NPC 2014 - North - Building Innovation Thought Process - Aditya Bhalla, QAI Global

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Building Innovation Thought Process

7-core skills of Innovators

Aditya Bhalla, Innovation Practice Head, QAI Global

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Aditya Bhalla Innovation Practice Head, QAI Global

• President of TRIZ Asia Forum and one of the two in South Asia to be Certified MATRIZ Level 3 and ITRIZ-IPS, AFD trainer, Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt, and Post Graduate Diploma in Patents Law.

• Facilitated over 400 projects spanning different industries and trained more than 1500 people on areas related to Design of products and services, Business Process Innovation, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Business process design and improvement.

• Created innovative problem solving programs for kids from age group 8+ years

• Authored 50+ articles published in ASQ Quality Progress, ASQ Six Sigma Forum, Quality Digest, Altshuller Institute, TRIZ Journal, IDG Outsourcing World, OUTSOURCING, The Business Issues, Management Next amongst others.

• Been invited as a speaker to many international conferences in Asia Pacific and Middle East.

• Started career in 1995 after graduating from IIT-Delhi.

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Agenda

A. Ideation, Invention and InnovationPg. 4

B. Our Mind is our Biggest Battlefield!Pg. 12

C. Successful Entrepreneurs are innovative problem solvers Pg. 32

D. Illustrative problems for 7 core skills of innovators Pg. 44

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A. Ideation, Invention and Innovation

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Ideation, Invention and Innovation

1. Ideation

i. The process of generating ideas

ii. Creativity or the ability to generate ideas is a MUST.

2. Invention

i. It is an output or outcome of inventive thinking

ii. Key characteristic of an invention: Novelty

iii. Inventive thinking is an attempt to generate a novel or unique solution to a problem that has not yet been considered by any prior or existing solutions.

iv. Patent is one type of legal protection available for an invention to an inventor.

3. Innovation

i. Key characteristics: Novelty and Usefulness

ii. Innovation is a solution in an area of concern for a customer that is novel when compared to alternative solutions and is readily accepted and implemented by the customer (seen as adding value to the customer).

Idea both unique and well known

Invention – Novel or unique

solution idea

Innovation – Novel and

Useful

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Exercise: Invention or Innovation?

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Systematic Innovation is a structured process of Idea to Impact

• Systematic Innovation

– The structured process of generating innovative ideas

– Innovation is about finding better ways of delivering value to the customer – Mind to Market.

– Technology is an enabler

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Exercise: Invention or Innovation?

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Does structure limit Creativity?

• Most Western music use the seven-note major scale.– Does that limit the creativity of

the singers/musicians?

• A waterbrush artist has limited material options to play with.– Does that make the output

less creative?

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Levels of Systematic Innovation

Value Proposition

• Business Model Innovation

• Product / Service Innovation

Creation of Value

• Production or Manufacturing Process Innovation

Delivery of Value

• Supply Chain Management Process Innovation

What we sell? How it is Created? How it is Delivered?

Technology as an Enabler

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Five Application areas of Systematic Innovation

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B. Our Mind is our biggest Battlefield!

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What stops us from generating innovative solutions?

• There are many reasons why people struggle to generate innovative solutions

• Let us consider real world examples of each

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Exercise: What will happen if…?

• I take out the SIM card of my mobile phone and at that moment my friend dials my phone number?

• What if I told you that I can still talk to my friend?

• What if I further told you that my phone can only hold one (1) SIM card, i.e. it is not dual SIM phone?

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Reason # 1: Our “Knowledge” & “expertise” convinces us otherwise

• "This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us." --Western Union internal memo, 1876.

• "The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?" --David Sarnoff's associates in response to his urgings for investment in the radio in the 1920s.

• International Business Machine (IBM) will never develop electronic computers.-- From Reply of IBM company to John Vincent Atanasoff about the first electronic computer he proposed to the company in 1938.

• "There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home." --Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977

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Exercise: Formula Car powered by chocolates?

• Can a car powered by chocolates, steered by carrots and bodywork of potatoes run at 125 mph in Formula racing competition?

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Formula 3 racing car powered by chocolate and steered by carrots

• Researchers at the University of Warwick have unveiled the “WorldFirst Formula 3 racing car” which is powered by chocolate, steered by carrots, has bodywork made from potatoes, and can still do 125mph around corners.

• Components include

– A race specification steering wheel derived from carrots and other root vegetables,

– A flax fibre and soybean oil foam racing seat,

– A woven flax fibre bib, plant oil based lubricants and

– A biodiesel engine configured to run on fuel derived from waste chocolate and vegetable oil.

– It also incorporates a radiator coated in a ground-breaking emission destroying catalyst.

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Functions remain constant

Solutions keep on changing/evolving

We are mostly arguing about solutions while…

…Customers are loyal to the Function and not the specific solution

Reason #2: Our mind refuses to let go of solutions!

