Motorola used Six Thinking Hats and Lateral Thinking to develop a high-tech, hand-held communications device
Motorola is a global leader in communications technologies. Motorola already manufactured a product for people who make time management a priority. Another product targeted people whose top priority is keeping in touch with friends and relatives. A third product, often purchased by the rich and famous, was aimed at "status seekers." But in 2002, Motorola wanted to create a "product for the future."
The company planned a three-day event for its product managers with the focus of developing a new high-tech, hand-held device for people who want cutting edge technology, but don't want to spend more than $800. To ensure that the event went as smoothly as possible, Motorola decided to enlist the help of Master Trainer Jay Wenberg.
On the first day, consumer profiles, based on exhaustive research, were constructed for each existing product. Product presentation and framing with regional perspective was offered to the group. The goal of the first day was for product managers to gain detailed understanding of each product's target market. They discussed every aspect of the consumers' traits, including age, income, educational background, cultural beliefs and daily habits. This gave the managers a detailed picture of Motorola's customers.
The second day began with a "technology soak," which defined the capabilities and limitations of existing technology. Then Jay gave an overview of the Six Thinking Hats and Lateral Thinking. He led the group through a Green Hat session in order to generate ideas for the "product for the future."
During the Green Hat session, the group used the Lateral Thinking technique of Reverse Provocation to challenge the physical limitations of technology. Jay handed out trinkets from a dime store to assist in a Random Objects exercise. After all Green Hat ideas had been offered, each one was evaluated using Yellow and Black Hat thinking. Finally, the group used Red Hat thinking to prioritize the best ideas.
The final result of the Green Hat session was a technologically advanced product called the Accompli. The device functioned as a mobile business tool or "virtual office" complete with a full keyboard. Its wireless network connection provided fast Internet access across the globe. In addition, consumers could install additional business applications on the Accompli and even play an assortment of games.
The group then took the White Hat information gathered from the consumer profiles to practice a "day in the life" of an Accompli owner. They discussed how consumers might use the new device from the time they woke up to the time they went to bed. The team noted all the additional features the Accompli might need to make the user's life easier. For instance, could it have an alarm? Could it play MP3 music files? What should the greeting sound like? The group dissected the consumer's day hour by hour to ensure that the Accompli was the idea product for the target market.
At the end of the event, the product managers were excited about the outcome of their hard work, and even people who didn't attend the event heard about its success. Shortly thereafter, Motorola introduced the Accompli in North America, Europe and Asia.
Challenges:
Create an ultra high-tech device with the price tag of less than $800
Methods:
Use Concept Generation, Concept Extraction, Reverse Provocation, Random Object and Six Thinking Hats to develop the ideal product
Results:
Motorola develops and markets the Accompli 009 Personal Communicator
Six Thinking Hats in action at STATOIL
From Jens Aarup, Training Manager at STATOIL in Norway, who is certified in both Six Thinking Hats and Lateral Thinking Creative Thinking in Practice
THE CASE
A number of wells are to be drilled into a large reservoir from a platform in the North Sea. The wells vary in character - production wells, injection wells, etc. - and this requires that the platform be re-tooled and the equipment adjusted for each new drilling programme. All the wells are to be drilled from the same platform in a planned sequence and the equipment required for each re-tooling has been ordered for delivery in accordance with a strict timetable.
When one of the wells unexpectedly turns out to be "dry" - showing no hydrocarbonates - it is decided from headquarters to remove the next well from the planned sequence. The drilling manager must choose whether to half the drilling programme for a week or two (60 people + 1 million kroner per day) until the equipment/material for the next-but-one well arrives in accordance with the original plan - or find an alternative solution.
The alternatives are innumerable, the situation is very complicated. Moreover, welding is forbidden on board for fear of explosion since it is a gas-producing platform. Management and technical staff on land and offshore communicate back and forth in an attempt to find a realistic solution. A week later, no solution is in sight.
THE SOLUTION
At the end of the week, the drilling manager is attending a training course with a project group that will be working on a similar sequence of wells. During the course they learn about Creative Thinking and Six Thinking Hats. The drilling manager presents his situation as a case study. It takes about 4 minutes to present the case to the group. They then work at parallel thinking for about 12 minutes (setting up a self-chosen sequence of 6 hats). The results are presented.
