Book Review: The Ten Faces of Innovation

The Ten Faces of Innovation

Introduction

Picture the scene—a new idea is being discussed, and somebody says, “Let me play the devil’s advocate.” This person then goes on to tear apart the idea, leading to its untimely demise.

Tom Kelley and Jonathan Littman, authors of The Ten Faces of Innovation believe that this is anathema to the process of design and idea creation. Instead of the “devil’s advocate,” they propose ten roles individuals can play that will lead to increased creativity and more successful innovation. In this paper I will review these roles and discuss applications that I see from them in the design process.
The Anthropologist

The authors quote Marcel Proust as saying, “The real act of discover consists not in finding new lands, but in seeing with new eyes” (16).

This quote captures the basic role of anthropologists, which is to carefully observe, and learn lessons from what they see. The authors posit that there is much to learn if we will simply open our eyes to observe. One of the keys of being an anthropologist is to, as much as possible, have the experiences of those that you want to study. For example, one IDEO “anthropologist” spent 48 hours in the hospital with a patient to better understand the kinds of treatment she would receive.

I related this to how I, as an author, could spend time in bookstores interviewing people who chose to buy (or not buy) particular books. I could learn a great deal from watching what customers pick up, how they interact with, and talking to them about why they purchase the products they purchase. This information could help in the designing of future books.

Another key insight from this chapter is that anthropology holds a key for understanding the future. The authors quote Henry Ford who said, “If I had asked my customers what they wanted, they’d have said a faster horse” (37).

Therefore, customer surveys will not necessary tell you what products to design, because the customers themselves have not thought of them yet. But by talking with people and coming to better understand what they really want, one may be able to uncover innovative ideas.

The Experimenter

The experimenter tries to create physical representations or prototypes of ideas, even if they are rudimentary, knowing that just getting started on something often leads to more successful iterations. This is one manifestation of the IDEO axiom to “fail often, to succeed sooner” (52).

As an example of a simple experiment, a store called The Good Guys inserted an advertisement into a magazine that when unfolded was the actual size a 42-inch flat-panel TV would be. One of the reasons people had not yet bought these TVs was that it was hard to picture how it would look in their family room. But this cutout helped them to visualize how the TV would look in their home, and sales dramatically increased as a result. It wasn’t a fancy experiment or design, but it brought great success.

A key to being a good experimenter is to come up with multiple prototypes. If you show somebody a solution to a problem they are having, and you only give them one solution, their response to it “is muddied by what they think about you” (55). But if you are able to give two or three solutions (prototypes) to the problem it will be much easier to further experiment and play with the possibilities.

The Cross-Pollinator

The third type of person discussed is the “cross-pollinator.” Many common inventions we have today came from cross-pollination—the escalator and the Frisbee being two examples. Cross-pollinators are people who can take knowledge from one area and transfer it into another. Oftentimes they have deep knowledge in one area, and broad knowledge in others. They combine their deep knowledge with new things they learn to create innovative ideas.

To increase one’s ability to cross-pollinate, one should learn about a variety of topics and travel to different places. Look for connections between what you are learning and what you are an expert in. For example, as I am learning about design, I can take what I learn and apply it in an area where I have deeper knowledge (religious education) and find new ways of doing things (cross-pollination).

The Hurdler

The hurdler does things even if, and sometimes especially when, they are hard. Regardless of budget constraints or other difficulties, hurdlers find ways to accomplish their goals. One example of a hurdler is Richard Drew, who as a young employee of 3M invented scotch tape, even when his superiors told him to focus on other things, and refused to budget for his research. He leaped through the hurdles and succeeded anyways.

In some respects the hurdler is the opposite of the devil’s advocate. While the devil’s advocate will say all the reasons why something can’t be done, the hurdler will focus on ways things can be accomplished. When somebody plays the role of the hurdler solutions will be uncovered where none were previously seen.

The Collaborator

The collaborator is a bridge-builder one who can help get people with different points of view to work together. They “stir up the pot. They bring people together to get things done” (114).

One of the innovative ideas a collaborator can use is an “unfocus group.” This means pulling together a group of people who are different, and are all extremely passionate about what they believe in. They can often bring new ideas to the table and a collaborator can help capture these. “Quirky, fun, and often surprising, unfocus groups give companies a chance to see real people interact and experiment with products and things they care about” (122).

A great metaphor for collaboration is the relay race. In an Olympic relay, each of the four runners in the 400 meter could run the 100 meter in about 10 seconds. But they could run the relay in 37.4 seconds. How did they do this? It was possible because by the time the handoff occurred, the second runner was already running at top speed.

Recently I have been involved in a collaborative effort in designing a book. This book was conceived to be something totally different for anything on the market for LDS youth. The three main collaborators have been two co-authors, and the publishing director. Chris, the publishing director on this project has been the quintessential collaborator. He has mediated difficulties, inspired new ideas, and reached out to others with a variety of specialties to make the project better. This experience has shown me that multiple heads are better than one, and the person who can successfully stimulate collaboration is a very valuable team-member .

The Director

The role of director is likened to that of a director in a movie. He brings together a good cast of individuals and then lets them have the limelight. Directors do not have all of the ideas themselves, but can pull great things from others. For example, directors often engage in brainstorming. The authors state that one of the keys to have successful brainstorming is to “Begin with a clear statement of the problem of the problem, a question that’s open-ended but not too broad.” (151).

