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DEVELOPING NEW BUSINESS IDEAS52

using convergence to complete It is equally important that you
respect the integrity of the convergent phase and avoid slipping back
into divergent thinking. You must not get carried away with developing
alternatives to the idea under review, reverting to right-brain thinking in
order to open up further ideas. All you will do is muddy the waters and
so make it impossible to complete the crystal-clear evaluation process
for the original idea.

Actively managing the divergent and convergent phases is no different
to using the brake and accelerator pedals in your car – you never apply
both pedals together, and if you alternate rapidly between brake and
accelerator, your progress tends to be erratic and dangerous. The
driving analogy holds for the entire idea development process – use
only the accelerator (divergent thinking) and you will run out of road;
use only the brake (convergent thinking) and you will come to a stop.
As the following IKEA case study shows, judicious and considered use
of both convergent and divergent thinking at the appropriate time is the
key to a successful idea development journey.

Ingvar Kamprad – using logic and intuition to
break the mould with IKEA39

the story of Ingvar Kamprad and IKEA demonstrates the

power of whole-brain thinking.

Born in 1926 in Småland, a rugged region in southern Sweden, Ingvar
Kamprad started to make money even as a boy by selling to his
neighbours individual matches which he had bought in bulk from
Stockholm.

When Kamprad founded IKEA in 1943, the company initially distributed a
wide range of consumer products, from pens to picture frames. The
portfolio was united through its low-price proposition. Advertising in local
papers was supplemented by a makeshift mail-order catalogue, with
deliveries achieved through the local milk van and rail network. The
positive market response to the introduction of furniture into the range led
Kamprad to discontinue all other products in order to focus on low-priced
furniture. The first IKEA furniture catalogue was published in 1951.

At that time, the Swedish furniture market was typical of the worldwide
furniture market: fragmented along country lines, national markets
comprised small manufacturers and distributors catering to local