Bēhance 99% Conference

May 2012Chris Walker

1% inspiration, and 99% perspiration

The goal of the 99% is to shift the focus from idea generation to idea execution.

IDEO WorkshopHuman-Centered Design Process

About IDEOIDEO is a global innovation and design consulting firm that uses a human-centered, design-based approach to help organizations in the business, government, education, healthcare, and social sectors innovate and grow. The New York studio is located in the heart of Soho and is home to more than 40 talented IDEOers across a wide range of creative disciplines as well as one very well-worn foosball table.

As early as possible, begin creating prototypes

Use Color & Form to Attract Attention

• Test Early• Fail Often • Succeed Early

For Experience Design…

Create Experience Prototypes or Spatial Walk-ThroughsMove from prototype-driven specs to spec-driven prototypes

What We LearnedPrototyping takes you to unexpected placesRogue Teams Add Value“Fly, Crash, and Fly Again”

Conference Speakers

Rilla Alexander

• Capture Your Ideas to Minimize Distraction

• Chunk Everything Way Down

• Rework Ideas

Josh RubinCool Hunting

“There are no new ideas, just great executions”

Jonah Lehrer Author,Imagine: How Creativity Works

• Answers come at unexpected times

• They arrive associated with feeling of certainty

• Epiphanies are romantic, but they are always followed by periods of concentrated work

Compound

Remote

Association

Problems

Compound Remote Association Problems

Example: pine, crab, sauce

Question: what word can form a familiar compound word or phrase with the each of these words?

Solution: apple

(pineapple, crabapple, applesauce)

Alpha Waves Relaxation Epiphany

“Creativity is the residue of wasted time.”

-- Albert Einstein

Grit

• Stubborn• Persistent• Single-minded• Does not quit

Angela Duckworth, Grit Surveyhttp://www.sas.upenn.edu/~duckwort/images/12-item%20Grit%20Scale.05312011.pdf

45 years is the average lifespan for a Fortune 100 company

Cities, on the other hand, never die

Human Productivity Increases with Urbanization

• Companies become LESS productive as they grow

• Cities do not try to micromanage productivity; they are chaotic

• Companies stifle creativity• When in doubt, emulate the city

Teresa AmabileHarvard Business School

What do George Patton, Oprah Winfrey, Edward Weston and Andy Warhol have in common?

Answer: Diaries

• Write about a problem • Think Broadly• Keep a diary BECAUSE you are busy

What Keeps People Happy at Work?

Creativity

Productivity

Positive Inner

Work Life

Psychological Literature Defines Diary Benefits:

• Celebrate small wins• Plan next steps• Nurture personal growth

(spot patterns)• Cultivate patience

Keep a Diary!

How to:• Start small• Appoint a specific time• Create a reminder• Find your medium• Start by refreshing and then

reflect• Use ANY format

Content:• Progress vs. Setbacks• Crystal moments• Hassles and Horrors

(get them off your chest)• Plan one progress catalyst

for tomorrow

Keith Yamashita KY Partners

Most of their work is secret, but KY Partners performed rebranding for IBM and Starbucks

Greatness is Usually Achieved by Ensembles

• Need to create an environment where people can be their best selves

• Great teams work hard at it• They cultivate specific habits• Each person should develop their own unique

way of getting unstuck

Habits of Great Teams

• Each one knows their superpower• Purpose• Forces• Bold Moves (focus on most important)• Outcomes• Reframing (resiliency)• Trust starts with duos• Build belief in others

Capitalize On Forces

WasteWhere do you see possibility?

Belonging

Flow

Switch Lenses!

Communication

Time

Duos

• Smallest atomic unit of trust• Who are the top ten duos in your life?• You can respond with love or with fear• Respond with love BEFORE it is safe to do so

Once you know your superpower, your job is to stay in it all the timeThis is the best thing for you and your teamLive your superpower for a week

Master Class:Learning To Embrace Risk & Take Action QuicklyCharlie Todd is the founder of Improv Everywhere, as well as a teacher and performer of improv comedy at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. Since 2001, Improv Everywhere has executed over 100 missions involving thousands of undercover agents, including the Grand Central Freeze and the infamous No Pants! Subway Ride. Their videos have received over 225 million views online.

“Yes, And…”

Piya SorcarTeachAIDS.org

Popular wisdom, “the perfect is the enemy of the good,” is wrong; quality matters

Discomfort Limits Learning

2D, Disney-style animations offer the most comfort

Principles

• Quality materials• Deliver content in native language– Translations are riddled with mistakes– Use translation and then back translation– Back translators have never seen original– Reiterate over and over, until it comes out “clean”

• Balance attention span and completeness– 20-24 minutes is ideal lesson timing

Business Processes Need To Be Rigorous

• What is the core of success?• Strive for Quality in ALL aspects• Use data whenever possible

Jonathan AdlerJonathan Adler

Optimism and Irreverence

Panel Discussion

Neil Blumenthal Jennifer HymanWarby Parker Rent the Runway

Customer Experience

• Everyone is starved for TIME• Create MEMORIES!!!

Memorability drives loyalty• Make them feel better about themselves• Provide Customer Experience Training for

EVERYONE

Understand Your Customer

• What is most important?• What is their hierarchy of priorities?• What makes their life easier?• How do you CONTINUE to inspire confidence

Brand

• What will you deliver without fail, every time?• Brand reassures customers that they will get

what they expect• Customers are thinking, “What does my

association with this brand say about me?”

Some HR Learnings

• Hire slow, fire fast“better to have a hole than an a-hole”

• Interview questions should assess alignment with core values

• Everyone gets trained in all aspects of the operation

• “All hands on deck” can re-energize a team

What Do You Deliver?

dreams

commodities

Glue: Customers Upload Their Experiences

– Warby Parker: Customers upload images of themselves trying on eyeglass frames, asking others to tell them which frames best suits them

– Rent the Runway:Customers upload stories of their special evening

When Customers Complain

• Remember, vulnerability promotes trust• Treat negative situations with honesty

Jason GoldbergFab.com

If you can’t figure something out in a year, throw it away and start something else.There are loads of business problems out there worth solving.

Jason GoldbergFab.com

“Know your superpower, and do the one thing you are best at.”

Paula ScherPentagram

“Things have a life of their own”

Change in MOMA Reporting Structure Made Successful (Unified) Design Possible

Before After

Arthas no

purpose

Designhas a

purpose

Tony FadellNest Thermostat

Source of Creativity = What frustrates you about the world?

Challenge yourself

• CONSTRAINTS are the engine for good design• Be curious about how things work• Prototype in detail the DIFFERENTIATION you

are trying to change• If you are not having doubt, either you are not

differentiating enough, or you are not looking hard enough at the details

The hard piece of the puzzle is the USER EXPERIENCE

Vision Is Good, But Set Near-Term Milestones

• Team must understand where you are going• Opinions: leader makes decision, and can

articulate why• Data!• Keep everyone learning why things succeed or

fail– Ship– Learn– Acknowledge

James Victore

“In the particular lies the universal”

I Don’t Work For Money; I Work To Do Good Things

• Your work is a gift, give it to them!• If there is something you need from the client,

always ASK FOR IT!• Infuse humor, sex appeal, memorability

Baratunde Thurstonhttp://www.jackandjillpolitics.com/How to Be Black

“Just because you’re using tools, doesn’t mean you’re building things.”

APPENDIX

Links

• Speakershttp://the99percent.com/conference/speakers?url=conference-2012

• Coveragehttp://the99percent.com/conference/coverage?url=conference-2012

Timeline

Presenter’s Monitor