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Wise Talk 11/29/12 with Jeanne Liedtka

Find any innovation leader in an organization and chances are they have been practicing design thinking all along. However, leaders don’t need to be naturally talented or creatively gifted to foster business development; a systematic approach is needed to problem solve.

Design thinking starts with the ability to understand a customer’s needs and figuring out how to pilot a new idea with minimal risk. In the book, Designing for Growth: A Design Thinking Tool Kit for Managers, co-authors Jeanne Liedtka and Tim Ogilvie demystify design thinking by translating “design” from an abstract idea into a practical, everyday tool any manager can profit from.

Join us Thursday, November 29, at 12 pm PT, on Wise Talk as Mariposa Leadership, Inc. CEO Sue Bethanis talks with strategy consultant and educator Jeanne Liedtka on the ability to turn abstract ideas into practical applications to maximize business growth.

Topics for the interactive discussion will include:

• What is your interpretation of design thinking?

• You describe the design thinking process around four questions: What is? What if?
What wows? What works? Can you tell us a little about each one.

• How is design thinking beneficial to managers? How can a non-designer apply
design thinking to solve intractable problems?

• What advice could you offer a corporate leader or manager that might doubt their
own ability to innovate and foster growth inside their organization?

• What is one example of a simple tool that a practicing manager can use right away?

We welcome you to join this month’s Wise Talk teleconference and submit your questions for discussion. Sign up and be entered to win a copy of this month’s leadership resource, Designing for Growth: A Design Thinking Tool Kit for Managers. One lucky listener will be announced at the end of the talk!

November 15th, 2012|Categories: Design Thinking / Creativity / Innovation, Wise Talk|Tags: business, design thinking, design thinking model, discussion, Jeanne Liedtka, sue bethanis, wise talk|

November 8, 2012 / Book Reviews / Design Thinking / Creativity / Innovation

Book Review: Designing For Growth

Designing for Growth: A Design Thinking Toolkit for Managers by Jeanne Liedtka & Tim Ogilvie

Head: (4.5 of 5)
Heart: (4 of 5)
Leadership Applicability: (5 of 5)

Practicing managers don’t have much time for buzzwords and platitudes. Managers are doers, and when they hear about a promising solution, they want to know how to do it. Design thinking is one of those topics that has burst onto the scene accompanied by lofty promises but precious few practical details.

Designing for Growth: A Design Thinking Toolkit for Managers is the book that provides those details. It goes beyond the theory and philosophy of the recent books on design thinking, showing you how to apply design thinking in a step-by-step way to solve complex growth opportunities. This book translates the fundamental promise of design thinking into a straightforward set of tools that the practicing manager-without any design training-can use immediately to create growth and innovation. The design thinking process described in this book is built upon four questions:

What is? – Exploring the current reality
What if? – Envisioning alternative futures
What wows? – Getting users to help us make some tough choices
What works? – Making it work in-market, and as a business

The book contains 10 ready-to-use tools — each aligned to one of the four questions. These tools include visualization, brainstorming, customer journey mapping, value chain analysis, customer co-creation, rapid prototyping, concept development, assumption testing, and the learning launch. This book will help you discover strengths you already have, develop some new ones, and give you the tools and templates to be an instant brown-belt in design thinking.

Mariposa Leadership is very excited to welcome Designing For Growth author Jeanne Liedtka to join CEO Sue Bethanis on this month’s Wise Talk. Join us on Thursday, November 29th from 12-1pm PT as they plan to discuss the ability to turn abstract ideas into practical applications for optimal business growth. To sign up for Wise Talk and submit your questions, please visit our website.

For more information and to buy Designing For Growth, please visit http://designingforgrowthbook.com

We welcome your thoughts in the comments section below.

November 8th, 2012|Categories: Book Reviews, Design Thinking / Creativity / Innovation|Tags: business, design thinking, design thinking model, discussion, sue bethanis, wise talk, women|

October 25, 2012 / Design Thinking / Creativity / Innovation / Wise Talk

Wise Talk Recap with Dave Gray on Gamestorming

Mariposa was very pleased to have author and visual thinker Dave Gray on Wise Talk this past Tuesday, discussing Gamestorming with Sue Bethanis, CEO. It was a very fun conversation!

