Ideas not understood are lost potential. The exponentially growing amount of information that
dominates our times and makes them successful is also growing in complexity. We approach
it with ever-new ideas. They are the significant commodities of our time. The information
society emerged from these ideas, and – in contrast to earlier ages – we need more and more
of them in order to master the mass of information and the consequences for understanding,
processing, and creating.
IDEA DESIGN, including the D'ARTAGNAN Principle as the ontological key as well as methods
for idea quality control, was developed based on SABINE FISCHER's 2012 dissertation, “The
Contemporary Use of the Term Idea, the Linguistic Shaping of Ideas and their Semantic Optimisation
Potential”5 at the European University Viadrina.
Enthusiasm is what a good idea deserves in the first place – and not the question “What do you mean by that?”
Behind every idea, success is waiting. Therefore, the scientific and economic discussion about ideas, their efficient generation and exploitation remains highly important. But: initially, the quality of an idea is not measured in terms of its content – rather, the point is for it to be appreciated as such in the first place. Before the evaluation of an idea comes the idea’s identification as an idea!
Understanding the idea develops the ability to evaluate it or modify it into a still better idea. Misunderstood ideas, however, are always lost potential – sad for the persons having them and hopeless for those needing them. For businesses, both cases can be economically disastrous.
What is surprising is the fact that neither scientific nor practically oriented research offer any relevant statements, research work or methods for semantically optimizing
ideas. With the development of the “d’Artagnan Principle”, this significant gap is now filled and methodically closed.
Work on semantic optimization of ideas
A presentation I gave on design thinking for technology, business, and entrepreneurship students at NYU.
These slides were accompanied by a lot of group participation, Q&A, and a design challenge, so some slides may feel a little sparse.
These slides are adapted from a design thinking presentation co-authored with Melanie Kahl in 2011. Thanks for viewing!
User Centered Design module for Master study in Enterprise Management. Main arguments are Design Thinking, Lean UX Digital Entity “The Hive” methodology, Usability.
This presentation highlights a number of leading firms utilizing Design Thinking as a means for business development and innovation. For more information on guest lectures and workshops contact me through LinkedIn.
Enthusiasm is what a good idea deserves in the first place – and not the question “What do you mean by that?”
Behind every idea, success is waiting. Therefore, the scientific and economic discussion about ideas, their efficient generation and exploitation remains highly important. But: initially, the quality of an idea is not measured in terms of its content – rather, the point is for it to be appreciated as such in the first place. Before the evaluation of an idea comes the idea’s identification as an idea!
Understanding the idea develops the ability to evaluate it or modify it into a still better idea. Misunderstood ideas, however, are always lost potential – sad for the persons having them and hopeless for those needing them. For businesses, both cases can be economically disastrous.
What is surprising is the fact that neither scientific nor practically oriented research offer any relevant statements, research work or methods for semantically optimizing
ideas. With the development of the “d’Artagnan Principle”, this significant gap is now filled and methodically closed.
Work on semantic optimization of ideas
A presentation I gave on design thinking for technology, business, and entrepreneurship students at NYU.
These slides were accompanied by a lot of group participation, Q&A, and a design challenge, so some slides may feel a little sparse.
These slides are adapted from a design thinking presentation co-authored with Melanie Kahl in 2011. Thanks for viewing!
User Centered Design module for Master study in Enterprise Management. Main arguments are Design Thinking, Lean UX Digital Entity “The Hive” methodology, Usability.
This presentation highlights a number of leading firms utilizing Design Thinking as a means for business development and innovation. For more information on guest lectures and workshops contact me through LinkedIn.
The design thinking transformation in businessCathy Wang
Presented at Webvisions Barcelona 2015 By Cathy Wang & Nuno Andrew
The definition of design is shifting from being a noun to a verb. We see it moving away from arts and craft into a methodology of delivering value. Adapting to this shift, designers and changemakers are forming a new way of design thinking.
As designer, not only are we crafting products / services, but we are also learning to see a much bigger system with a deep connection to business factors. How can we influence businesses with design thinking in order to build a solid business platform that delivers meaningful products / services.
Systems thinking is an approach to problem solving. Businesses are an intricate ecosystem, from how the organisation is structured, to people, to commercial planning, to processes. As designers, we practice systems thinking everyday. How do we use this knowledge to craft a business? This, is business design.
In this session, we want to explore what business design means. How to use what we know, as designers, to build stronger businesses? As we continue to adapt design methodologies and systems thinking to a business context, what other manifestations that will evolve? How can design thinking be leveraged in even the most straight-laced silos of a business such as Human Resources and Finance? How do we give design thinking the space it needs in the face of traditional business practice? And most importantly, how do we use our existing design thinking knowledge, to design businesses?
The first prototype of our approaches to move beyond design thinking at DNA. Touching on a number of new tools and techniques as well as theoretical positions from a number of sources. Very much the bleeding edge of our current position.
For a Knowledge Management Round Table, Melbourne. An exploration workshop into using design thinking to support workplace change coupled with digital technologies.
Design Thinking and Public Sector Innovation Ben Weinlick
Ben Weinlick of Think Jar Collective gave a keynote for the Canada Conference Board Public Sector Innovation conference on how human centered design thinking can be a game changer for service and system innovation in the public and social sectors.