Not only do the participants go through all aspects of the problem in a tidy manner, but they also present a couple of creative solutions of which one is chosen as the preferred solution. This consists of disassembling certain parts of the topside and transporting it ashore by helicopter. The necessary welding is performed and it is flown back to the rig.
The drilling goes on, and millions are saved.
With hindsight, a genial solution - not planned and not foreseeable in advance.
NHS Health Authority puts Edward de Bono creative thinking at the heart of community healthcare
The Birmingham and Black Country Strategic Health Authority was to co-ordinate a public and professional consultation process in conjunction with the Black Country Hospital Trusts and Primary Care Trusts to plan the expenditure of up to £500 million on hospital services in the region. The Strategic Health Authority was keen to encourage the development of innovative ideas in order to address some of the challenging problems facing health services in the Black Country. The Holst Group was tasked to help manage the exercise.
The result was an example of public consultation on a grand scale. A series of creative thinking seminars generated nearly 2,000 useable ideas from more than 500 people – all in just under a week. The process not only enabled a genuine consultation of community stakeholders but also helped professional groups within the NHS to work together to overcome traditional departmental barriers. Ultimately, the consultation served to refocus the review and the potential future spend on hospital services.
The Challenge
In August 2003, the world's leading creative thinking guru Edward de Bono addressed a national conference for senior executives in the National Health Service, to introduce creative techniques which might help generate new ways of thinking.
The Birmingham and Black Country Strategic Health Authority subsequently approached The Holst Group, which represents Edward de Bono in Europe, for help in running a major public consultation process. The Authority wanted to involve a cross section of the community and NHS professions in a review of hospital services across the region, and get radical new ideas on how best to spend their budget. The objective was to establish a long-term vision for standards of healthcare in the region, and to develop models of service across five key areas (Children, Specialised, Elderly, Elective/Diagnostics and Urgent/Emergency).
Within the National Health Service a determination to 'keep the NHS local' meant engaging the public and patients throughout the decision-making process - not just at the final ideas stage. The greatest challenge was to organise the consultation to gather these many different perspectives in a meaningful way, rather than generating a series of frustrating 'talking shop' sessions. In reality, this required full participation from mixed groups covering the whole spectrum of the NHS. It meant overcoming departmental barriers within the NHS to enable different professions to work together and engaging individuals and groups in the wider community, all of whom had very different perspectives.
The consultation process also had a huge scope in terms of reviewing both hospital services and the interface between these services and primary care in the community.
The Solution
The Holst Group set an objective to effectively consult over 500 people in groups of 100 across a one-week period. Five one-day seminars were set up, with each session of up to 100 attendees split into groups of 8, comprising a mix of professions and stakeholders. These included patients and patients' representatives, surgeons, nurses, support teams, healthcare trust managers and administrators. The Holst Group worked with the SHA on the questions to be posed to each group to ensure they opened up the greatest potential for new ideas.
Success depended on participants feeling comfortable, valued and able to contribute. With help from Holst, the SHA organised pre-briefing sessions to introduce participants to the creative thinking techniques to be used. Key players in the SHA, and 'table leaders' nominated to facilitate each group, were trained more fully. Patients, many of whom might be unfamiliar and uncomfortable with this type of environment, were also given introductory training in the techniques and the process.
Each of the one-day seminars involved initial scene-setting by leading experts to open up the issues for consideration and avoid presenting immediate solutions. This typically took the form of an introduction from the Chief Executive of a healthcare trust, high level background information (e.g. demographics, journey-to-hospital times, medical data about the Black Country population), and inputs from visiting speakers prominent in their field.
Dr. de Bono's Six Thinking Hats™ encourages participants to 'think in parallel' to overcome the problem that people tend to think 'across' each other when coming up with ideas as a group. Six Hats focuses on generating all the ideas first without criticism or justification, and then using each mode of thinking (imagined as colour-coded hats) to develop and evaluate them.
For example, the Yellow Hat helps to determine the benefits, the Red Hat identifies a gut feeling, etc.
A second creative thinking technique was the Lateral Thinking™ tool, Random Word. This selects one word at random from a list and uses that word as a basis to generate fresh ideas linked to the topic under discussion. This stimulates a group to think in new ways and generate many more ideas.
With a range of ideas generated from these initial sessions, the challenge was to assess, select and develop the ideas with greatest potential, again using the Six Thinking Hats technique. Throughout, participants were given as many opportunities as possible to express their ideas.
