Page 195 - 100 Great Business Ideas: From Leading Companies Around the World (100 Great Ideas)

96/32. TKJ ME. r HOD

Developed in 196.1, e k.I (Kawakita Jim) method is named
for its originator, Jiro Kawakita, then professor of anthropol-
ogy at the Thkyo Institute of Technology. 72 The original
"kami-kire ho" or "scrap paper method" was used to gener-
ate new conceptual images from raw data. In its later stages,
this technique is highly visual and helps link verbal concepts
with visual representations. The TKJ method builds on the
KJ method and provides more steps for defining the prob-
lem. There are two parts to the TKJ process: problem defini-
tion and problem solution.

SUMMARY OF STEPS

I. Problem Definition

1. Participants are given a central theme and asked to write as many
ideas about the problem as possible on 3 x 5 cards (which have
replaced the original pieces of scrap paper). Ideas must be stated
briefly. The point of this step is for each individual to think of as
many perspectives on the problem as possible. Each participant
can generate fifteen to twenty ideas in a five- to ten-minute time
span.

2. The cards are collected and consensually sorted into very gen-
eral categories. To accomplish this, the leader collects the cards
and redistributes them so that no person has his or her own cards.
TKJ encourages the use of humor in sorting the cards and dis-
cussing the ideas.

3. The leader reads one of the cards aloud.
4. Participants find cards in their stacks that contain related ideas

and read these aloud. Alternatively, the leader can stack the cards
as they are collected without having them read aloud. A collec-
tion of cards, which constitute a set of thoughts, is built in this
way.
5. The group gives each set of cards a name that captures the es-
sence of the thoughts represented, that is, the essence of the prob-
lem.
6. The process continues until all cards are in named sets.
7. The named sets are combined into an all-inclusive group that is
named the way the other sets were. This final set represents a
consensus definition of the problem. The purpose of sorting the
ideas into groups is to bring new ways of thinking to old catego-
ries of issues.

Continued

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