Innovation in Practice Blog

October 27, 2020
Published by Danny Ozment at October 27, 2020
Categories

Learning the Powerful, Yet Abstract Method of Attribute Dependency

Attribute Dependency is one of the five techniques of the SIT (Systematic Inventive Thinking) method.  Just to give you an idea, think of your home thermostat […]
Do you like it?
Read more
October 20, 2020
Published by Danny Ozment at October 20, 2020
Categories

The Myth of Post-it Notes and Other Serendipitous Inventions: Why Pure Chance is Not Your Creative Friend

Chocolate chip cookies, penicillin, Velcro, microwave ovens, the game of basketball, and Post-It Notes. What do they have in common? Well, those products were invented completely […]
Do you like it?
Read more
October 13, 2020
Published by Danny Ozment at October 13, 2020
Categories

The Subtraction Technique: The Creative Power of Taking Elements Away

Subtraction is the removal of an essential core element rather than the addition of new systems or functions.  Like all the other techniques of the Systematic […]
Do you like it?
Read more
October 6, 2020
Published by Danny Ozment at October 6, 2020
Categories

The Multiplication Technique: A Simple Tool with Many Creative Surprises Inside

Procter & Gamble was able to take an air freshener product that was lagging at 4th place in terms of market share – to 1st place, […]
Do you like it?
Read more
September 29, 2020
Published by Danny Ozment at September 29, 2020
Categories

How to Create and Run an Innovation Pilot Program

Individuals and organizations need to learn at a rate faster than the rate of change. And innovation pilot programs help you do that.  But how do […]
Do you like it?
Read more
September 22, 2020
Published by Danny Ozment at September 22, 2020
Categories

Fixedness: Your Main Barrier to Creative Thinking

How do you develop your creativity? As much as you want to or need to be creative, sometimes, there’s something that seems to block it. And […]
Do you like it?
Read more
September 15, 2020
Published by Danny Ozment at September 15, 2020
Categories

Process Innovation: Unlocking New Value in What You Do Everyday

The Systematic Inventive Thinking or SIT method is not only applicable to products, it’s also highly valuable in innovating services and processes.  Here are two ways […]
Do you like it?
Read more
September 8, 2020
Published by Danny Ozment at September 8, 2020
Categories

Innovation Dream Teams: The Secret Formula to Drive Team Success

When you’re talking about innovation, a traditional brainstorming approach doesn’t work. If you want to generate better ideas, you have to be able to create your […]
Do you like it?
Read more
September 1, 2020
Published by Danny Ozment at September 1, 2020
Categories

Why People Resist Our Innovative Ideas and How To Overcome It

With innovation comes resistance. They define each other. An idea simply cannot be innovative unless it’s met with resistance. Because of this, we should see resistance […]
Do you like it?
Read more
August 25, 2020
Published by Danny Ozment at August 25, 2020
Categories

How to Use the Closed World Principle of Creativity

Creative thinking can be systematic and routine. All you have to do is learn how to use your brain and learn a new way to generate […]
Do you like it?
Read more
123...54
Next page
February 11, 2013
Published by boydadmin at February 11, 2013
Categories

Marketing Innovation: The Metaphor Tool Using the Division Pattern

The Metaphor is the most commonly used tool in marketing communications because it is a great way to attach meaning to a newly-launched product or brand. The Metaphor Tool takes a well-recognized and accepted cultural symbol and manipulates it to connect to the product, brand, or message. The tool is one of eight patterns embedded in most innovative commercials. Jacob Goldenberg and his colleagues describe these simple, well-defined design structures in their book, "Cracking the Ad Code," and provide a step-by-step approach to using them. The tools are:
Do you like it?
Read more
March 3, 2014
Published by boydadmin at March 3, 2014
Categories

The Multiplication Technique: Multiplying Your Problems Away

One very effective—but nonintuitive—way to use Multiplication is to multiply the most offending component in a problem and then change it so that it solves the problem. Yes, you actually make more of the very thing you are trying to discard. The key is to duplicate the nastiest component and imagine a scenario in which that copy could offer useful characteristics. Two researchers used this very technique and revolutionized the way we cope with dangerous insect species today.
Do you like it?
Read more
April 14, 2014
Published by boydadmin at April 14, 2014
Categories

The Division Technique: Cutting Innovation Down to Size

You can frequently make groundbreaking innovations simply by dividing a product into “chunks” to create many smaller versions of it. These smaller versions still function like the original product, but their reduced size delivers benefits that users wouldn’t get with the larger, “parent” product. This is one of three approaches of the Division Technique called “Preserving Division.”
Do you like it?
Read more
September 15, 2014
Published by boydadmin at September 15, 2014
Categories

Innovation Sighting: The Division Technique in Vision Correcting Displays

Innovation is anything that is new, useful, and surprising. "Surprising" means that the idea makes you slap your forehead and say, "Gee, why didn't I think of that?" Here's a great example. Researchers at the MIT Media Laboratory and the University of California at Berkeley have developed a new display technology that automatically corrects for vision defects — no glasses (or contact lenses) required. It is a classic and clever example of the Divison Technique, one of the five techniques in Systematic Inventive Thinking.
Do you like it?
Read more
March 9, 2015
Published by boydadmin at March 9, 2015
Categories

Daylight Savings Time: Innovation Past Its Prime

Daylight savings time is a great example of the Division Technique, one of five in the innovation method called SIT, short for Systematic Inventive Thinking. Division works by taking a component of a product or the product itself, then dividing it physically or functionally and rearranging back into the system. Daylight savings time is the result of taking the standard day, dividing it and shifting it to "appear" an hour off from standard time. It's a great idea except for one problem - the benefit of this innovation is no longer realized. Daylight savings served a purpose early in its history, but is obsolete today.
Do you like it?
Read more
October 19, 2015
Published by boydadmin at October 19, 2015
Categories

Structural Fixedness: A Barrier to Creativity

Imagine you’re driving down the highway, and you notice a flag waving in the distance. But something’s not right. The flag is upside down. You’d notice it right away because it’s not in its usual position that you have seen hundreds of times before.
Do you like it?
Read more
April 11, 2016
Published by boydadmin at April 11, 2016
Categories

The Division Technique: Cut Your Challenges Down to Size

The division technique works by dividing a product or its components functionally or physically and then rearranging them back into the product. Division is a powerful technique because it forces you to break fixedness, especially structural fixedness. Division forces you to create configurations by rearranging components in ways you were not likely to have done on with on your own.
Do you like it?
Read more
August 18, 2020
Published by Danny Ozment at August 18, 2020
Categories

Divide and Conquer – How to Use the Division Technique

A common misconception is that creativity is a gift you are born with. People believe that if they don’t have it right from birth, they have […]
Do you like it?
Read more