Presentation is based on Lumiknows experience of integrating design thinking into Russian organizational culture including Beeline, Promsvyazbank, Intel Russia, Sberbank and many others. By Ekaterina Khramkova, Lumiknows, 2015
Embrace People Experience for good: Design Thinking In House. Straddle qualitative and quantitative thinking is incredibly valuable for the future of an organization. Digital Era beyond Technologizing us is Humanizing us
Motivated by curiosity and a strong conviction that the tools and methods of design thinking ignite innovative ideas and solutions, a group of Portland-based, like-minded practitioners set out to survey the local landscape. Our goal: to uncover the tactics, challenges, benefits and themes surrounding design thinking in our community.
This is the result.
We found more than a dozen common themes and insights. Some of them speak directly to the benefits of a design thinking approach. Some express deep challenges to making that approach work in the real world. In all cases, we are pleasantly surprised by the conviction, passion, and commitment to overcoming those challenges and sharing the benefits of design thinking. !
This lecture focuses on providing an overview of the design thinking process. Students will apply this concept to building a business model around their entrepreneurial idea.
http://www.socialentrepreneurship.ca/aps1015h/
Presentation of the Design Thinking Workshop Berlin
It is a brief introduction about what it is Design Thinking (check the links) and a guide to follow some creativity tools to work on the business ideas of the participants
Design Thinking and the Business Model Canvas for the Mobile EconomySerge Van Oudenhove
Présentation sur Le Design Thinking and the Business Model Canvas for the Mobile Economyréalisé dans le cadre de StartLab de Solvay Entrepreneurs. http://startlab.solvayentrepreneurs.be/
This is a short talk and workshop (30' + 90') to give a first introduction to design thinking. Gives theory foundation, notes a few different approaches, and then dives into one of them.
This presentation was first done at ImpactON / StartupChile evening in 2015.
Introduction to Design Thinking for Business StudentsPatrick Glinski
This was a presentation I gave October 16th, 2010 at the Queens School of Business responsible leadership weekend. The talk was designed to introduce the principals of design thinking to undergraduate and MBA students with an interest in corporate and social change.
The design thinking transformation in businessCathy Wang
Presented at Webvisions Barcelona 2015 By Cathy Wang & Nuno Andrew
The definition of design is shifting from being a noun to a verb. We see it moving away from arts and craft into a methodology of delivering value. Adapting to this shift, designers and changemakers are forming a new way of design thinking.
As designer, not only are we crafting products / services, but we are also learning to see a much bigger system with a deep connection to business factors. How can we influence businesses with design thinking in order to build a solid business platform that delivers meaningful products / services.
Systems thinking is an approach to problem solving. Businesses are an intricate ecosystem, from how the organisation is structured, to people, to commercial planning, to processes. As designers, we practice systems thinking everyday. How do we use this knowledge to craft a business? This, is business design.
In this session, we want to explore what business design means. How to use what we know, as designers, to build stronger businesses? As we continue to adapt design methodologies and systems thinking to a business context, what other manifestations that will evolve? How can design thinking be leveraged in even the most straight-laced silos of a business such as Human Resources and Finance? How do we give design thinking the space it needs in the face of traditional business practice? And most importantly, how do we use our existing design thinking knowledge, to design businesses?
The first prototype of our approaches to move beyond design thinking at DNA. Touching on a number of new tools and techniques as well as theoretical positions from a number of sources. Very much the bleeding edge of our current position.
For a Knowledge Management Round Table, Melbourne. An exploration workshop into using design thinking to support workplace change coupled with digital technologies.
Design Thinking and Public Sector Innovation Ben Weinlick
Ben Weinlick of Think Jar Collective gave a keynote for the Canada Conference Board Public Sector Innovation conference on how human centered design thinking can be a game changer for service and system innovation in the public and social sectors.
Presentation is based on Lumiknows experience of integrating design thinking into Russian organizational culture including Beeline, Promsvyazbank, Intel Russia, Sberbank and many others. By Ekaterina Khramkova, Lumiknows, 2015
Embrace People Experience for good: Design Thinking In House. Straddle qualitative and quantitative thinking is incredibly valuable for the future of an organization. Digital Era beyond Technologizing us is Humanizing us
Motivated by curiosity and a strong conviction that the tools and methods of design thinking ignite innovative ideas and solutions, a group of Portland-based, like-minded practitioners set out to survey the local landscape. Our goal: to uncover the tactics, challenges, benefits and themes surrounding design thinking in our community.
This is the result.
We found more than a dozen common themes and insights. Some of them speak directly to the benefits of a design thinking approach. Some express deep challenges to making that approach work in the real world. In all cases, we are pleasantly surprised by the conviction, passion, and commitment to overcoming those challenges and sharing the benefits of design thinking. !
This lecture focuses on providing an overview of the design thinking process. Students will apply this concept to building a business model around their entrepreneurial idea.
http://www.socialentrepreneurship.ca/aps1015h/
Presentation of the Design Thinking Workshop Berlin
It is a brief introduction about what it is Design Thinking (check the links) and a guide to follow some creativity tools to work on the business ideas of the participants
Design Thinking and the Business Model Canvas for the Mobile EconomySerge Van Oudenhove
Présentation sur Le Design Thinking and the Business Model Canvas for the Mobile Economyréalisé dans le cadre de StartLab de Solvay Entrepreneurs. http://startlab.solvayentrepreneurs.be/
This is a short talk and workshop (30' + 90') to give a first introduction to design thinking. Gives theory foundation, notes a few different approaches, and then dives into one of them.
