The Unbearable Dullness of Thinking

A lot of attention in the innovation space has been placed on customer co-creation. In the new sharing economy, there is an intrinsic appeal to the idea of creating with your customers. The question then becomes, what’s the best method, what’s the best way to make this happen?

dullness of thinking

I think traditional in-person brain storming sessions have always had theatrical entertainment value built into them. When those sessions start, you can expect to see shiny new ideas light up your tote board. The participants are pumped up and ready to build on each other’s ideas. With luck, you can fill your innovation quota before lunch.

In comparison to in-person ideation, I have come to the conclusion that the online co-creation option is a bit dull. There I said it. Heck, it’s not just a bit dull, it’s dull as dishwater. And I would argue that this dullness is very much a good thing.

A recent WSJ article cited the dangers of deadlines when it comes to innovative thinking. Deadlines will activate the brain’s “task positive” network, which unfortunately is not the part of the brain that comes up with original ideas.

“The research shows us that the more stressful a deadline is, the less open you are to other ways of approaching the problem. The very moments when in organizations we want people to think outside the box, they can’t even see the box.” – Dr. Richard Boyatzis/Case Western Reserve University

“When people hit a wall in their thinking, in general they start thinking harder. What the neuroscience research tells us is that it’s more important to think differently. – Dr. Srini Pilay/Harvard Medical School

If we accept the premise that relaxed unpressured thinking is an essential building block to innovation, we have to also accept the fact it’s very hard to make that sexy. No matter how hard we try to dress up “thinking”, it has limited theatrical value. Going for a walk or taking a nap, while extremely helpful in solving a business challenge, just don’t translate into blockbuster entertainment. While the eventual outcome of this process can truly be magnificent, the seeding and cultivating portion is utterly boring.

While clients are inherently receptive to the concept of customer co-creation, the online asynchronous process is totally unfamiliar ground.

There are two main reasons for this:

1. The Process Is Uncontrolled / We don’t come with a topic guide, we present the challenge and step back. Our motto is to “curate, not moderate”. The most important part of the curator’s job is to objectively organize and present ideas for consideration. If it seems that we are letting the inmates run the asylum, well yes that is our intention. That takes a little getting used to when you associate control with innovation.

a. While not directly leading the conversation, curators act as a combination of border collies and cheerleaders. They need to keep the group on task and inspire the collaborative process.

i. “Wow, that was a good idea and your idea certainly has traction, but have you read the comments and feedback you’ve received from other members? This is an opportunity to turn your good idea into a great one!!”

2. Nothing Much Happens At The Start – The first day typically brings relatively little in the way of inspired thinking. With customer co-creation, we do get a few ideas off the bat but typically they are just the low hanging fruit. Clients used to focus groups with immediate gratification need a little hand holding and assurance that the process simply needs to gain traction.

a. In fact, stronger ideas don’t start appearing until day two or three. But these well thought out responses immediately get the attention of members who are more comfortable with the collaboration portion. Their suggestions and critiques strengthen the original idea.

b. Even a challenge we conducted for the alumni of an Ivy League school provided little of substance until the third day.

i. Needless to say the client was getting “a bit” concerned. But we got 100 ideas from only 300 participants. 100 detailed, extremely well thought out ideas.

The morale of our story is that we need to slow down to speed up. Innovation requires time, it requires a relaxed environment that is conducive to supporting disruptive thinking. This is the type of environment best sustained via an online asynchronous approach to co-creation.

 

Read more on the thoughts of Drs. Bayatzis & Pilay on the best environments for innovation here.

The articles located here and here have more informative information.

NOTE: “The client is getting a bit concerned” – Kevin’s preferred euphemism for a client who is totally freaking out.

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