For example, blank 'My Idea' cards enabled participants to record ideas which might not have been relevant to the current discussion but which could be assessed later. More than 150 separate ideas were generated in this way, and every idea was reviewed and evaluated.
All ideas that had been developed and proposed were posted on the Black Country Review website overnight as part of the project's process of open communication.
Results
The most significant, and unexpected, result of the consultation process was the substantial change of focus it created for the review. What began as a review of how to spend money on hospital-based services now shifted focus to how to co-ordinate services between the hospitals and the community.
This refocused on providing a system that works for both and generates models of care based in the community, rather than viewing the hospitals in isolation. This shift in emphasis was dramatic and highly productive. It came from the combination of gaining information on how services were currently performing and encouraging NHS staff and the public to think differently. Many ideas were generated on their priorities and how things could work better, using the creative thinking techniques.
Another result was to break down the traditional boundaries between professionals within the NHS and promote networking and co-operation, and to enable patients and professionals to share ideas constructively with each other.
The SHA and the Holst Group achieved their main objective of creating a process which would help all the stakeholders contribute and ensure that their input was heard. Nearly 2000 ideas were generated over the week-long period. Rather than just remaining ideas, use of de Bono's Six Hats techniques enabled them to be managed and assessed to impact on the decision-making process.
The Six Thinking Hats technique was used for the end-of-session plenary reviews. Together with feedback from the post-event analysis this showed that the vast majority of participants felt they had been able to express their thoughts throughout. Most importantly they felt that all perspectives had been given and valued, rather than just the dominant opinion. There were frequent references to 'openness', 'co-operation' and 'involvement'.
The ideas that were produced across the five seminars have subsequently been developed by the SHA with the Hospital Trusts and Primary Care Trusts in the Black Country into models of care that will become the basis for the provision of services into the future. The review report on the outcomes of the seminars and the subsequent recommendations for future healthcare in the Black Country has now been published.
Channel 4: Creating New Ideas at the Creativity Laboratory
Researchers, Directors and Producers from Channel 4 were trained in a number of Dr. Edward de Bono's Lateral Thinking Techniques. The sessions could hardly be more relevant to their work. The techniques are now an integral part of the way the researchers approach their work and have already yielded results. Biggest benefits so far include:
- Coming up with as many new ideas in two days as in six months of previous work.
- Time saved by not staring blankly at a screen waiting for inspiration.
- Ability to break down existing programmes and come up with alternative format ideas.
- All found the random entry device most useful for overcoming creative blocks and "brain drain".
- Random entry has been useful for generating programme titles and kick-starting the creative process.
- The Six Thinking Hats are being used to assess proposals and formats as well as being applied to regular development meetings.
- Groups using the Six Thinking Hats find the system forces them to think around a problem and is excellent for finding solutions to proposals that previously didn't work.
- The creative thinking techniques work well either individually or in groups.
- Having a strict time limit for each technique is seen unanimously as very useful – keeping the momentum going and the mind concentrated.
Discovering there could be a formula and a structure to develop creative ideas, and learning ways to eliminate factors restrict clear and creative thought, has helped the researchers feel confident of sustaining the relentless creative process.
The Globe and Mail used Lateral Thinking to help design a new classified section, which led to an increase in ad sales.
The Globe and Mail, which has a circulation of nearly one million people, is called "Canada's National Newspaper." Newsprint costs doubled in 1999, resulting in a significant decrease in advertising sales and adding financial strain for The Globe. Managers wanted to reverse this trend by thoroughly examining their approach to classified ad sales. They were open to changing everything from the price of an ad to the design of the newspaper itself.
However, this examination process wasn't going to be easy. There were 80 staff members from advertising sales, production and support services involved, and all of them were offering up ideas. Such a broad range of interests seemed like a setback. However, Bob Harris, Advertising Sales Manager for Telemarketing, recognized the potential for such a diverse mix of people to become an asset if they were given the opportunity to learn about Lateral Thinking.
Bob asked MICA, a Toronto-based consulting company, to hold three creativity-training sessions for the team members. After using Lateral Thinking, the team reached a consensus on The Globe's next move. The team would develop a completely separate and new classified ad section called "Marketplace." This section would take the classified ads that had formerly been scattered throughout the newspaper and assemble them in a single location. After agreeing to create a unique section, the group needed to generate fresh ideas about the overall appearance of "Marketplace."