This presentation was first done at ImpactON / StartupChile evening in 2015.
Introduction to Design Thinking for Business StudentsPatrick Glinski
This was a presentation I gave October 16th, 2010 at the Queens School of Business responsible leadership weekend. The talk was designed to introduce the principals of design thinking to undergraduate and MBA students with an interest in corporate and social change.
“We are living a time of disruption and radical change
and we need a new way of thinking about economy and
business. Design Thinking - Business Innovation is a practical
and easy way to apply examples about how companies
and entrepreneurs can work in a more effective way to
ensure that innovation will become part of a new path
where everyone can “design” its thinking about change,
creativity and innovation. This, I believe, will be the ultimate
competitive advantage.”
Design thinking is not “us versus them or us”, but on behalf of them. It’s close to user’s experience and mind. Let’s Design thinking, before development leads to a dead end.
Design Thinking: Finding Problems Worth Solving In HealthAdam Connor
Ideas for new devices and services can come from anywhere. But great ideas come from aligning solutions with real value and desirability for people. Design thinking provides a set of principles and structure that can act as scaffolding for teams to find and understand challenges and opportunities to focus on fan find solutions for.
This is the Second out of Seven Articles
co -written by
Steinar Valade-Amland and myself
on
Design Thinking, Design Management
and how to coordinate both strategically .
If you miss number 1/7 send me an email bbm@designence.com and I will send it to you .
An Introduction to Design ThinkingPROCESS GUIDEWHAT is t.docxgalerussel59292
An Introduction to Design Thinking
PROCESS GUIDE
WHAT is the Empathize mode
Empathy is the centerpiece of a human-centered design process. The Empathize mode is
the work you do to understand people, within the context of your design challenge. It is your
effort to understand the way they do things and why, their physical and emotional needs, how
they think about world, and what is meaningful to them.
WHY empathize
As a design thinker, the problems you are trying to solve are rarely your own—they are those of
a particular group of people; in order to design for them, you must gain empathy for who they
are and what is important to them.
Observing what people do and how they interact with their environment gives you clues about
what they think and feel. It also helps you learn about what they need. By watching people,
you can capture physical manifestations of their experiences – what they do and say. This will
allow you to infer the intangible meaning of those experiences in order to uncover insights.
These insights give you direction to create innovative solutions. The best solutions come out
of the best insights into human behavior. But learning to recognize those insights is harder
than you might think. Why? Because our minds automatically filter out a lot of information
without our even realizing it. We need to learn to see things “with a fresh set of eyes,” and
empathizing is what gives us those new eyes.
Engaging with people directly reveals a tremendous amount about the way they think and
the values they hold. Sometimes these thoughts and values are not obvious to the people
who hold them, and a good conversation can surprise both the designer and the subject by
the unanticipated insights that are revealed. The stories that people tell and the things that
people say they do—even if they are different from what they actually do—are strong indicators
of their deeply held beliefs about the way the world is. Good designs are built on a solid
understanding of these beliefs and values.
HOW to empathize
To empathize, you:
- Observe. View users and their behavior in the context of their lives. As much as possible
do observations in relevant contexts in addition to interviews. Some of the most powerful
realizations come from noticing a disconnect between what someone says and what he does.
Others come from a work-around someone has created which may be very surprising to you as
the designer, but she may not even think to mention in conversation.
- Engage. Sometimes we call this technique ‘interviewing’ but it should really feel more like
a conversation. Prepare some questions you’d like to ask, but expect to let the conversation
deviate from them. Keep the conversation only loosely bounded. Elicit stories from the
people you talk to, and always ask “Why?” to uncover deeper meaning. Engagement can come
through both short ‘intercept’ encounters and longer scheduled conversations.
- W.
An Introduction to Design ThinkingPROCESS GUIDEWHAT .docxdaniahendric
An Introduction to Design Thinking
PROCESS GUIDE
WHAT is the Empathize mode
Empathy is the centerpiece of a human-centered design process. The Empathize mode is
the work you do to understand people, within the context of your design challenge. It is your
effort to understand the way they do things and why, their physical and emotional needs, how
they think about world, and what is meaningful to them.
WHY empathize
As a design thinker, the problems you are trying to solve are rarely your own—they are those of
a particular group of people; in order to design for them, you must gain empathy for who they
are and what is important to them.
Observing what people do and how they interact with their environment gives you clues about
what they think and feel. It also helps you learn about what they need. By watching people,
you can capture physical manifestations of their experiences – what they do and say. This will
allow you to infer the intangible meaning of those experiences in order to uncover insights.
These insights give you direction to create innovative solutions. The best solutions come out
of the best insights into human behavior. But learning to recognize those insights is harder
than you might think. Why? Because our minds automatically filter out a lot of information
without our even realizing it. We need to learn to see things “with a fresh set of eyes,” and
empathizing is what gives us those new eyes.
Engaging with people directly reveals a tremendous amount about the way they think and
the values they hold. Sometimes these thoughts and values are not obvious to the people
who hold them, and a good conversation can surprise both the designer and the subject by
the unanticipated insights that are revealed. The stories that people tell and the things that
people say they do—even if they are different from what they actually do—are strong indicators
of their deeply held beliefs about the way the world is. Good designs are built on a solid
understanding of these beliefs and values.
