Page 65 - Free the Idea Monkey

DDoonT’this!
Be aware!
Each department will per-
ceive needs relative to its
own expertise and experi-
ence. We recommend doing
quantitative work to test
insight platforms before
ideation.
Most will tell you that this
limits big thinking, because
applying the filter of data
early on naturally eliminates
some options.
Wrong. This simply assures
that all of the new ideas align
with the most important
customer needs—you want
people brainstorming in the
right sandbox.
50 C H A N N E L I N G T H E M O N K E Y
2. The Challenge: Too many ideas.
The way the complaint is usually
presented: “We have hundreds of ideas.
We need help figuring out which are the
really big ideas.”
Solution: Congratulations on rec-
ognizing what many leaders overlook in
the zeal to make a mark.
But know this: you don’t have hun-
dreds of good ideas. You likely have
about ten—but which ten? Sit with
the key influencer in each division of
the company—the ones who you need
to have on board to make things hap-
pen—and have them list each criteria
they require to rate an idea “excellent.”
Sample Criteria might include:
• In market in 18 months
• $50 million in incremental sales
• We can actually manufacture it
Now, go back and use these criteria
and rank every concept you have. Take
the winners through a formal innova-
tion process.
3. The Challenge: “We know too
much.”
The way the complaint is usually
presented: “We know our customer
better than anyone. But we’re unsure
which of their needs to address first.”