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In my last post a suggested some ways to innovate in a down economy. Two suggestions I made was to Observe and to Collect Ideas, but I should’ve  also added Share.

In that spirit I’d invite you to take a look at the following article which presents 10 actions for better (sustainable) design.

Allan Chochinov, editor-in-chief at Core 77, was a speaker at Compostmodern on Saturday, and presented some great steps for designers. He calls them “Denting an Impossible Design Problem in 10 Sustainable Steps.”

While these are intended to apply to sustainable design I think that they are equally applicable to any project requiring creative thinking. Allan’s steps were:

1. Acknowledge the privilege you have as a designer.
2. Use the word “consequence”.
3. Question authority.
4. Surround yourself with the awesomest people you can.
5. Don’t play fair.
6. Be intentionally dumb.
7. Redistribute – then reduce, reuse, and recycle.
8. Broaden your market.
9. Indulge in discursive design.
10. Talk to anyone who will listen.

For an expanded commentary of the ten steps take a look at the TreeHugger article.

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Online and off line media is full of articles describing the demise of innovation as businesses of all sizes cut back. We’re hearing that there is no money for R&D, processes tightened, and projects prioritized.

But will innovation really stop? I don’t think so. In fact I think that the current state is simply a catalyst for us to innovate in different ways.

If we think about the conditions the current crisis is creating, then we see:

• Constraints in money, time, and other resources.
• Organisations focusing on core business.
• And an urgent need to find new or better ways to do things.

How are these conditions forcing us to behave differently? First of all we need to:

• Do only what is necessary.
• Find ways to do more with less.

So what do we need to do differently to make the best of the new environment?

• Work with people and organisations that we may not have worked with before.
• Seeking out opportunities to share the effort and/or cost.
• Innovate in less formal, or ad-hoc, or even accidental ways.

At a personal level what actions can we take?

• Be open! There’s often many ways to do and think about things. Challenge you own thinking.
• Observe! What’s happening around you, what are other people and businesses doing? But don’t just do things that others are doing. It’s often the contratian approach that wins out.
• Introduce yourself to someone you don’t know at an event, on your commute, in a store. Great connections can be made in the most unlikely places.
• Read a magazine or book on a subject you normally wouldn’t. You never know what you might learn, and what you can apply yourself.
• Collect and review ideas. See this earlier post on why this is such an effective tactic.
• Read some biographies from people who prospered in the 1930′s. What made the difference for them? What principles can you utilize.

Hopefully you can see that there are opportunities out there.

“There are always opportunities through which businessmen can profit handsomely if they will only recognize and seize them.” John Paul Getty

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There are two words that can help us achieve more creative and innovative thinking. Those two words are “What if”.

“What if” takes us from our current state directly to an imagined future state. It is an instant leap across a creative chasm. The chasm could be narrow and shallow, wide and deep, or any combination in between.

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• What  if … was bigger / smaller?
• What if … went this way instead of that way?
• What if … we do it / don’t do it on a Saturday?
• What if we added / left out …?
• What if…
• What if…

The hard part of course is getting from the here and now to the imagined “What if”. It does need receptive and open minds ready to consider the imagined state.

Every “What if” won’t be a winner, infact very few will have any “legs” at all. But, to get to that gem of an idea, that break-through thought, that innovative seed - start with “What if”.




I’d love your feedback. Please leave a comment or contact me directly through the “Contact Me” button under my photo.

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