HOW to empathize
To empathize, you:
- Observe. View users and their behavior in the context of their lives. As much as possible
do observations in relevant contexts in addition to interviews. Some of the most powerful
realizations come from noticing a disconnect between what someone says and what he does.
Others come from a work-around someone has created which may be very surprising to you as
the designer, but she may not even think to mention in conversation.
- Engage. Sometimes we call this technique ‘interviewing’ but it should really feel more like
a conversation. Prepare some questions you’d like to ask, but expect to let the conversation
deviate from them. Keep the conversation only loosely bounded. Elicit stories from the
people you talk to, and always ask “Why?” to uncover deeper meaning. Engagement can come
through both short ‘intercept’ encounters and longer scheduled conversations.
- ...
Design Thinking for Startups - Are You Design Driven?Amir Khella
This presentation provides some best practices and tools to help small business entrepreneurs and startup founders in creating a culture of innovation.
Whether you're working on a web 2.0, iPhone or a physical gadget, these simple practices are universally applicable.
***Note****
I will be running a webinar in October 2009 to expand on the points mentioned in this presentation, study design thinking use cases and stories and answer questions. Please leave a comment and follow the discussion, or follow @amirkhella on twitter to get notified about the webinar.
Developed by students at Stanford University, the Design Thinking approach was created to establish a new way to grow innovative products, processes and services. The Design Thinking process consists of six iterative stages which enable participants to seek flexible solutions and innovations concerning the issue they treat.
One important aspect of Design Thinking is the creation and cultivation of ideas within a well-coordinated team. Thus, the team spirit is a decisive element during Design Thinking operations and encourages to produce the best possible results. In addition to the team side of Design Thinking, a flexible and productive environment is crucial to develop inventive ideas and products. The more workable an environment, is the easier it is for employees to visualize and transmit thoughts and new concepts.
Presentation: Harnessing the Collective Wisdom of the CrowdIdeaScale
On Tuesday April 29th, CEO of Totem and IdeaScale Advisory Services Partner, Suzan Briganti introduced numerous methods of crowd data analysis, including an introduction to innovation analysis, insight & concept development overviews, and methods of insight validation. Learn more about crowd wisdom in this webinar recording.
Rapid Prototyping Learning Launch
Visualization Journey Mapping Value Chain Analysis
Customer Co-Creation
Assumption TestingConcept DevelopmentBrainstormingMind Mapping
8
4640 16_21.qxp:Layout 1 7/26/11 1:00 PM Page 16
Rotman Magazine Fall 2011 / 17
WHEN DESIGNER HUGH DUBBERLY asked Tim Brennan of Apple’s
CreativeServicesgrouptodefinedesign forhisbook, How Do You
Design?,Brennandrewthe followingpicture:
While many business people appreciate the power of design,
a formal process for its practice has been elusive; until now.
by Jeanne Liedtka and Tim Ogilvie
Designing for Growth:
A Tool Kit For Managers
? $
Design, this drawing asserts, is simply magic – a mysterious
no-man’s land where only the brave dare tread. Such a definition
mocksthe ideathata formalprocesscouldpossiblyexist fornavi-
gating itsmanyhairpin turns.
Our advice: don’t be put off by Brennan’s view of design.
Design has many different meanings, and the approach we will
describe here is more akin to Dorothy’s ruby slippers than to a
magicwand:you’vealreadygotthepower;you justneedtofigure
outhowtouse it.Can the averagemanagerbe transformed into
the next Jonathan Ive? No more than your local golf pro can
turn you into Tiger Woods. But can you improve your game?
Without adoubt.
If Managers Thought Like Designers
Whatwouldbedifferentifmanagersthoughtmorelikedesigners?
Wehave threewords foryou: empathy, inventionand iteration.
4640 16_21.qxp:Layout 1 7/26/11 1:00 PM Page 17
Designalwaysbeginswithempathy–establishingadeepunder-
standing of those for whom you are designing. Managers who
thought likedesignerswould consistentlyput themselves in their
customers’ shoes. We all know we’re supposed to be ‘customer-
centered’, but what we’re talking about is deeper and more
personal than that: trueempathyentailsknowingyourcustomers
asrealpeoplewithrealproblems,ratherthanastargetsforsalesor
as a set of demographic statistics around age or income level. It
involvesdevelopinganunderstandingofboththeiremotionaland
their ‘rational’ needsandwants.
In addition,managerswho thought likedesignerswould view
themselvesas creators.Forallourtalkaboutthe ‘artandscience’of
management, we have mostly paid attention to the science part.
Taking design seriously means acknowledging the difference
betweenwhat scientistsdoandwhatdesignersdo:whereas scien-
tists investigate today to discover explanations for what already
is, designers invent tomorrow to create something that isn’t.
Powerfulfuturesarerarelydiscoveredprimarilythroughanalytics.
Theyare,asWalt Disneyoncesaid,“Createdfirst inthemindand
next in theactivity.”
Finally, design insists that we prepare ourselves to iterate our
way to a solution, somanagerswho thought like designerswould
view themselves as learners. Most managers are taught a linear
problem-solving methodology: define the problem, identify vari-
ous solutions, analyze each, and choose the best one. Designers
aren’t nearly so impatient – or optimistic; they understand ...