The team embarked on a Green Hat session so that even the newspaper's most traditional thinkers could have an opportunity to think outside the box. This session resulted in the contribution of an astounding 80 practical ideas for the new "Marketplace" section. The ads would be mixed with editorial content to attract readers. Instead of listing the ads numerically, they would be grouped thematically. New typeface and category icons would be designed to give the section a reader-friendly feel. The lines between ads would be removed, creating an easy flow.
After the introduction of "Marketplace," ad sales representatives were eager to market the benefits of the impressive new section to advertisers. Once the attractive design was shown to potential advertisers, sales representatives received a much warmer reception. Advertisers recognized their ads were more likely to be seen in the innovative, new "Marketplace." The sales staff saw a substantial increase in ad sales just three weeks after the section launch. Meanwhile, competitors saw a decrease in their ad sales.
The Globe and Mail's use of Lateral Thinking and Green Hat thinking was not only effective, but also time efficient. In the past, it had taken The Globe at least one full year to design or redesign a specific section of the paper. With the de Bono tools to guide the process, the section was unveiled after a mere four months.
Challenge:
• Stop ad sales from continuing their downward trend
Method:
• Use Lateral Thinking and Green Hat thinking to produce a new classified ad section
Result:
• Ad sales increase just three weeks after the section launch
Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company (PPG) used Six Thinking Hats to overcome competing interests and opinions in choosing an alternative business strategy and deciding whether to shut down a plant
PPG is a leading global supplier of glass, fiberglass, coatings and chemicals. In October 2000, the company ran into a dilemma. A core business had become a commodity, and the market was saturated. The company needed a new business strategy. The Vice President of this business unit, along with a business consultant, had developed four potential strategies, one of which would be presented to the executive board. The Vice President called a meeting to evaluate the strategies. Because the consultant had been through a one-day Six Thinking Hats course, he recommended that Jesse Shearin, a PPG employee and Certified de Bono Instructor, conduct the meeting.
Jesse's challenge was to guide 11 people through the four business strategies and reach a consensus in only four hours.
The group was diverse in rank and title, with specialties ranging from manufacturing to research to corporate marketing. This created competing interests and opinions, because the four strategies had different implications for different parts of the business. For example, some strategies included investing in research and development technology and exiting significant portions of the business.
Jesse began the meeting with a brief overview of the Six Thinking Hats. He explained that the group would use the Six Thinking Hats to evaluate one strategy per hour. Each hour would begin with a 20-minute White Hat presentation of the strategy. This would be followed by a 6-minute Yellow Hat session about how the strategy fits in with current business and a 6-minute Black Hat session on reasons the executive board might veto the idea. Then came an 8-minute Green Hat session on overcoming Black Hat concerns and strengthening Yellow Hat benefits. In conclusion, a 15-minute Blue Hat session would summarize the findings regarding the strategy at hand.
Amazingly, the meeting was adjourned before the four hours' time scheduled. The Vice President had a final decision to take to the company executives, and the meeting participants had extra time to spare before catching their flights. Three months later, Jesse was again called in to facilitate. This time another PPG business unit had a problem with overcapacity. There were too many plants producing too little product, and the CEO had directed that something be done about it.
Shutting down a plant was an option to consider, although it was an unpopular choice. Closing a plant would affect manufacturing for the next three years. Then, if business picked up—as it was expected to—the company would be unable to meet the increased demand.
A two-day meeting with six plant managers was planned to discuss whether or not to close a plant. Because each of the plant managers was fearful that his or her plant could be the one shut down, they would be reluctant to participate in the discussion. To prevent this from happening, Jesse began the meeting with a customized three-hour Six Thinking Hats training session.
Using the Six Thinking Hats, each plant manager was able to speak freely, even when the topic was the benefit of shutting down his or her own plant. By the end of the first afternoon, the group had already accomplished the original agenda of the entire two-day meeting.
Since they were now ahead of schedule, the team was able to use the second day to discuss alternatives to plant shutdown. They used Green Hat to answer the question, "How can we reduce capacity now while retaining the ability to ramp back up quickly when demand increases?" One suggestion was to close down specific lines or sections of plants, rather than an entire plant. This way, the company would be ready in case they needed added capacity in the future. After generating other ideas throughout the morning on how to effectively close down specific lines, the meeting was adjourned. The meeting had ended three hours early, and no plants would be shut down due to their decision to adopt the partial-shutdown idea.