So you might be wondering, what exactly is Gamestorming?

More than just a book or a website, Gamestorming is a set of practices for facilitating innovation in the business world. A facilitator leads a group towards some goal by way of a game, a structured activity that provides scope for thinking freely, even playfully.

A game may be thought of as an alternative to the standard business meeting, one that suspends some of the usual protocols and replaces them with a new set of rules for interaction. On the call with Sue, Dave said, “Playful structure actually helps orchestrate the process of creativity and how you structure group interaction matters a lot.”

During Wise Talk, Dave shared that the book he co-authored with Sunni Brown and James Macanufo, Gamestorming, was originally the internal handbook he used for training consultants. On the call, he also stated, “At the rate which things are changing we must take more of an iteration driven process as opposed to having the perfect plan.”

And we couldn’t agree more.

Peep this short video on Gamestorming and the innovation it can bring to your business:

Ready to play?

For more info and to sign up for future Wise Talks, please visit our website.

We welcome your thoughts in the comments section below.

October 25th, 2012|Categories: Design Thinking / Creativity / Innovation, Wise Talk|Tags: brainstorming, creativity, Dave Gray, gamestorming, innovation, Mariposa Leadership, sue bethanis, wise talk|

October 17, 2012 / Design Thinking / Creativity / Innovation / Wise Talk

Q&A with Saul Kaplan on Business Model Innovation

Listen to these audio snippets from our September teleconference, Wise Talk, where guest Saul Kaplan discusses some of the ideas behind his book, The Business Model Innovation Factory.

In this first snippet, Saul talks about how you must become the disruptor, or else you will be disrupted:

listen to ‘Becoming the Disruptor’ on Audioboo

In this snippet, Saul explains that the key to an innovative business model is experimentation, willingness to fail, and to try more stuff:

listen to ‘Experiment and Try More Stuff’ on Audioboo

Click here to access Mariposa Leadership’s Wise Talk archives, and click on “Business Model Innovation” for the full audio of this session.

We welcome your thoughts in the comments section below.

Gamestorming Game: Design Thinking Through Empathy Mapping

In his book, Gamestorming, Dave Gray along with co-authors Sunni Brown and James Macanufo share more than 80 games to help you break down barriers, communicate better, and generate new ideas, insights, and strategies. They have identified tools and techniques from some of the world’s most innovative professionals, whose teams collaborate and make great things happen. This book is the result: a unique collection of games that encourage engagement and creativity while bringing more structure and clarity to the workplace.

One of the very quick (20 minutes or less) and incredibly helpful games included in the book is creating an Empathy Map as a tool for Design Thinking.

The goal of the game is to gain a deeper level of understanding of a stakeholder in your business ecosystem, which may be a client, prospect, partner, etc., within a given context, such as a buying decision or an experience using a product or service.

Here’s how it can go:

1. Start by drawing a circle to represent the person and give the circle a name and some identifying information such as a job title. It helps if you can think of a real person who roughly fits the profile, so you can keep them in mind as you proceed. In keeping with the idea of a “profile” think of the circle as the profile of a person’s head and fill in some details. You might want to add eyes, mouth, nose, ears, and maybe glasses if appropriate or a hairstyle to differentiate the person from other profiles you might want to create. These simple details are not a frivolous addition — they will help you project yourself into the experience of that person, which is the point of the exercise.

2. Determine a question you have for that stakeholder. If you had a question you would want to ask them, or a situation in their life you want to understand, what would that be? You might want to understand a certain kind of buying decision, for example, in which case your question might be “Why should I buy X?”

3. Divide the circle into sections that represent aspects of that person’s sensory experience. What are they thinking, feeling, saying, doing, hearing? Label the appropriate sections on the image.

4. Now it’s time for you to practice the “empathy” portion of the exercise. As best you can, try to project yourself into that person’s experience and understand the context you want to explore. Then start to fill in the diagram with real, tangible, sensory experiences. If you are filling in the “hearing” section, for example, try to think of what the person might hear, and how they would hear it. In the “saying” section, try to write their thoughts as they would express them. Don’t put your words into their mouth — the point is to truly understand and empathize with their situation so you can design a better product, service or whatever.

