicts can be a great source of insight if you get the whole story.
DO:
In a casual setting today ask someone for their opinion on healthcare or education.
Listen carefully and ask questions to get the full story - who, what, when, where,
how and why.
Innovation as an everyday everywhere capability in your organization
25
Get More from Questions That Show Respect and Interest
“Never take a person’s dignity: it is worth everything to them, and nothing to you.”
Frank Barron, psychologist
THINK:
The best innovators ask questions that open people up. For example, “That’s
fascinating, how did you make that work?”
DO:
Write out one question you need to ask today. Preface it with terms that show
respect, give kudos, demonstrate keen interest or otherwise affirm the other
person.
Innovation as an everyday everywhere capability in your organization
26
Think About the Questions You Failed to Ask
“Innovators not only ask provocative questions, but constantly work at asking
better ones.” Jeff Dyer, The Innovator’s DNA
THINK:
The best innovators think about questions. For example, they craft specific
questions ahead of time and identify questions that go unasked and unanswered.
DO:
This morning review a recent meeting or call and make a list of the questions you
wished you would have asked. Identify an upcoming meeting, call or visit where you
can use a wish-I-had-asked question.
Innovation as an everyday everywhere capability in your organization
27
Record Observations Before They are Lost or Distorted
“Accuracy of observation is the equivalent of accuracy of thinking.”
Wallace Stevens, Insurance executive and poet
THINK:
Innovators capture observations as they occur. For example, Richard Branson the
famous British entrepreneur is well known for taking copious notes.
DO:
Take daily field notes to capture the context and details on behaviors, work
processes and objects you find interesting or unique. Make your notes in real-time
or as you observe.
Innovation as an everyday everywhere capability in your organization
28
Use a Camera to Capture Context, Beauty and Detail
"The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera."
Dorothea Lange, documentary photographer
THINK:
Innovators use cameras to automatically capture detail for later study. For example,
photos and videos from the field are intensely reviewed by design teams for
insights.
DO:
The camera in your mobile phone is an important innovation tool. Take two
pictures today that capture photos worthy of further study.
Innovation as an everyday everywhere capability in your organization
29
Collect Samples to Generate Insights and New Questions
“Nearly every artifact has a story connected to it….”
Stephen Ambrose, historian
THINK:
Samples from site visits or field work can reveal important clues later. For example,
defective parts, example forms, scrap, packaging and screen shots are a rich source
of detail.
DO:
While otherwise making observations today collect a relevant sample. Later in the
day study it closely and generate a list of follow-up questions.
Innovation as an everyday everywhere capability in your organization
30
End of Sample Deck
Please send comments, questions
and requests for other innovation
decks to mark.k.clare@gmail.com