Digital Transformation and IT Strategy Toolkit and TemplatesAurelien Domont, MBA
This Digital Transformation and IT Strategy Toolkit was created by ex-McKinsey, Deloitte and BCG Management Consultants, after more than 5,000 hours of work. It is considered the world's best & most comprehensive Digital Transformation and IT Strategy Toolkit. It includes all the Frameworks, Best Practices & Templates required to successfully undertake the Digital Transformation of your organization and define a robust IT Strategy.
Editable Toolkit to help you reuse our content: 700 Powerpoint slides | 35 Excel sheets | 84 minutes of Video training
This PowerPoint presentation is only a small preview of our Toolkits. For more details, visit www.domontconsulting.com
Discover the innovative and creative projects that highlight my journey throu...dylandmeas
Discover the innovative and creative projects that highlight my journey through Full Sail University. Below, you’ll find a collection of my work showcasing my skills and expertise in digital marketing, event planning, and media production.
Understanding User Needs and Satisfying ThemAggregage
https://www.productmanagementtoday.com/frs/26903918/understanding-user-needs-and-satisfying-them
We know we want to create products which our customers find to be valuable. Whether we label it as customer-centric or product-led depends on how long we've been doing product management. There are three challenges we face when doing this. The obvious challenge is figuring out what our users need; the non-obvious challenges are in creating a shared understanding of those needs and in sensing if what we're doing is meeting those needs.
In this webinar, we won't focus on the research methods for discovering user-needs. We will focus on synthesis of the needs we discover, communication and alignment tools, and how we operationalize addressing those needs.
Industry expert Scott Sehlhorst will:
• Introduce a taxonomy for user goals with real world examples
• Present the Onion Diagram, a tool for contextualizing task-level goals
• Illustrate how customer journey maps capture activity-level and task-level goals
• Demonstrate the best approach to selection and prioritization of user-goals to address
• Highlight the crucial benchmarks, observable changes, in ensuring fulfillment of customer needs
Company Valuation webinar series - Tuesday, 4 June 2024FelixPerez547899
This session provided an update as to the latest valuation data in the UK and then delved into a discussion on the upcoming election and the impacts on valuation. We finished, as always with a Q&A
Building Your Employer Brand with Social MediaLuanWise
Presented at The Global HR Summit, 6th June 2024
In this keynote, Luan Wise will provide invaluable insights to elevate your employer brand on social media platforms including LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter) and TikTok. You'll learn how compelling content can authentically showcase your company culture, values, and employee experiences to support your talent acquisition and retention objectives. Additionally, you'll understand the power of employee advocacy to amplify reach and engagement – helping to position your organization as an employer of choice in today's competitive talent landscape.
B2B payments are rapidly changing. Find out the 5 key questions you need to be asking yourself to be sure you are mastering B2B payments today. Learn more at www.BlueSnap.com.
An introduction to the cryptocurrency investment platform Binance Savings.Any kyc Account
Learn how to use Binance Savings to expand your bitcoin holdings. Discover how to maximize your earnings on one of the most reliable cryptocurrency exchange platforms, as well as how to earn interest on your cryptocurrency holdings and the various savings choices available.
LA HUG - Video Testimonials with Chynna Morgan - June 2024Lital Barkan
Have you ever heard that user-generated content or video testimonials can take your brand to the next level? We will explore how you can effectively use video testimonials to leverage and boost your sales, content strategy, and increase your CRM data.🤯
We will dig deeper into:
1. How to capture video testimonials that convert from your audience 🎥
2. How to leverage your testimonials to boost your sales 💲
3. How you can capture more CRM data to understand your audience better through video testimonials. 📊
The 10 Most Influential Leaders Guiding Corporate Evolution, 2024.pdfthesiliconleaders
In the recent edition, The 10 Most Influential Leaders Guiding Corporate Evolution, 2024, The Silicon Leaders magazine gladly features Dejan Štancer, President of the Global Chamber of Business Leaders (GCBL), along with other leaders.
1. Understanding:
Condensation and Clarity – IDEA DESIGN
SABINE FISCHER
in: "Leadership and Talent Management in a digital World" Logos Verlag Berlin 2013
Hrsg.: Frank Keuper, Mathias M. Hiebeler
1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 157
2 Understanding: Condensation and Clarity – IDEA DESIGN ........................................... 157
2.1 Requirements: Ideas Must Be Capable of Everything ................................................. 158
2.2 The D'ARTAGNAN Principle: The Idea of Condensation ............................................ 159
2.3 Quality Assurance for Ideas ......................................................................................... 162
2.3.1 An Idea's Degree of Fulfilment ................................................................................. 162
2.3.2 Creativity and Causality ............................................................................................ 164
2.4 IDEA DESIGN ............................................................................................................... 165
2. Understanding, Storytelling, Listening – What Digital Leaders Can Do
1
157
Introduction
Digital leaders are not only top-tier experts in their fields; they also have soft skills in equal
measure, which allow them to successfully navigate their companies through unfamiliar waters. Leadership in digital business poses entirely new questions. How can international teams
be led via digital media? How can employees be motivated in the digital economy? What
does innovation management mean in the digital economy? How does one communicate
expectations in the digital age? What type of leadership communication ensures long-term
company success? How does one create and maintain an orientation toward the future within
working teams? What social and legal responsibilities does a leader or a company have in
digital business?