Using Six Thinking Hats, PPG was able to create synergy between meeting participants where there might otherwise have been insurmountable rigidity. In addition, they were able to effectively evaluate strategies, make an important decision, save time and support all interests and individuals in the company.
Challenges:
• Choose the best of four business strategies in only four hours
• Decide what to do about overcapacity and whether to shut down a plant
Methods:
• Use a specific timed Six Thinking Hats sequence for the four-hour meeting
• Hold a customized Six Thinking Hats training prior to an important two-day meeting
Results:
• Alternative business strategy is chosen in the allotted time
• Plant managers are able to participate freely in discussion and complete the meeting agenda ahead of schedule
GPIC used Direct Attention Thinking Tools to bring up new questions and help them anticipate industry changes.
Gulf Petrochemical Industries Co. has been a successful producer of ammonia and methanol since 1987. In 1996, GPIC was named the best operation in the Arabian Gulf (a.k.a. Persian Gulf) in recognition of its record in production, employee safety and environmental standards.
The GPIC management team wanted to gain an additional edge in the industry so it brought in Master Trainer Sunil Gupta to teach a course in DATT. Management began using the tools immediately to anticipate change and improve the company's performance.
Using the CAF tool, the management team discussed the fact that the price of natural gas was soon going to double. Further analysis led them to the conclusion that the cost of electricity, steam and water would also increase. They decided to take additional measures to conserve water and electricity inside the plant.
Management used the P.M.I. tool to evaluate the suggestion that day-shift employees be given more flexible hours. The Plus points included less traffic on GPIC roads and happier employees. The Minus points included possible interdepartmental confusion; meetings could be affected, and information might be harder to relay, resulting in a communication breakdown. One Interesting point would be to watch how the employees might handle a new change in culture.
Would they make a commitment to internal communication despite the inconvenience?
Using the O.P.V. tool, the managers asked themselves if GPIC should alter any day-to-day functions due to the war in a neighboring country. They asked each department to make suggestions. The managers suggested security be tightened and that everyone be more vigilant around the GPIC complex. Plant Operations asked that the ammonia inventory be reduced. The Technical Services crew suggested they devise a means to get rid of this excess ammonia. Safety and Security proposed taking greater precautions with any new visitor to the complex. Finally, Maintenance said they would arrange for any materials necessary to carry out these new modifications in the daily work process.
Because of DATT, GPIC was able to anticipate changes and begin to consider all factors and suggest solutions before problems arose. The tools have since become an invaluable part of their culture and are used by all managers in many situations.
Challenge:
• Develop a list of potential problems to be addressed and analyzed
Method:
• Use DATT to help analyze challenges
Result:
• All factors are considered to avert future problems
Boeing used Six Thinking Hats to erase partisan lines between union and management and to thoroughly analyze a challenge and come to a solution.
Boeing is the world's largest producer of commercial jetliners, and Boeing jets make 85% of the world's commercial flights. So when Boeing Toronto, Ltd. faced an employee challenge in the late 1990s, the company needed to resolve it as quickly and efficiently as possible.
The issue involved employees who were returning to work after disability leave. Due to physical restrictions, these men and women needed light-duty jobs that would not cause physical strain. For instance, some employees could lift only a certain amount of weight, and some could stand for only a limited amount of time.
The problem was that entitlement to the light-duty jobs was strictly governed by union guidelines. Under union agreements, seniority determined who held those jobs, and most returning employees did not have the seniority rights necessary to acquire the positions.
To compound the problem, workers at Boeing Toronto were being laid off. In the unionized environment, the younger workers took most of the cuts while the older employees were protected. As a result, light-duty jobs were in even greater demand due to the average age of remaining employees. Yet more light-duty jobs still needed to be made available to the employees returning from disability leave.
The Joint Modified Work Committee was called upon to resolve this predicament. The committee, consisting of both union and management representatives, came up with a list of 24 possible solutions. Although this was a great start, the committee wasn't sure how to proceed from there. Certain suggestions were being favored depending on whether the idea had come from management or union. In deciding which ideas to implement, partisan lines needed to be erased so a win-win solution could be reached.
In order to overcome the deadlock, President Steve Fisher encouraged the joint committee to implement the Six Thinking Hats. Steve asked Dianne White, the Manager of Education and Training, to facilitate a Six Thinking Hats session that would thoroughly analyze a few of the best ideas. But there weren't merely "a few" ideas to analyze; there were 24. Dianne decided that the committee should first prioritize the 24 ideas, so she held a vote. Each committee member identified four favorite ideas to explore further, and then the most popular ideas were thoroughly evaluated using all Six Thinking Hats.
