Page 66 - 100 Great Business Ideas: From Leading Companies Around the World (100 Great Ideas)

23/10. WHAT DO YOU KNOW? 101
CREATIVE
Once you recognize that a problem exists, simply writing PROBLEM
down what you know about it might help. List all the char- SOLVING
acteristics of the situation. What suspicions do you have? TECHNIQUES
What kind of evidence do you have to justify those suspi-
cions, and how good is it? What did you learn? El.

24/I I. WHAT PATTERNS EXIST?

Look at the available information. Do you see any patterns
or relationships, causal or otherwise? Draw a diagram show-
ing the interconnections among the facts you have uncov-
ered. Japanese managers frequently use diagrams to dis-
cuss problems. Their use of visual aids often helps them
simplify complex situations. Visual representations help
stimulate not only insight but creativity as well. So give dia-
grams a try.

25/12. WHY-WHY DIAGRAM

This technique is a variation of the approach used in the
fishbone diagram. It is used to identify the cause(s) of a prob-
lem in a systematic way." This diagram generally moves
from left to right, with the problem statement on the left-hand
side. (See Figure 3.2 for an abbreviated example of a
why-why diagram.) There is no backbone; instead, this dia-
gram is designed more like a traditional decision tree with
component stems identified to the right of the prob-
lem statement. Branches may also be iden-
tified to the right of each stem. One
moves from the problem statement to the
stems and branches by asking the ques-
tion "Why?"

For example, as shown in Figure
3.2 , if the problem is "New Prod-
uct Sles Are Poor" and you ask
why, five possible causes emerge:
poor product design, inadequate
promotion, ineffective distribution,

too high a price, and failure to identify tag'

get market. Possible causes of each of