think cube new idea generation tool

TH!NKCUBE "You aren't going to have good ideas, unless you have lots of ideas…” Linus Pauling (Nobel Prize Winning Scientist) All Rights Reserved MetaMemes © 2008 All Rights Reserved MetaMemes © 2008 4 FUNDAMENTALS All Rights Reserved MetaMemes © 2008 1 INTERSECTION OF DOMAINS “All decisive advances in the history of scientific thought can be described in terms of mental cross-fertilization between different disciplines.” Arthur Koestler (Researcher) All Rights Reserved MetaMemes © 2008 Small Worlds STRONGTIES WEAK TIES All Rights Reserved MetaMemes © 2008 BREADTH DEPTH All Rights Reserved MetaMemes © 2008 Sweet Spot DOMAINS PEOPLE Best Ideas TRENDS All Rights Reserved MetaMemes © 2008 2 COMBINATORY PLAY “Combinatory play seems to be the essential feature in productive thought.” Albert Einstein All Rights Reserved MetaMemes © 2008 Games • • • • Collaborative Fun Immersive A safe environment to practice skills "A [good] game is a series of interesting choices“ Sid Meier (Game Designer) All Rights Reserved MetaMemes © 2008 ANXIETY IN FLOW CHALLENGE BOREDOM SKILLS All Rights Reserved MetaMemes © 2008 3 INCUBATION “I back away from conscious thought and turn the problem over to my unconscious mind. It will scan a broader array of patterns and find some new close fits from other information stored in my brain.” Art Fry (inventor of Post-It) All Rights Reserved MetaMemes © 2008 Eureka! All Rights Reserved MetaMemes © 2008 1 WEEK LATER All Rights Reserved MetaMemes © 2008 4 BRAINSTORMING SKILL “… you can deliver more value, create more energy, and foster more innovation through better brainstorming.” Tom Kelley, The Art of Innovation. All Rights Reserved MetaMemes © 2008 Brainstorming Not Working? 1. Lack of process or structure. 2. Lack of skilled facilitator. 3. Lack of skilled participants. 4. No agreement of the problem. 5. Lack of stimuli. 6. Pressure to be creative on cue. 7. Pressure to converge quickly!!! 8. Lack of follow up. All Rights Reserved MetaMemes © 2008 The Art of Innovation How IDEO does innovation… • Brainstorming is a pervasive cultural influence at IDEO. It’s part of every project and every day. Brainstorming is a skill and an art to be practiced and perfected. It’s learning to play piano rather than learning to tie your shoelaces. Brainstorming requires a structured but flexible environment. • • All Rights Reserved MetaMemes © 2008 The Brainstorming Habit • Brainstorming only when the stakes are high is akin to running a marathon with no prior training. •Effective brainstorming is not a just-in-time practice. •An Arthur Anderson survey revealed most people (76%) brainstorm less than once a month! All Rights Reserved MetaMemes © 2008 Brain Training • The latest research in Neuroscience shows that the brain is plastic and can be trained to be ‘smarter’! •Through training games like BrainAge and some new games that develop ‘fluid intelligence’ you can develop you mental abilities. •If you want to develop your creative skills you need play mental games like ThinkCube! All Rights Reserved MetaMemes © 2008 TH!NKCUBE All Rights Reserved MetaMemes © 2008 ThinkCube All Rights Reserved MetaMemes © 2008 Innovation Workstation Idea Library with 200 Ideas, Words and Mutation Cards ThinkCube Packaging designed to be an Innovation WorkStation Idea Notepads to collect your own ideas to add to the Idea Library All Rights Reserved MetaMemes © 2008 Idea Handbook and Quickstart guide that explains the ThinkCubation Process TECHNOLOGIES IDEA LIBRARY MUTATIONS TRENDS WORDS IDEAS All Rights Reserved MetaMemes © 2008 Individual ThinkCubation STIMULATE Immerse yourself. THINK Draw 6 cards. Combine 2 or more. Ideas should loosely relate to goal. DEFINE Write down your goal for the session. EVALUATE Assess new ideas. INCUBATE Day dream, doodle, go on with your life. ELABORATE Prototype. Prototype. Prototype. All Rights Reserved MetaMemes © 2008 Thinking Inside the Cube All Rights Reserved MetaMemes © 2008 Idea Drawer All Rights Reserved MetaMemes © 2008 Word Drawer All Rights Reserved MetaMemes © 2008 Mutation Drawer All Rights Reserved MetaMemes © 2008 ThinkCube Drawer All Rights Reserved MetaMemes © 2008 Instructions All Rights Reserved MetaMemes © 2008 Evaluate All Rights Reserved MetaMemes © 2008 Incubate All Rights Reserved MetaMemes © 2008 Elaborate All Rights Reserved MetaMemes © 2008 Individual ThinkCubation Example Develop a new product to leverage the Baby Boomer generation coming to retirement. Genetic Algorithm, Nanotechnology, Light Bulb, Detective, Currency, Expand Baby Boomer + Currency = An investment fund dedicated to solving a particular disease. It’s feasible. Refinement Potential. Research. Business Plan. Share. Get feedback. All Rights Reserved MetaMemes © 2008 Group ThinkCubation group group STIMULATE Everyone draws 6 cards from the idea library. group THINK Each player puts 1 card in center. Brainstorm to combine 2 or more cards. Record new ideas. Discard center pile and replenish as desired. DEFINE Prominently display the session’s goal. group INCUBATE Distribute master idea list to team and incubate separately. Talk about ideas casually with fellow ThinkCubators. Meet back in 1 week to discuss thoughts that arose during incubation. If 1 idea emerges as a clear winner, ELABORATE it. Otherwise schedule another ThinkCubation session. group Assess new ideas. Don’t try to identify “the best” idea, rather list any identifiable problems with ideas you decide to keep. team original Assign someone on the Tweakto goal if design it! prototype it: build it, draw it, necessary. EVALUATE group ELABORATE All Rights Reserved MetaMemes © 2008