Business Skills for Chemical Scientists
Ingenuity
Part 1
1
Agenda
•Ingenuity
Example
Explanation
And chemistry
•This session –
 PHASE ONE - RED CARD
•Ahead for next session
2
What is ingenuity? In action…
Apollo 13
The Million Dollar Homepage
3
Ingenuity starts with #1
• A focus on the ‘Huston we have a problem’
moment rather than ‘EUREKA! here’s the
solution..’
• In the tradition of
The entrepreneur (in the Schumpeter (1921)
sense not the everyone in business sense)
Shifting the paradigm (Kuhn, 1962)
Tensions – between innovation and orthodoxy
4
Ingenuity starts with #2
• And YOU…
• Problem solving …
 Mechanically?
 Tacit knowing and trust ?
 Need for divergent
thinking before rushing
to convergent
production of a single
solution too soon
5
Problem Description
Phase I
Definition
Problem Structure
Strategy to Solve Problem
•The INGENUITY process
•Example
Problem Statement
Phase II
Discover
Ideas-Opportunities
Potential Concepts
Final Concepts
Phase III
Determine
Selection Process
Implementation Plan for
Optimal Solution
6
Problem Description
DESCRIBE THE SYMPTOMS
• The RED
card
Phase I
Definition
Problem Structure
FIND THE ROOT CAUSES
Strategy to Solve Problem
DECIDE HOW TO ATTEMPT A
SOLUTION
7
Thoughts on problem definition…
‘have lots of ideas and
throw away the bad
ones….You aren’t going
to have good ideas
unless you have lots of
ideas and some sort of
principle of selection’
Linus Pauling
• Top TIPS
 Listen (to yourself AND
each other)
 Don’t interrupt
 Some useful questions
when defining the
problem, see p47-59
8
Thoughts on problem definition…
‘Intelligent people can juggle a half-dozen
concepts simultaneously and make good
decisions rapidly – and many of them
seldom have a creative moment. They are
so good at the standard answers and so
eager to move on to the next decision that
they never play around with nonstandard
possibilities…
There is such a thing as being “too good”
because, in much of life, there are no
correct answers. You have to invent new
ones and contemplate them for some
time.’
W. H. Calvin
• Top tips
• Open your mind, say
anything
• Pause, slow down - notice
when you are rushing
ahead with the one
solution
• Stay on task… define the
problem
9
Phase 1 – define
• How does the problem
manifest itself?
• Who does the problem
affect?
• What is the impact of
the problem?
• Analyse the evidence;
describe the symptoms
10
Lack of parking in the city
• Describe the problem - who, what,
when, where, how, why (symptoms)
 Time parking - stress and ? productivity
 Cars being driven around unnecessarily
•
•
•
•
•
Pollution / health issues
City life unpleasant
Slows all traffic
Accidents
Waste of petrol / car damage
11
Phase 1 – discover
• How does the problem
work?
• Is it simple or complex?
• What are the root
causes?
• Explore the structure of
the problem, find the
root causes
12
Phase 1 – determine
• What are the criteria for
success?
• What are the
• Decide how to attempt
constraints in both time
a solution
and resource?
• What are the priorities?
Lack of parking in the city
• Problem Structure
 Lack of parking
 Public transport inefficient/ unattractive
 People like privacy/ space
 The car
• Problem Strategy
 Pilot solution in Nottingham area
14
• The RED
card TASK
Problem Description
DESCRIBE THE SYMPTOMS
Phase I
Definition
Problem Structure
FIND THE ROOT CAUSES
Strategy to Solve Problem
DECIDE HOW TO ATTEMPT A
SOLUTION
15
Global challenges and chemistry
•
•
•
•
Population growth
Scarcity of resources
Disease
Consequences of the
industrialised and
globalised world
 Population - ageing
healthcare
 Resource scarcity – nonrenewables; energy;
water; land
 Disease - obesity; HIV;
cancer; infection
 Late modern world climate change;
sustainability and waste;
urbanisation; mobility
16
Business Skills for Chemical Scientists
Ingenuity
Part 2
17
Agenda
•Ingenuity
Revisit key points
Review progress
•This session –
 PHASE TWO- ORANGE CARD
•Ahead for next session
18
What is ingenuity? Phase 2…
Apollo 13
Phase 2– generate lots of
IDEAS
19
Problem Description
Phase I
Definition
Problem Structure
Strategy to Solve Problem
Problem Statement
• The INGENUITY
process
Phase II
Discover
Ideas-Opportunities
Potential Concepts
Final Concepts
Phase III
Determine
Selection Process
Implementation Plan for
Optimal Solution
20
Problem Statement
PREPARE TO FIND SOLUTIONS
• The
ORANGE
card
Phase II
Discover
Ideas/Opportunities
GENERATE MULTIPLE
SOLUTIONS
Potential Concepts
NOTICE AS REALISTIC
CONCEPTS EMERGE
21
Thoughts on problem discovery…
“Creativity is the yeast
• Top TIPS
of innovation; a small
 Listen (to yourself AND
each other)
part of the recipe,
 Don’t interrupt
useless on it’s own but
 Some useful questions
see what happens when
when discovering the
you miss it out”
problem, see p62-84
William Beck
22
Phase 1 – define
• Present a clear
explanation
• Construct a strategy
• Compose a statement
• Prepare to find
solutions
23
Lack of parking in the city
• Problem Statement
 ‘there is an excess demand
for parking in areas of
insufficient supply for
commuters in cities”
24
Phase 2 – discover
• Seek analogies
• Generate non obvious
ideas
• Find as many ideas as
possible
• Generate multiple
solutions
25
Phase 3 – determine
• Reflect on nature and
diversity of ideas
• Have all the
permutations been
explored?