The solution broke the tension between union and management because everyone had an equal voice in the final decision. This de-politicized the environment, and made it possible to evaluate ideas on their own merit.
One of the top proposals involved an early retirement incentive package. If the senior union members could be convinced to retire early, light-duty jobs would be naturally freed up without hassle or resentment. After analyzing this idea using the Six Thinking Hats, the committee decided to implement it. They called it the Voluntary Exit Program, and the response to it was astounding. More than 250 people took advantage of the program.
However, this solution did not completely solve the problem. Even though more light-duty jobs were now available, those jobs were still awarded on the basis of seniority. The committee made a bold move and asked the union for a Memorandum of Understanding. This would enable seniority rights to be waived so that light-duty jobs could be reserved for those who needed them most.
The Memorandum of Understanding was a big breakthrough for the committee because changes in seniority rules were usually obtained through formal bargaining. This was a significant move away from a conventional method to a more compassionate approach. It occurred, in part, as a result of the synergy created by Six Thinking Hats. Participants had finally managed to set aside their personal agendas so everyone could work collaboratively toward a positive outcome.
Challenge:
• Make more light-duty jobs available to employees returning to work after disability leave
• Ensure union approves all company changes
Method:
• Use Six Thinking Hats to develop an early retirement incentive package
• Rely upon the synergy created by Six Thinking Hats to ask for a Memorandum of Understanding from the union
Result:
• 258 employees participate in the incentive program
• Union accepts the Memorandum of Understanding
Well-Known Pharmaceutical Company Uses Lateral Thinking Tools to Power Idea Generation in Kaizen Initiative
by de Bono Thinking Systems Distributor, de Bono Consulting
Jeffrey Wallk, now Managing Partner with The Value Enablement Group, was an Enterprise Architect at the time this story took place. His company was using the Kaizen method for process improvement and Jeffrey, a certified Lateral Thinking trainer and facilitator, realized that the Lateral Thinking tools could address several needs that the use of Kaizen uncovered. "We began with the intention of helping key managers develop the business case for the value their teams were contributing to our company. Our Innovation Center team felt that a program blending Kaizen and Lateral Thinking methodologies could prove that the teams were engaged in constantly increasing their value while lowering their costs—and that they were getting results. We also expected this move to strengthen a competency across the organization for driving continuous and stepwise improvement," Jeffrey explains.
Fundamental to the Kaizen method is placing the responsibility for idea generation on those closest to the process—in this case staff members involved in R & D / product development. Jeffrey knew that the Lateral Thinking tools could help staff come up with more and better ideas around any focus area. Employees were taught the Kaizen method along with selected Lateral Thinking tools that Jeffrey felt would provide the most leverage: initial core dump of ideas, followed by Random Entry, and finishing up with Challenge and Provocation to reach more diverse thinking for transformational ideas. The results were significant in that the team generated some 200 ideas covering 30 concepts using a total time commitment of less than 3 hours.
Note: The efficiency of the Lateral Tools was not lost on the Kaizen master or on the senior managers.
The team then reviewed all of the ideas and placed them in "do-ability" buckets to slot them by priority:
- Short Term – implement in 1-2 weeks
- Mid Term – implement in 1-2 months
- Long Term – beyond 2 months
Jeffrey was also able to identify some missing pieces of the puzzle that would need to be found in order to reap the maximum potential from their blended Kaizen-Lateral Thinking tool kit:
- Lateral Thinking produces a wide range of ideas, some of which may lead to disruptive innovation. These ideas must be captured and funneled into a process for further assessment, planning, and potential implementation.
- A plan for assessing ideas and aligning ideas to address desired customer outcomes.
- A process for prioritizing ideas to ensure there is an appropriate blend of balancing short-term needs (outcomes) while lining up investments (bigger ideas) to address long-term needs (outcomes).
- A capability for building value-driven business cases will ensure that the bigger ideas are addressing highly unmet needs of customers. This will also help align the necessary support to engage in strategic experiments to move these ideas forward while managing risk and investments with care.
- And new approaches for encouraging an open mindset where these experiments can move forward so that the bigger ideas get transitioned into the execution pipeline.
