2
Leading with Insight

1.Insight\"
2.Being Insightful\"
3.Leading With Insight

1. Insight.

“A lot of times, people don’t
know what they want until
you show it to them…”
Steve Jobs

people don’t know
what they want…

“Recognizing the need is
the primary condition of
design”
Charles Eames

Recognizing \"
the need

“Design works if it’s
authentic, inspired, and has
a clear point of view. It can’t
be a collection of input”
Ron Johnson

clear point of view

It can’t be a collection of
input…

Why is insight important?

Insight occurs when people
recognize relationships or
make associations between
objects and actions that can
help them solve new
problems.
Britannica

Recognize relationships

Insight is the act or result of
apprehending the inner
nature of things or seeing
intuitively.
Websters

Apprehending the inner nature

Recognizable Truths
…that help you understand \"
the real nature of problems.

2. Being Insightful

To be insightful, you must
embrace the following…

1: You must ask thoughtful
questions

2: You need to look beyond
the obvious

3: You shouldn’t be afraid
to reframe the problem

4: You must learn to trust
your gut

Who did I learn this from?
Richard Feynman

Who did I learn this from?
✖
Richard Feynman

Who?

That’s right…\"
Columbo taught me
everything I need to know
about being insightful.

Back to Feynman for a
minute…

Karl Popper\"
The “Wizard Merlin”
Perspective of Insight

“A magician of the highest caliber”
Wizard Merlin

Michael Posner\"
The “Prepared Mind”
Perspective of Insight

“I know I've been a pest. \"
I'm just trying to do my job.”
The Prepared Mind

No Magic
Prepare\"
Incubate\"
Illuminate\"
Verify
The Art of Thought - Graham Wallas

The prepared mind has a
repeatable process

The prepared mind is always running its process

The prepared mind is always asking questions

One more thing…

The prepared always mind looks beyond the obvious

You know what I don’t understand…

The prepared mind isn’t afraid to reframe

There are a couple
of loose ends I’d like
to tie up. Nothing
important you
understand…

The prepared mind trusts their gut

It’s just one of those things
that gets in my head and
keeps rolling around in
there…

What’s really going on here?

Columbo is:
Treating insight as a consequence,
rather then a cause in problem solving\"
Understanding the underlying structure
of the problem and restructuring the
problem to avoid functional fixedness\"
Applying procedural similarity to take
advantage of representative transfer\"
Waiting patiently for “suddenness of
solution”

3. Leading With Insight

What does leading with
insight mean for your
business?

A pair of stories about
research, culture and
results.

Validation vs Inquiry

A culture of validation:\"
$200K+ OF DISCOVERY RESEARCH
100 FOCUS GROUP PARTICIPANTS
25 INDEPTH INTERVIEWS
10 ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY SUBJECTS
5 PERSONAS
= 0 UNIQUE INSIGHTS

A culture of inquiry:\"
$1300 TO RENT A VAN AND A CAMERA
5 LOCATIONS IN 24 HOURS
4 SEPARATE HYPOTHESIS
3 GUT CHECKS
1 SEVEN MINUTE FILM
= 2 UNIQUE INSIGHTS

The Moral

Lots of research is a waste
of time and money.

✖
Lots of research is a waste
of time and money.

Don’t use research to tell
you what you already
know…use it to tell you
what you don’t know.


Don’t use research to tell
you what you already
know…use it to tell you
what you don’t know.

So What?

Insights help uncover and
reframe the true nature of a
problem

Insights help businesses
identify and target positions
of differentiation.

How do I do this?

Iteratively Reframe
To Uncover the True \"
Nature of the Problem

Iteratively Reframe
To Uncover the True \"
Nature of the Problem

How do I really do this?

Crackpot Theory:

ZOMG

What does ZOMG have to
do with insight?

Real insights are memes.

Immediately Understood.

Self-replicating.

Seeds of transformation.

Is this a Crackpot Theory?

You tell me…

Insight should be a key
driver of your business
thinking.
Here’s why:

Good insight (and good
research) helps you to know
what your customers and
users need…\"
before they know
themselves…

Leading with insight \"
means that you can create
“the need”.\"
True Differentiation
Real Innovation
Tangible Results

Insight is a state of mind

2
And a way of doing business
mmilan@gmail.com