In contrast to classical hierarchical leadership, today's leadership is subject to constant, dynamic change. Virtuality is one characteristic of modern organisational forms. This demands
not only knowledge of relevant methods, but also their practical application and constant
realignment with one's own behavioural patterns. Strategic thinking, conflict management and
questions of leadership ethics and values are examples of the challenges that may have existed in the past, but without the same need for swift action as we find today.
The three authors of this text are lecturers in the Master study programme “Leadership in
Digital Communication” at the Berlin University of the Arts in cooperation with the University of St. Gallen. They introduce three of the requirements that will be most important in the
digital economy: understanding, storytelling, listening. SABINE FISCHER will begin by deciphering the essence of “idea” and revealing challenges faced when developing understandable
ideas. DIETER GEORG HERBST will explain the enormous potential of storytelling for the digital leader. MARTIN GROTHE will then clarify how important listening is in digital leadership
and how listening can become participation.
2
Understanding: Condensation and Clarity –
IDEA DESIGN
Ideas not understood are lost potential. The exponentially growing amount of information that
dominates our times and makes them successful is also growing in complexity. We approach
it with ever-new ideas. They are the significant commodities of our time. The information
society emerged from these ideas, and – in contrast to earlier ages – we need more and more
of them in order to master the mass of information and the consequences for understanding,
processing, and creating.
3. 158
FISCHER/GROTHE/HERBST
The examination of ideas found in the fields of creativity1 and innovation development,2 as
well as in idea3 and innovation management,4 is correspondingly comprehensive. Innumerable and partly very valuable theories, methods and principles have emerged all along the idea
process chain and from innumerable vantage points.
They enable us to develop ideas in an apparently effortless manner. But is everything that we
call an idea really an idea? We are well aware of what is not an idea even if it has been introduced to us as such. An idea exists only if it is perceived as an idea. Perception means understanding in this case. If one doesn't understand an idea, it isn't attributed as an “idea”. We are
talking about the moment in which an idea is expressed - and not understood.
Hundreds of thousands of such promised ideas can be found in companies without being
recognisable as an “idea!” After all, abstracts of business plans often become comprehensible
only when studied intensively. Many a professionalised collection of ideas on the social web
suffers from incomprehensibility. When writing the minutes of idea workshops, the fruits of
the workshop are often known to lead to the question, “What was it we understood as X or
Y?” Ideas are scrapped due to incomprehensibility. Does this make them all worthless?
Ideas are potential values. Discarding bad ideas is a good thing. Discarding ideas because one
doesn't understand them is a bad thing. Ideas not understood are lost potential – for companies, this can be economically disastrous.
IDEA DESIGN, including the D'ARTAGNAN Principle as the ontological key as well as methods
for idea quality control, was developed based on SABINE FISCHER's 2012 dissertation, “The
Contemporary Use of the Term Idea, the Linguistic Shaping of Ideas and their Semantic Optimisation Potential”5 at the European University Viadrina.
2.1
Requirements: Ideas Must Be Capable of Everything
The findings of the three-year research project among creative leaders and students included,
among other things, an immense elasticity in the range of the definition and application of
“idea”. IDEA DESIGN will take these requirements into consideration:
“Idea” must accommodate the open-endedness of its meaning. It is the goal when it is
meant to solve problems; it is the bearer of hope when it is recognised as the solution; it
is remarkable when it is discovered as already implemented.
Ideas must accommodate the wide range of their rhetorical application. They are, as a
look in a random choice of dictionaries affords us, “creative thought”, “conception”, “notion”, “intention”, “plan”, “innovation”, “invention”, “intuition”, “vision”, “solution”,
“archetype”, etc. 6
1
2
3
4
5
6
Vgl. GUILFORD (1959), S. 444 ff., and GLADWELL (2002).
Vgl. BRODBECK (2006) and GESCHKA (2006).
Vgl. ZERFASS (2009).
Vgl. KERKA/DRAGANINSKA-YORDANOVA (2009).
FISCHER (2012).
Vgl. Wortschatzportal der Universität Leipzig (2010).
4. Understanding, Storytelling, Listening – What Digital Leaders Can Do
159
The composition of an idea is changeable in all phases of its development. An idea is that
which is temporarily understood by its owner to be an idea – first vague idea, stupid idea,
tested idea or successfully implemented idea, etc.
Our intuitive seal of approval for ideas is the criterion of the “unexpectedly new” – whether
as the result of an affable evening (“We certainly had some crazy ideas!”), as a business
model (“Brilliant idea – let's turn it into a business!”) or even as “the greatest idea in human history” (the invention of the wheel).
Ideas demand that they be understood immediately as “idea!” The first expectation we
have of an advertised idea is to grasp it ad hoc as “idea!”
Ideas for a broad audience require the knowledge consensus of that broad audience. Examples of successful lectures at idea conferences such as ted.com or the99percent.com
make this clear. To be able to convey the essence of an idea, one usually has to move beyond the concrete realm and relate the core meaning via translations in layman's terms.
Successfully conveyed ideas automatically fulfil these requirements. They form the point of
departure for IDEA DESIGN and its fundamental D`ARTAGNAN Principle.
