Power Thinking Skill: Solicit Feedback, pt 12 of 13
It's a common sight: a meeting room with a whiteboard or easel pads festooned with brightly covered sticky notes, each representing an idea or possibility. Months later a new product, service or process launches with great fanfare. But, how much does it resemble that first little sticky note that sparked the innovation? Chances are: not much.
Everything starts with an idea but then a great building and crafting, stretching and honing, shaping and fitting process readies it for the world of reality. Critical to this process is feedback ... feedback from other departments and functions, feedback from customers, feedback from the people who provide resources.
Two keys to feedback are: early and diverse. Start the process of soliciting feedback as early as possible and ask for feedback from a people who have many different perspectives. Recently, ABC's "American Inventor" offered us an entertaining look at the world of invention. One of my favorites was the automatic dog petter -- a mechanical hand that moved back and forth and made computer-voiced comments intended to comfort a lonely pet. While the issue of lonely pets may be valid, this robotic approach would hardly be comforting. It was only one of several inventions that made me
wonder if people ever solicited feedback from anyone other than their mothers.
There is a tendency to not want to put out ideas too soon because we don't want them stomped on. There is a lot of wisdom in choosing your sources of feedback carefully, however, the sooner you find potential flaws or barriers, the sooner you can recraft the concept to overcome them. Feedback should always be taken as an opportunity for improvement rather than as a sign of failure. While you may choose to ignore some feedback (especially if your idea is radically different), you should first listen carefully for suggestions that might make the concept better.
So, as soon as a new idea can be put into a form that people understand ... whether that's a prototype, a video re-enactment, or even a rough drawing on a napkin ... get it out there and see how others react to it.
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Solicit Feedback: Make ideas bigger and better by actively asking for and listening to feedback from a diversity of sources. Solicit Feedback is one of the power-thinking skill sets of the new
Innovation Igniter Thinking Wheel series of 13 innovative thinking competencies.
The 15-minute learning module for this competency is presented by Tom Kuczmarski, author "Innovating the Corporation," Adjunct Professor of New Products and Services at Northwestern University's Kellogg Graduate School of Management. These thinking skills are critical for innovation and for the creative work required for today’s world. A 15-minute video module on "Engage Energy" is available at http://innovationigniter.com.
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