6 Principles to Work Differently // Question and Reframe

Challenging assumptions to open up new possibilitiesQUESTION and REFRAME

6 principles to WORKdifferentlyWORKdifferently Copyright © 2015 gravitytank.com

WORKdifferently Copyright © 2015 gravitytank.com

“If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn’t thinking.”

G E O R G E S . P A T T O N

WORKdifferently Copyright © 2015 gravitytank.com WORKdifferently Copyright © 2015 gravitytank.com


Question and Reframe

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Instant photography was a revolutionary innovation

1948 Polaroid - first

commercially available instant camera

1983 Polaroid - $1.3 billion in sales, over 1,000

patents




1983 Polaroid - $1.3 billion in sales, over 1,000

patents

Until it wasn’t…

2001 Polaroid - files for

bankruptcy


What went wrong?


Hindered by its own success

1978 Konica- first point

and shoot




bankruptcy

1986 Fuji - first

disposable camera

2000 First camera

phone1994

First consumer grade digital cameras


While consumers’ mental model of photography was shifting, Polaroid’s wasn’t



They are what enable progress

Shifts in mental models aren’t new

MAGELLAN

In I519-1522 Magellan and Elcano circumnavigated the globe, proving it was round.

“PARADIGM SHIFT”

In 1962 Thomas Kuhn named a change of basic scientific assumptions a “paradigm shift.” These shifts prevent science from stagnating.

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Why is it hard for organizations to make big shifts before the moment of crisis?

1978 Konica- first point

and shoot




bankruptcy

1986 Fuji - first

disposable camera

2000 First camera

phone1994

First consumer grade digital cameras


Ptolomy’s geocentric model of the universe endured for nearly 1000 years, even when

empirical evidence began to indicate otherwise

We force new things into our existing ways

of understanding


Our workplaces don’t encourage questioning either

CONVENTIONS

Our world is defined by accepting conventions and assumptions

INCENTIVES

We’re rewarded for doing what’s expected

COMPETITION

Our career depends on keeping up with our surroundings


Nowhere new to go“Our solutions are incremental, not innovative.”

“Our systems and processes have become very cumbersome.”

We’re stuck in a rut…

…we just keep coming up

with the same ideas.


Question + ReframeShift the way we think

about the problemChallenge our basic

assumptions and constraints

WORKdifferently Copyright © 2015 gravitytank.com 17WORKdifferently Copyright © 2015 gravitytank.com

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Why can’t anyone accept

credit cards, anywhere?

Ask “why” of the status quo

Derived from image by Mike Mozart [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Flickr


SERVICE FOR ANYONE, ANYWHERE • Free card reader – Use any mobile device • Set up in minutes. no credit checks • Simple flat rate • No additional fees

TOSERVICE FOR QUALIFIED MERCHANTS • Expensive hardware • Lengthy application and credit checks • Monthly subscription fee • Startup and other hidden fees

19

Square reframed banking for small businesses

To open up new possibilities

FROM

Derived from image by Mike Mozart [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Flickr

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Question


We first have to understand what assumptions we’re making, things we accept to be true or certain


“People buy music in stores.”


“People buy music in stores.”ASSUMPTIONS

Stores are physical places for purchasing

Music is something to be bought and owned

Music “units” are albums or songs

Music delivery formats are physical products


QUESTIONS

Are stores the only place where people should go? What if it wasn't a store?

Why can’t people rent or borrow music instead of buying it?

What if people could access a whole genre or collection instead of specific albums or songs?

Does music have to have a physical format?

“People buy music in stores.”


Questions prompt you to reconsider



Reframe


Reframes are powerful and challenging acts of rewiring the brain


Some of the simplest reframes lead to entirely new opportunities

Why can’t regular people be investors?

From banks and VC firms as investors to the public at large as investors

Are hotels the only option for travelers?

From hotel room as accommodation to any home as accommodation

What if restaurants were more like theaters?

From payment for services rendered to pre-paid ticket commitment


EXPANDING RESEARCH SCOPE

Doctor/patient relationship expands to include family caregivers in healthcare research

REVERSING DAILY ACTIVITIES

School activities in the flipped classroom are reversed: watch lectures as homework and practice “homework” at school

RECONSIDERING SPACE

Typically “social” spaces become the work spaces

Reframes can also happen at a smaller scale and impact day-to-day work


Imagine a perfect experience, then listen for excuses

or roadblocks

Identify constraints, then see what happens if you

change or remove one of them

Identify your basic assumptions, and ask if they have

to be true

Ask “what if” and “what

would that mean”

Simple shifts in approach can lead to meaningful reframes


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6 Principles to Work Differently // Question and Reframe