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.dkimages.com/discover/previews/1545/11721666.JPG&imgrefurl=http://www.dkimages.com/discover/Home/Technology/Communications/Early-Communications/Smoke-Signals/Smoke-Signals-4.html&h=512&w=568&sz=43&hl=en&start=4&usg=__CHbW2GA8l8Qw5WPuHLoHT-V_yBE=&tbnid=nyqobtYpfheeaM:&tbnh=121&tbnw=134&prev=/images?q=smoke+signals&gbv=2&ndsp=20&hl=en&sa=N

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://cache.viewimages.com/xc/3290277.jpg?v=1&c=ViewImages&k=2&d=C06051C8BA2A5A2C9ED47B293D2C899EA55A1E4F32AD3138&imgrefurl=http://www.jamd.com/image/g/3290277&h=442&w=594&sz=50&hl=en&start=3&usg=__Hhb1RJ6zGG0J2C30_GcfW1zmb-s=&tbnid=WnRJWc7ni1JXiM:&tbnh=100&tbnw=135&prev=/images?q=speaking+tube&gbv=2&ndsp=20&hl=en&sa=N

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://newsdesk.si.edu/images_full/images/museums/nmah/treasures/morse_telegraph_key.jpg&imgrefurl=http://newsdesk.si.edu/photos/nmah_treasures.htm&h=2362&w=3000&sz=1709&hl=en&start=3&um=1&usg=__LeCTc6gH8fQWjyglSNkorReDlkY=&tbnid=6C7m6JLTHSuAPM:&tbnh=118&tbnw=150&prev=/images?q=telegraph&um=1&hl=en&rlz=1T4ADBF_enUS281US282

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.enterprise-ireland.com/NR/rdonlyres/EED5176A-6216-4E9C-B850-8F1048990973/0/Telephone2.jpg&imgrefurl=http://valleyhaggard.blogspot.com/2008/01/telephone-bar.html&h=1180&w=1181&sz=234&hl=en&start=1&um=1&usg=__65XFWu7e_PoDhDfTLtI0ZBI7vMs=&tbnid=20_MghN3tnyzxM:&tbnh=150&tbnw=150&prev=/images?q=telephone&um=1&hl=en&rlz=1T4ADBF_enUS281US282

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://farm1.static.flickr.com/179/467339323_24bc3b1bea.jpg?v=0&imgrefurl=http://flickr.com/photos/gbaku/467339323/&h=320&w=500&sz=111&hl=en&start=8&um=1&usg=__2AnhIynqKiRpS2OsB6YCUNK12sA=&tbnid=RP-G9Ygwy7WAnM:&tbnh=83&tbnw=130&prev=/images?q=communication+drumming&um=1&hl=en&sa=N

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.telephoneisland.com/Images/Products/Large/DKT2104-CT.JPG&imgrefurl=http://grandslamtelecom.blogspot.com/2005/09/toshiba-dkt2104-ct-cordless-phone.html&h=502&w=335&sz=20&hl=en&start=10&um=1&usg=__HJhTr_AMeWwmQpw0AN0KpNix5z8=&tbnid=qKNdBw42mU5j3M:&tbnh=130&tbnw=87&prev=/images?q=digital+phone&um=1&hl=en

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://webpages.csus.edu/~jh556/my%20cell%20phone.jpg&imgrefurl=http://webpages.csus.edu/~jh556/About%20me.htm&h=400&w=400&sz=32&hl=en&start=40&um=1&usg=__5v6_KknogJt2C2J0ePUFU_7AuHI=&tbnid=qcQDEdKQjET1AM:&tbnh=124&tbnw=124&prev=/images?q=cell+phone&start=20&ndsp=20&um=1&hl=en&sa=N

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Exercise: A restaurant serves you food on a brick (construction) and asks you to “lick the brick”. Would you?

Would you lick the brick?

‘Chicken on a brick' - a London house brick coated in caramel glaze and then smeared with chicken liver parfait topped with sweet corn, pearl barley, edible

flowers, celeriac purée and a red onion jam.

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Reason #3: Failure to anticipate evolutionary patterns and preparing for the future

Horses and Horseless carriages

• The first time cars starting running on the roads, a law was passed requiring a horse’s head to be attached to the front to prevent other horses from being spooked

• A man with a hand-bell run was required to run in front of the automobile to warn pedestrians.

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What is reality today was considered a fiction in the past.

What is considered a fiction today will be the reality tomorrow.

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Exercise: What’s the connection between iPod and Seafood?

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Reason # 4: Creativity and Age of an Individual

10-12 years old

Peak of Creativity

Age

Creativity

The French psychologist, Antoine Ribot studied the effect of age on creativity in the early 1900’s.

He found the age at which the average person peaks to be 14.

A few years ago MIT’s Sloan School of Management repeated the study.