"By successfully combining Lateral Thinking with Kaizen, I was able to extend the Kaizen model to deliver improvements along several dimensions. In retrospect, Lateral Thinking has provided me with a launch pad for pursuing my own ideas and moving my career 'Vertically' forward," Jeffrey observed.
3M used Six Thinking Hats to create products for new markets
3M is an 18 billion dollar company that offers an incredibly wide range of products. The firm is an industry leader in such diverse fields as health care, office products and transportation. 3M manufactures familiar products, like Post-it® Notes and Scotch® tape, and the firm is one of the 30 blue-chip companies that constitute the Dow Jones Industrial Average. 3M's filtration unit makes filters for cars, buses and airplanes. When the filtration unit discovered a new market opportunity, they wanted to quickly design a new product. They put together a team of employees from both marketing and product development, and the team hoped to choose the final concept at the end of a one-day meeting. The team generated ten good ideas but did not know how to proceed from there.
Kim Johnson, from 3M's Corporate Research and Development, had previously attended a Six Thinking Hats course. Recalling the benefits of the Hats, Kim decided to conduct a Six Thinking Hats session with the team. Each individual gave input on the ten ideas, narrowing the priorities to the most popular ideas. The team chose its favorite idea, and since that time, 3M has filed for a patent for the new filter.
Later, Kim was asked to assist the Construction and Home Improvement Department, which, among other products, is responsible for duct tape.
Through market research the department learned that people used duct tape in a host of unusual ways, from constructing a wallet made of duct tape to holding a car door in place. The department recognized that there was a cult of duct tape enthusiasts around the world, and it wanted to broaden its market with an updated or innovative version of duct tape. To work on this challenge, the department asked Kim to lead three half-day Six Thinking Hats sessions with concept ideation experts.
The first session focused on the Green Hat, and participants gave ideas for a new version of duct tape. In the second session, Kim divided the team into smaller groups and asked them to discuss each of the ideas using the Yellow and Black Hats. In the final session, the group used Red Hat to determine which ideas were the favorites. After the third session, the department decided on the new product: duct tape for women. Rather than the industrial gray color of original duct tape, this version would be a colorful variation. This product is now on the market, thanks in part to the Six Thinking Hats.
Challenges:
• Design a filtration device for a new market
• Improve duct tape
Methods:
• Use Red Hat to find top priorities
• Use Six Thinking Hats to establish new duct tape product
Results:
• Patent is filed for filtration device
• Duct tape for women is available in the market
Hewlett-Packard used Six Thinking Hats and Lateral Thinking to help organize a strategic planning meeting.
Hewlett-Packard is a leading global provider of technological solutions to consumers, businesses and institutions. On May 3, 2003, Hewlett-Packard merged with Compaq Computer Corporation. This was the largest technology merger in history. Following the merger, Hewlett-Packard's 142,000 employees conducted business in 40 currencies across 160 countries. The company wanted to complete the merger without losing focus on customers. Various teams within the company were asked to create strategic plans in line with Hewlett-Packard's corporate goals. In these strategic planning meetings, each team member would present his or her business plan. However, poor group dynamics, partly due to the merger, prevented the groups from moving forward. Power struggles were interfering with team cohesion.
The team for Process and Quality Management Network Storage Solutions was having an especially difficult time working together to draft a plan. Team member Jon Albregts was given the task of organizing the strategic planning meeting. Jon had previously attended a de Bono workshop led by Master Trainer Mike Sproul, so he called Mike for advice. Together Jon and Mike mapped out a solid plan for the meeting. The team would first be sent pre-meeting work via email. This email would outline the overall goals of the group and ask the team members to present only White Hat information on their business plan.
The pre-meeting work was useful, and everyone arrived at the meeting ready to present the White Hat information.
Following the presentations, the group used the Yellow and Black Hats to analyze each initiative. Next, they engaged in a Lateral Thinking session to find alternative solutions and ideas. Then they used the Red Hat to express gut feelings about the initiative. Finally, the Blue Hat helped them identify the next steps for implementing the plan.
Six Thinking Hats provided the insight the team needed to move initiatives forward. Team members were amazed that the usual, tired arguments and debates didn't pop up in this particular meeting. Never before had the team accomplished so much so quickly to everyone's satisfaction
Six Thinking Hats and Lateral Thinking have been used as part of the Hewlett-Packard quality initiative for several years now, and the success of the de Bono tools has spread to other divisions of the Hewlett-Packard/Compaq conglomerate.