IDEO has rules such as “go for quantity, encourage wild ideas, be visual, defer judgment, [and] one conversation at a time” (151). These rules help keep things flowing and prevent good ideas from being killed too soon.

They also suggest numbering the ideas and to “capture…ideas in visual, low-tech mediums that everyone can share. Spatial memory is a powerful force you can use to guide the participants back on track” (152).

The Experience Architect

The next type of individual discussed is the experience architect. These individuals are “people who focus relentlessly on creating remarkable customer experiences” (166).

There were several examples of how companies had been able to make breakthrough designs by considering the experience that the customers were having. For example, when one needs to put antifreeze into a car there is often a complicated mixing that needs to take place in order for the antifreeze-water ratio to be just right. An innovative company changed this “experience” by creating a product that had a pre-blended mix; making things much easier for the consumer, and changing the experience they had.

As another example, Coldstone has created a whole new “ice cream experience” in which customers get to participate in the creation of their own personalized ice cream treat. Coldstone realized that they were serving more than just ice cream—it was the whole experience of going out to eat a treat that they focused on.

One key suggestion they gave to enhance experience is to bring it to the customer where possible. For example, one dentist would go to a large corporation and do checkups on-site, dramatically reducing the amount of time that employees had to take off for their dental checkups. Having the dentist on-site totally changed the experience.

Currently I am working on the design of some websites that I hope will encourage people to learn more deeply from the scriptures. To take on the role of the experimenter, I need to think about the “experience” that people who use the site will have. There is more to design than the “what to teach” and “how to teach;” the overall experience must also be planned for and created.

The Set Designer

The set designer knows that the space you work in can have a large impact on what gets accomplished. This can be as simple as making sure critical supplies are stocked close at hand, or by changing the surroundings of a room. As an extreme example of the power of set design, when the Cleveland Indians changed their arena they began winning more games. Was this a coincidence? The authors did not think so.

It is important to note that one set is not right for everyone. Some may crave privacy, while others want to be close to others. Realizing that different activities and people may need different types of spaces to work with is all part of the role of the set designer.

I recently changed office locations, and thought carefully about what I would bring to the new office. I am teaching the Book of Mormon and noticed that I had no pictures of the Savior up in my office. I found that putting up a picture of the Savior teaching, along with a picture of my wife, and pictures of former students creates an environment where I can better prepare to teach.

The Nurturer

The authors state, “Think of your best personal experience with a good physician, how they took care of you in a professional way and at the same time nurtured you…that’s exactly the sort of caregiver we all hope for…” (216).

There are several ways that companies can give this kind of care—and the benefits of doing so are obvious. One personal experience I have had with this was an experience related to me by a customer service manager at a Toyota dealership.

He received a call from an angry customer who had been told by a technician that his brake pads needed to be changed. The customer had gone to get a second opinion and had been told that his pads did not need to be changed. The customer accused the Toyota dealership of trying to cheat him.

The customer service manager said, “I want to make sure that you have not been cheated. I will come to your home and personally check the pads for you again.”

The manager did so, and discovered that in fact the pads did not need to be changed. He apologized profusely and offered the man some free services from the dealership. Although this required time, this kind of nurturing won him a client for life.

A specific idea the authors give to increase nurturing is to keep customers informed about wait times. One of the things that customers dislike is uncertainty. Netflix provides a good example by emailing customers notifications of when movies have been received or shipped. This decreases the uncertainty, and increases satisfaction—part of the nurturing process.

When it comes to designing products they should have a nurturing feeling to them. An example of this that I recently saw was an online course in new media (not David Wiley’s). The course had a fun and energetic feel to it, and I felt welcomed there.

The Storyteller

The final role discussed in this book is that of the storyteller. Stories “trigger emotional responses that frequently spark valuable insights” (255).

At IDEO they will often begin design sessions by listening to stories from clients. For example, listening to a story from the benefit of a medical device could be of benefit to them as they begin seeking ways to improve that device.

Not only should companies and individuals tell stories to captivate viewers, they should also listen to the stories of their customers. For example, “Instead of asking questions like ‘what do you like or dislike about your mobile service?’ [say,] ‘Tell me a story about the time your mobile let you down.’” (247).

Engaging in this type of conversation allows more doors to be opened and experiences to be sharer. I believe that story-telling can help me in my efforts to help people gain more from their scripture study. Rather than asking people, “Do you read your scriptures?” I could ask, “Tell me a story about a time when your scripture study helped you.” This latter statement would help me gain much more valuable information.

Conclusion

To me there are two key implications from The Ten Faces of Innovation. First, when I am involved in a design project, I should try to use the lenses of these different roles to help in the design process. In group discussions, rather than looking for reasons why it won’t work (devil’s advocate) I can try to make a prototype of what is being discussed, or facilitated brainstorming as a director would. As I develop proficiency in these additional roles, my usefulness as a part of a design team will increase.

A second implication is that I should consider these different roles in the actual design of products. I could ask questions like, how could we make this a better experience? How can we capture the stories our customers or end-users will have? What can we do to make this a more comfortable (nurturing) design?