They found that the peak age of creativity had shifted down to 12.

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Exercise: How to thread a sewing needle?

• Threading a sewing needle can be a real pain.

• What are the different ways you can think of threading a sewing needle?

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Sewing needle: What ideas did you get?

Any other ideas?

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Reason # 5: Psychological Inertia of an untrained mind holds back our thinking!

Psychological Inertia Types• Image• Function• Functioning or principle of

operation• Manner of usage• Typical Characteristic• Typical Orientation• Dimension of object• Terminology or Jargon• Traditional conditions• Traditional values• Superfluous Information

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Time to Practice!

• Discuss and present as many different ways as possible in which a spoon can be used!

• You have 2 minutes!

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How many did you get?

1. Scoop

– Food items

– Mud in the garden

– Insect walking on the ground

2. Stirrer of liquid

3. Paperweight

4. Measuring instrument

5. Reflective surface (if metallic)

6. Scratching a surface (including back)

7. Holding hair as a knot

8. To remove the top of any surface

9. As a hammer

10. Conductor of heat (if metallic)

11. Attract attention

12. To play music13. As a decorative item14. As a puppet15. To apply paint/glue16. To hit someone/something17. To display luxury/personal wealth18. To cut open a sealed cardboard box19. As a candle (if made of wood)20. As a candle stand21. As a teaching aid (Convex/concave)22. Holding lemon in lemon and spoon race23. Snacks holder24. Controlled irrigation 25. ……

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High I.Q. and E.Q.

≠

High Thinking Skills

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• A lot of emphasis has been laid on technical skills and soft skills…

• However, one skill remains largely unaddressed…

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Core skills employed by successful innovators

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C. Successful Product Entrepreneurs are Innovative

Problem Solvers…

…with a high risk appetite

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Innovators are problem solvers

Customer problems

Businessproblems

Partnerproblems

Employeeproblems

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What do we mean by a Problem?

Problem is defined as the gap between the desired value and the actual or current value of some characteristic or parameter of interest within an area of focus

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Not all problems require inventive thinking!

• Routine Problem– For which there are known solutions that

can close the gap between the desired value and the current value.

• Creative Problem– This is the realm of Innovation

– Popular or conventional solutions are not effective in closing the gap between the desired value and the current value

– There are no pre-scripted answers

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Routine vs. Creative Problem examples

Routine Problem

1. Reducing the defects generated on the floor by a team handling a specific work type.

2. Improving the productivity of team handling a specific work type

Creative Problem

1. Preventing the occurrence of defects that occur randomly, at low frequency and even by experienced staff

2. Improving the productivity of team whose members are either in continuous churn (attrition) or are seasonal (based on spike in incoming volume)

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What stops an Idea from becoming an Innovation?

Five stages where ideas fail to create an impact on the customer

• 1. Identification: We generate solutions in an area that is not of value to the customer

• 2. Ideation: Our ideas are not bold enough – customer is not motivated to change.

• 3. Innovation: We design a solution that is Novel but not Useful to the customer

• 4. Interaction: We fail to communicate the usefulness of the solution to the customer

• 5. Implementation: The solution is not value for money.

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1. Addressing an area not of value to customer?

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2. Idea not bold enough?

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3. Novel but not useful?

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4. Fail to communicate the value?

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5. Not value for money?

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Five steps from Idea to Impact

1. Identification

1.1 Is the customer’s area of concern of high importance to the customer?

1.2 Is the customer dissatisfied with the current solutions in that area of concern?

1.3 Is the customer actively seeking alternative solutions?

2. Ideation

2.1 Can we demonstrate the novelty of our solution?

2.2 Does the proposed solution make use of readily available resources?

2.3 Are we closer to achieving ideality or perfection?

3. Innovation

3.1 Does the proposed solution address the explicit needs of the customer and the underlying contradictions?

3.2 Do the strengths of our product map to the explicit needs of the customer?

4. Interaction

4.1 Does the customer acknowledge that our solution resolves the explicit need of the customer

4.2 Do our communications reflect the same?

5. Implementation

5.1 Is the solution creating bigger secondary problems for customer?

5.2 Is it fitting within the constraints of the customer?

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D. Illustrative problems for understanding core skills of innovators

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Core skills employed by successful innovators

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1. Abstraction & Analogy thinking: Are the two problems similar?

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2. Contradiction resolution: How to sleep with eyes open?

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3. Resource Thinking: Two Donkeys and Two Haystacks

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4. Exercise: Ensuring kids wash their hands before eating food

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Exercise: Ensuring kids wash their hands before eating food

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Conventional Approach is Inefficient

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Balanced development of Left-Brain and Right-Brain potential

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Aditya [email protected]

Mobile: +91-9810227503

Any Questions?

Leadership & Management

NPC 2014 - North - Building Innovation Thought Process - Aditya Bhalla, QAI Global