Challenge:
• To create a new plan in line with Hewlett-Packard's corporate goals
Method:
• Use Six Thinking Hats and Lateral Thinking to guide the strategic planning meeting for the Process and Quality Management Network Storage Solutions team
Result:
• Group dynamics improve and everyone agrees on a final strategy
J.Walter Thompson hits the mark with creative campaign.
When J.Walter Thompson's Ford Focus account team set out to develop a summer ad campaign they were grappling with one of the biggest challenges in advertising: how to reach their target, the 18-25 year old demographic. "This group is somewhat cynical and jaded about messages," explains JWT's Ford Focus Account Manager Paul Hallas. "They are really turned off by the hard sell."
The team wanted to build the campaign around music. To develop the concept, they called on the expertise of some of the agency's top creative thinkers, often bringing as many as 15 people together for brainstorming sessions.
"We thought we would come up with the big idea quickly, but it just didn't work," recalls Hallas. "There were a lot of strong and diverse opinions and not a lot of consensus. We realized we weren't getting anywhere with these marathon sessions so I cut meetings back to four or five people from 15. But you lose a lot of creativity when you do that."
The team develops the big idea in just three hours
Enter Six Thinking Hats™, the methodology, developed by creative thinking guru Edward de Bono. It provides a framework for exploring issues and ideas by separating the thinking into six different modes: information (White Hat), feelings (Red Hat), caution (Black Hat), benefits (Yellow Hat), creativity (Green Hat) and managing the thinking (Blue Hat). Focusing on one mode at a time, a group using Six Hats is able to think in parallel.
Using Hats, the team was able to bring more people back into the creative process. And meetings went much more quickly and were far more productive. "In just three hours we were able to put together our plan – probably in two-thirds less time than it would have taken without Hats. And the quality and quantity of ideas we could take into production were incredible. Because Hats made team members comfortable voicing their ideas, we maximized creative input," says Hallas.
They quickly identified two sponsorship opportunities for the Focus: the Detroit Electronic Music Festival, a three-day event, and Area 1, an alternative music tour. Making the most of these sponsorship opportunities was their next challenge.
"You can't just hit them over the heads with car banners and logos -it's a major turn-off with this audience. Our goal was to become fully integrated into the event by making the Focus part of the experience," says Hallas.
Using Six Hats, the team developed a plan for sponsoring a large tent at each of the two events and fashioning it into a dance club.
To integrate the Focus, they came up with the idea of parking two Focus cars outside the tent and turning them into 'rolling speakers'. Each of the cars was outfitted with $20,000 worth of stereo equipment, including turntables, which would allow a DJ to plug in, mix music and play it out of the cars.
Inside, visuals including pictures of the Focus were set to music, providing enticing 'eye candy'. The Fashion in Focus dancers, wearing outfits actually made from pieces of the car, added to the spectacle. There was also a computer kiosk featuring an interactive game in which the main character, a hip DJ, drives a Focus.
The campaign hit its mark, according to Hallas.
In surveys conducted at each Area 1 location, more than 75% of respondents said that the presence of the Focus added value to the experience.
"The tents were hugely popular," Hallas says. "At any given time, there were line-ups of at least 100 people waiting to get inside. In advertising, it's not often that people actually wait in line to take in your message.
"We give a lot of credit to Hats. In fact, we use it all the time now and meetings are much more productive. They take about a third of the time they used to and the quality and quantity of ideas are amazing. Hats works like enormous creative caffeine. It's part of our culture now."
Summary
J. Walter Thompson's Ford account team was looking for breakthrough creative thinking to position the Ford Focus as a hip, highly-desirable vehicle among the 18-25 year old demographic.
It was a challenging prospect. The 18-25 year old age group is considered the toughest to reach - a subculture in which word of mouth rules and more traditional media such as television and print have minimal impact. To find innovative new channels to reach this target, the team needed to draw from all of its top-notch creative thinkers. Yet, the resulting strategic planning meetings proved large and unwieldy. Hampered by less than optimum group dynamics, the initiative quickly became bogged down.
To kick-start the creative process, the team turned to MICA's Six Thinking Hats™ the methodology developed by creativity guru Edward de Bono, and put together all the elements of a high-impact campaign in just three hours.
www.edwarddebonoindia.com
