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Empathy means challenging your preconceived ideas and setting aside your sense of what you think is true in order to learn what actually is true.
Empathy means challenging your preconceived ideas and setting aside your sense of what you think is true in order to learn what actually is true. that people aren’t conscious of. An interview won’t give you that. Sometimes you need to follow consumers into the kitchen.
When you spot a contradiction between what you see and what you expect, it’s a sign that you should dig deeper.
The next time you see something quirky, keep an open mind. You might discover a business opportunity hidden in plain sight.
keep your knowledge and your insights refreshed.
you may develop a false confidence in what you already “know” that might lead you to the wrong decision.
Informed intuition is useful only if it is based on information that’s ac...
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ago, “It’s not what you don’t know that gets you into trouble, it’s what you know for sure that ain’t so.”
Don’t be fooled by what you “know for sure” about your customer, yourself, your business, or the world. Seek out opportunities to observe and update your worldview.
One of the best ways to accelerate learning is to ask questions. A question that starts with “Why” or “What if” can brush aside superficial details and get to the heart of the matter.
People often lack the self-awareness (or the vocabulary) to express their needs. And they seldom consider options that don’t yet exist in the world.
Empathy is more about understanding latent needs,
visualize their experience
FIVE “WHY’S” Ask “Why?” questions.
ask participants to describe aloud what they are thinking about.
the first step toward a great answer is to reframe the question.
make sure you have unearthed the correct question.
we call the reframed challenge “Question Zero,” since it is a new starting point for seeking creative solutions. Reframing the problem not only gives you more successful solutions but also allows you to address bigger, more important problems.
Where innovation happens is often in the “Aha” moment when you realize what the real problem or need is—and begin solving for that.
REFRAMING TECHNIQUES
1. STEP BACK FROM OBVIOUS SOLUTIONS.
2. ALTER YOUR FOCUS OR POINT OF VIEW.
3. UNCOVER THE REAL ISSUE.
4. LOOK FOR WAYS TO BYPASS RESISTANCE OR MENTAL BLOCKS.
5. THINK ABOUT THE OPPOSITE.
best ideas result from collaborating with other people.
“chance favors the trained mind.”
had turned into a breakthrough. Their success-from-failure stories indicate not only that they were keen observers, but also that they were conducting a lot of experiments to begin with.
“Chance favors people who do lots of experiments and then pay very close attention when something unexpected happens.”
Nurture the kind of “prepared mind” that seizes the moment when an epiphany occurs.
demonstrate how imperative action and iteration are to innovation and creativity, both for individuals and organizations.
Innovation is all about quickly turning ideas into action.
people with creative confidence have a “do something” mindset.
The first step toward being creative is often simply to go beyond being a passive observer and to translate thoughts into deeds.
Almost every annoyance, every point of friction, hides a design opportunity. Instead of just complaining, ask yourself, “How might I improve this situation?”
Many of us get stuck between wanting to act and taking action.
Bob Sutton and Jeffrey Pfeffer call the “knowing-doing gap”: the space between what we know we should do and what we actually do.
What we saw at Kodak was not a lack of information but the failure to turn insight into effective action.
To achieve your goal, to topple the barriers that stand in your way, you have to be focused on getting it done now.
as Yoda, another wise and seasoned change master, put it to Luke Skywalker in Star Wars, “Do or do not. There is no try.”
It’s hard to be “best” right away, so commit to rapid and continuous improvements.
if you want to make something great, you need to start making.
All the overplanning, all the procrastinating, and all the talking are signs that we are afraid, that we just don’t feel ready.
You want everything to be “just right” before you commit further or share something with others.
Another behavior that holds us back is procrastination, a failing that seems universal to the human condition.
Steven Pressfield calls the “war of art.”
Resistance. “Most of us have two lives,” says Pressfield. “The life we live, and the unlived life within us.
ACTION CATALYSTS
1. GET HELP. Hire somebody or recruit a willing colleague for a short period to help you.
2. CREATE PEER PRESSURE.
