I have been doing a weekly AI Workshop with IDEO U. My main impetus for taking the class is to upgrade my ChatGPT skills, and I figured, why not tackle ChatGPT in the context of Design Thinking.
The instructors started the first session two Wednesdays ago with this quote from scientist Linus Pauling: “The best way to have a good idea is to have lots of them.” LOVE THIS! While I hadn’t heard this exact quote previously, it’s definitely a way to describe how I come to ideas, and how I teach others how to come to ideas.
I relayed Pauling’s quote to a Sr. Director I was working with the very next day. Apropos because he wanted to focus on influencing his boss/exec team with some new bright ideas. “Great,” I said, “Let’s take a look at Strategic Influence as a way to explore, generate ideas and apply them.”
STRATEGIC INFLUENCE = EXPLORE. TRANSLATE. MESSAGE.
- EXPLORE a variety of sources (e.g., insights from books, real conversations + online) to have a deep/broad context from which to generate ideas;
- You’re able to synthesize, then TRANSLATE, these ideas to something relevant for your audience (e.g., customer, boss, board, exec team) and
- MESSAGE the distilled idea/s into a form that is both practical and inspiring.
Let’s focus on EXPLORE today as that serves as the backbone or pallet from which to generate ideas. There’s an underlying assumption here that part of your week includes reading/thinking (and writing). This, alone, seems daunting to many directors and VPs I work with. Most leaders I work with settle on 30-60 minutes a day — scheduled! — and hope to do 3 of 5 days a week.
Another assumption is that the more you read/think, the more ideas you can generate. I think VARIETY is most important here, which is why I am a big believer in striving to be “T-shaped” (vertical and horizontal) in your exploring.
- Vertical: Choose readings/podcasts/mentors/peers in your field to deepen your thinking;
- Horizontal: Choose readings, etc. (researching in ChatGPT, perhaps) outside your field, perhaps in economics, anthropology, history, psychology to broaden your thinking; and
- Chat live with 2-3 customers a month to get their perspective.
This forms the basis/context from which you brainstorm ideas. There is a myriad of ways to BRAINSTORM, then TRANSLATE these ideas. Stay tuned to next week’s column to learn what’s next.