5. Check yourself: Ask others to review your map, make suggestions, and add details or context. The more the person can identify with the actual stakeholder the better. Over time you will hone your ability to understand and empathize with others in your business ecosystem, which will help you improve your relationships and your results.

Mariposa Leadership is very excited to welcome Gamestorming author Dave Gray to this month’s Wise Talk where he and Sue Bethanis will discuss the innovative alternative to brainstorming – gamestorming! They will also have a chance to discuss Dave’s new book about how to keep your business on the leading edge, The Connected Company.

Sign up for Wise Talk and join the conversation on Tuesday, October 23rd from 2-3pm PT!

Listen to these audio snippets of last week’s August 20th Wise Talk, where Josh Linkner elaborates on methods and steps used to drive creativity, touching particularly on points from his book, Disciplined Dreaming: A Proven System to Drive Breakthrough Creativity. This Wise Talk was an immensely informative discussion on breakthrough creativity for individual and business success.

In this first snippet Linkner discusses the method of “role storming” as an interactive and creative addition to your brainstorming session.

listen to ‘Role Storming’ on Audioboo

In this snippet, Linkner discusses some questions on creativity and what developing creativity really means – are we born creative, or do we become creative?

listen to ‘Josh Linkner on Developing Creativity’ on Audioboo

Click here to access Mariposa Leadership’s Wise Talk archives, and click on “Breakthrough Creativity” for the full audio of this session.

We welcome your thoughts in the comments section below.[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container] MORE

On "5 Ways to Kill a Brainstorm"

This post summarizes an article written by our August Wise Talk guest, Josh Linkner. This article is titled “5 Way to Kill a Brainstorming Session” and was published on October 5th, 2011. It can be found here.

As we move through each “way” to kill a brainstorming session, please post your thoughts/comments/reflections on Linkner’s process in the comments section below.

Linkner starts by remarking that the corporate culture around brainstorming is one of “shooting

[ideas] down as fast as they come.” He then goes on to outline the five fastest and easiest ways to kill a brainstorming session, and therefore the creativity and culture of innovation within a team or corporation.

This five ways are:

1. Passing judgement or commenting.

2. Tidying up or compartmentalizing a comment out loud.

3. Thinking ahead – how would we execute it, what are the other factors that contribute to its possible success, etc.

4. Worrying.

5. Wandering away from the topics strictly at hand being discussed at that moment.

Do you recognize any of these behaviors in your team? How or when have these behaviors occurred, and in what way did they manifest?

If so, share with our community on how you either combat or work through these behaviors to keep the team dynamic active and healthy, as well as creative.

Still unsure how to move forward? Share these thoughts and concerns on coaching and leadership specifically by posting an Ask Mariposa question.

Wise Talk Announcement: Today with Josh Linkner

Join us on our next Wise Talk on Monday, August 20 from 1-2pm PT (TODAY) as Sue talks with tech entrepreneur and bestselling author Josh Linkner on how to drive breakthrough creativity in business and individual success.

Josh Linkner is a successful four-time tech entrepreneur and the founder, chairman and former CEO of the largest interactive promotion agency in the world, ePrize. He is a New York Times bestselling author of two books, with his most recent book, Disciplined Dreaming: A Proven System to Drive Breakthrough Creativity, named one of the top 10 business books of 2011.

Recently, Josh launched his fifth company, the venture capital firm Detroit Venture Partners. Josh is also Adjunct Professor of Applied Creativity at the University of Michigan. He has been honored as the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year, the Detroit News Michiganian of the Year, and is a President Barack Obama Champion of Change award recipient. Josh is a regular columnist for Fast Company and Inc. Magazine, and his work has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, USA Today, and The New York Times. Josh earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Advertising from the University of Florida. He is an accomplished and well-respected jazz musician, regularly performing in jazz clubs throughout the United States and Canada.

Please RSVP asap to allison@mariposaleadership.com to reserve your spot.