• Have enough ideas
been produced?
• Notice as realistic
concepts begin to
emerge
26
city parking – multiple solutions
Under water parking
Park in middle of roads
Model specific parking
Parking on sides of buildings
Mobile car parks
No lines in car parks
Low roofs in car parks
Jig saw cars
Car becomes a generator
Disposable cars
Cars become delivery cars
floating cars
Driverless cars
Ebay car park auction for space
Collapsible cars
Time share car parks
No lorries in city
No shops in cities
Community cars
Portable offices
27
Effect ideas discovery…
• Top TIPS
 Generate as many solutions
as possible (>50)
 Use post it notes
 Make a lateral, non linear
jump to achieve creative
insights
 ‘Hitchhiking’ is encouraged
• Top TIPS
 No criticism is allowed
 Rank your ideas from 1=
incremental innovation and 5
= radically new
 You should aim to generate at
least 20 radically new ideas
 use your knowledge of the
latest research in your field
28
•The
ORANGE
card TASK
Problem Statement
PREPARE TO FIND SOLUTIONS
Phase II
Discover
Ideas/Opportunities
GENERATE MULTIPLE
SOLUTIONS
Potential Concepts
NOTICE AS REALISTIC
CONCEPTS EMERGE
29
Business Skills for Chemical Scientists
Ingenuity
Part 3
30
Agenda
•Ingenuity
Revisit key points
Review progress
•This session –
 PHASE THREE- GREEN CARD
31
What is ingenuity? Phase 3…
Apollo 13
Phase 3–at last, the SOLUTION
32
Problem Description
Phase I
Definition
Problem Structure
Strategy to Solve Problem
Problem Statement
• The INGENUITY
process
Phase II
Discover
Ideas-Opportunities
Potential Concepts
Final Concepts
Phase III
Determine
Selection Process
Implementation Plan for
Optimal Solution
33
Final Concepts
SELECT AND ENGINEER
POTENTIAL SOLUTION
• The
GREEN
card
Phase III
Determine
Selection process
FIND THE BEST SOLUTION
Look to the future
CONSIDER IMPLEMENTATION
34
Thoughts on problem
determination …
‘‘People who don’t take
risks generally make
about two big mistakes
a year. People who do
take risks generally
make about two big
mistakes a year’’
Peter Drucker
35
Phase 1 – define
• Sort and sift ideas into
categories
• Construct realistic
possibilities
• Select 3/4
• Select and engineer
potential solutions
36
Phase 2 – discover
• Recall criteria from
problem definition
stage
• Compare the
alternatives
• Choose the optimal
solution
• Investigate the
alternatives and find
the best solution
37
Phase 3 – determine
• Present chosen solution
• Examine barriers to
acceptance
• Produce
implementation plan
• Concentrate on the
imagined future
38
city parking – final concepts
• Categorised ideas into
three groups
 Infrastructure changes
 High tech solutions
 Social engineering
• Produced three super
solutions – one from
each category
• Mobile car park
• Yield management of car
parks via tom toms, GPS
• Ban lorries
39
Effective determination …
• Final concepts
 Categorisation
 post-it notes
 theme the ideas
 be flexible – force fit
 Synthesis
 start with a single idea
and build from the rest
• Selection
 generate criteria required in a
solution
 score solution by criteria
 advantages/disadvantages
matrix
• Implementation
 imagine using a solution in
practice
 removing negatives:- borrow
from other solutions and
from phase 2
40
•The GREEN
card TASK
Final Concepts
SELECT AND ENGINEER
POTENTIAL SOLUTION
Phase III
Determine
Selection process
FIND THE BEST SOLUTION
Look to the future
CONSIDER IMPLEMENTATION
41