2.2
The D'ARTAGNAN Principle: The Idea of Condensation
The D'ARTAGNAN Principle7 does not promote the demystification of ideas. Whether big or
small, dazzling, inspirational ideas will always enchant. And yet before they have an effect,
one must attend to their comprehensibility, which, like a good punch line, must touch the
interlocutor. The objective of an idea is to be an idea [sic!].
Cause
is not
Solution
is
IDEA
Value
Figure 1:
7
The D‘ARTAGNAN Principle for the Semantic Optimisation of Ideas
The term “D'ARTAGNAN Principle” is derived from the novel “Les trois mousquétaires” by ALEXANDRE DUMAS the
elder. Just as the characteristic traits of the “three musketeers” ARTHOS, ARAMIS and PORTHOS serve as projection
surfaces for D'ARTAGNAN (the fourth, who actually makes them into the “three musketeers”), so do problem, solution and value serve as the projection surface for the idea.
5. 160
FISCHER/GROTHE/HERBST
The comprehensibility of an idea can be constructed as a concentrated unit of cause, solution
and value. The idea becomes visible as an “idea!” This system of the units of meaning for an
idea is based on the smallest possible algorithm.
The D`ARTAGNAN Principle:
Cause: Ideas always have a cause. One encounters an unsolved problem or sees a challenge as yet not tackled. Without knowing the problem/challenge, a solution becomes
difficult to find - and difficult to comprehend.
Solution: The solution is the idea's unexpected newness. The part we understand as
"idea." The solution is the response to the problem/challenge. It is the extraordinary, new,
unique notion to solve the problem.
Value: The value makes the particular significance of the solution clear and fulfils the
requirements stipulated by the cause. The value redeems the meaning and significance of
the idea - it makes the solution concrete.
Formulating cause, solution and value means being able to communicate an idea comprehensibly. It is a principle of causality: the inter-conditionality of the units of meaning for “idea”
is visible even before the content of the idea has been thought up. This principle is applicable
from the process of idea generation, through quality assurance, through the formulation of a
comprehensible idea, all the way to its anchoring in the implementation process.
An example for the breakdown of a comprehensible idea (random choice from a professional
online idea platform) according to the D'ARTAGNAN Principle:
Chewing Pens for Designers
Cause: Designer DAVE HAKKENS likes to chew on pens while he works. He is not alone in
this habit. The downside: plastic pens don't taste especially good and are not easily digested.
Solution: For this reason, HAKKENS has now developed a pen that can be eaten right
down to the ink reservoir and ...
Value: ...even tastes good.8
The “idea” is characterised by taking an understandable problem and eliminating it with an
unexpected and new solution while simultaneously creating visible value.
8
AUSGEFALLENE IDEEN (2011).
6. Understanding, Storytelling, Listening – What Digital Leaders Can Do
161
An example of an incomprehensible idea:
Social Network for Dogs
Cause
Solution: The start-up Snif Labs is a social network for dogs. It equips dogs with small
transmitters on their collars. When two dogs who are wired for Snif meet each other, the
devices exchange information via a specially designed (secure!) transmission protocol.
Value: Back at their desks, the dog owners can load the collected data onto the network
and see whom else the dogs know and what their owners do.9
–
In its construction, this idea lacks not only an internal logic, but also the cause that would
make the solution understandable. The question, “What's the point?” becomes inevitable.
The interplay among all three units of meaning, the dovetailing of their internal logic, creates
the semantic optimisation of an idea, establishes the quality of comprehensibility, and can be
a kind of translation of power (of thought) to propulsion (comprehensibility).
Solution
Cause
IDEA
Value
Figure 2:
9
The Translation of Power to Propulsion.
Vgl. WIRTSCHAFTSWOCHE ONLINE (2011).
7. 162
FISCHER/GROTHE/HERBST
2.3
Quality Assurance for Ideas
Two fundamental methodological approaches to quality assurance for ideas will be introduced here by way of example, which will put the idea's degree of fulfilment to the test and
analyse the idea's causality.
2.3.1
An Idea's Degree of Fulfilment
Our contemporary understanding of ideas is determined by a versatility of application, the
smallest common denominator of which is the idea's degree of fulfilment or implementation.
Methodologically speaking, ideas can be tested for their fundamental degree of fulfilment as a
kind of preliminary quality assurance. Thus, one can size up one's own understanding of an
idea during the development phase and either approve or change it accordingly.
1. Idea as promise – the idea's degree of fulfilment is merely a rhetorical tool.
The use of “idea” in the marketing language of sales appeal seems to substantiate the expectations one has of a novel product idea: “Always a good idea”, “the best idea in Germany”. The
message does not describe the product, but rather plays with the term “idea” itself as a quality
seal (see below).
2. Idea as judgment – the idea's fulfilment is negated.
“You and your ideas!/You're always full of ideas!” The term describes itself as a novelty, but
at the same time, devalues itself with the message that it is above and beyond surprising:
outlandish, strange or peculiar.
3. Idea as vision – the fulfilment of the idea is indeterminate.
The idea as a vision is an idea in a preliminary stage of its development. In the long run10, it
will either reveal itself as a pipe dream or will actually be realised at some point, but most
likely detached from the original idea.
4. Idea as goal – the idea's fulfilment is set as the objective.
“We have to come up with an idea.” The idea as an objective is not a solution in itself, but it
has been decided. The content of the idea is as yet undeveloped.
5. Idea as notion – the idea's potential fulfilment is aimed at.
The cognitive approximation of a situation – which could be an idea – is described with concrete mental images: “I have an idea of what it could be ...” The objective of this approximation is to clarify the matter and bring about a common understanding.
10
6. Idea as discovery – the idea is there; its reasonableness must be tested.
Vgl. DA VINCIS Ideen.
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Statements such as, “I just thought of something!” characterise the spontaneity of the moment. The event, the idea, has emerged suddenly and must subsequently be classified intellectually, assigned to a cause, and evaluated as to its reasonableness.
7. Idea as solution – the “thought” idea is fulfilled.
The idea is a notion to solve a problem or meet a challenge and is intended to bring about a
positive change. The idea's significance is understood as a valuable solution to a problem.
8. Idea as seal of quality – the “implemented” idea is fulfilled.
Statements such as, “the greatest idea in human history”, “the 10 best management ideas”,11
or “She always has great ideas” refer to generally (game-changing) successful ideas that have
already been implemented, whose significance is no longer attained via semantic understanding, but rather due to their successful realisation.
9. Idea as something of significance – the idea is an essential characteristic.
With the idea of something, such as the idea of sustainability, “idea” becomes the guiding,
meaningful concept of the matter at hand. “Idea” is the determining, essential force behind
something, forgoing the significance of novelty in favour of the significance of the essential.
(Idea as measure – “An idea more salt” is an idiomatic expression in German, in which the
“idea” is a very small unit of measure. This meaning of idea is not considered here.)
idea = overriding, ideal
meaning, the essence
of something
idea = rhetorical use e.g. in
advertising, promises the novelty
and quality of a product
Something
of Significance
idea = approved seal
of quality of a successfully
implemented “novelty“
10
Seal of Quality
Promise
8
6
4
idea = unique solution of a
problem, yielding
a positive, significant result
2
Solution
0
idea = intuition, spontaneous
inspiration to be cognitively
placed into context later
Discovery
Vision
Notion
idea = notion, inkling
of the essence of something
Figure 3:
11
Judgement
Goal
idea = rhetorical use as a
means of irony, mostly
downplaying
idea = implementation is
meanwhile considered
impossible
idea = no solution yet,
but induced by set target
“Idea Wheel” – Contemporary Understanding of Idea According to Degree
of Fulfilment
HARVARD BUSINESS MANAGER (2009), S. 1.
9. 164
FISCHER/GROTHE/HERBST
2.3.2
Creativity and Causality
The D'ARTAGNAN Principle enables the creation of a stable, causal idea system in which creativity can naturally unfold. The differentiation between stable and unstable idea systems reveals the fragility of an idea and its potentially ambiguous effects. Stable idea systems:
Cause
Value
Solution
Idea
Figure 4:
Continuity
Stability in the Idea System
Cause | Solution | Value = Idea
The idea that can be understood, discussed and implemented is a logical unit consisting of
cause, solution and value.
Cause | Solution | Value = Continuity
Needs seem to be met; the situation is optimal throughout. (Potentially, there are problems or
challenges as yet unseen.)
Unstable idea systems: What is the effect to an “idea” when one or more units of meaning is
missing? Certainly, if those communicating do not share the highest level of knowledge consensus, it leads to the demolition of the idea's comprehensibility.
Cause
Cause
Solution
Value
Potential Recognition
Discontinuity
Daily Madness
Cause
Solution
Strategic Question
Figure 5:
Value
Solution
Authority
Instability in the Idea System
Value
Do-Goodness
10. Understanding, Storytelling, Listening – What Digital Leaders Can Do
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Cause | Solution | Value = Potential Recognition
The recognition of a problem or challenge implies a view to something “better”, even if there
is no solution yet. The attainable value can already be defined.
Cause | Solution | Value = Discontinuity
A problem or challenge has emerged in a continuous state and demands “rescuing” action.
Cause | Solution | Value = Daily Madness
A kind of “gratuitous” brainwave having neither a particular cause nor offering any value.
Usually understood as a “playful idea” without a causal context (in contrast to a brainwave to
which cause and value can be assigned afterwards).
Cause | Solution | Value = Strategic Question
The solution is understood as an approach to an existing problem or challenge and must be
tested strategically for its value and thus its quality.
Cause | Solution | Value = Authority
The formulation of a solution and its appropriate value without an indication or knowledge of
the cause, in other words, without the reason for the planned action, implying “blind following” on the part of the listener, not understanding.
Cause | Solution | Value = Do-Goodness
The driving person is an idealist who may become an ideologue if his notion of value requires
neither cause nor solution, but is rather used solely as an appeal to a “higher cause.”
2.4
IDEA DESIGN
The essence of an idea is to be an idea [sic!]. This can only be achieved if it is understood.
Creating understanding begins with the development of the idea as a principle of causality
– D`ARTAGNAN Principle – and, in the best case, never ends. Understanding can be achieved in
oneself and in the other by making the idea ascertainable in its entire substance. Result: Ideas
are driven successfully!
When an idea is identified as an idea, one can move on to the next steps of a successful implementation process while being assured of quality. This includes a thorough communication
of the idea, building upon the D`ARTAGNAN Principle, such as one that follows the rules of
storytelling.
11. Understanding, Storytelling, Listening – What Digital Leaders Can Do
166
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