Swiss innovation expert Sandro Morghen writes about how you can get the most out of your innovation endeavours and how you can create a positive environment where ideas can evolve in a healthy and productive manner. Learn to apply a revolutionary ideation method developed for corporates, small businesses and creative teams. Buy the book: www.innovationkarmabook.com

1. Philosophy, Method & Guidance
For Innovation Leaders
INNO
VATION
KARMA

2. 12
Let us talk first about the term ‘karma’, before we jump
into the details. What does it mean? What does it stand
for? In everyday life we use the word ‘karma’ and most of
time what we mean is ‘atmosphere’. ‘There was bad karma
in the meeting’, means there was a terrible atmosphere, in
that we could not exchange ideas on a certain topic in an
open manner. Or to put it another way, it was a ‘karma’ in
which ideas and innovative approaches could not grow.
So let’s take a look at what Wikipedia can tell us about the
word in the box below.
Karma means action, work or deed it also
refers to the principle of causality where in-
tent and actions of an individual influence the
future of that individual. Good intent and good
deed contribute to good karma and future
happiness, while bad intent and bad deed con-
tribute to bad karma and future suffering.
Souce: Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karma
Basically what karma implies is that if you act with good
intentions, you get good results, if you act with bad inten-
tions, you get weak results.
Chapter I Introduction About Karma and Innovation

3. 16
Good Innovation Karma
Aspect of your
innovation
culture
What creates good
innovation karma?
Effect on your inno-
vation endeavours
Defining your
innovation needs
Identify where your company
has weaknesses regarding
innovation. Establish a culture
where innovation is always
linked to a specific brief or
challenge description.
An idea and innovation
output which is focused
on what your organisation
currently needs. Build a
sense of precision among
staff attitudes to innovation.
Inclusion of people Include groups that are
as large and as diverse as
possible when you create
or evaluate new innovation
or ideas. Live the mantra
‘Everybody can contribute
great ideas when properly
guided’.
A diverse collection of ideas
and innovations, with true
disruptive character, that
often come from outside
the box.
Creativity process and
tools used
Use a specific, systematic
process for producing ideas
and innovation in response to
a defined goal or brief.
Guaranteed innovation and
idea output in any situation,
no matter who is involved in
the process.
Accessibility of tools
and processes
Make innovation tools
and processes within your
organisation accessible,
i.e. reduce hurdles. This
means providing access to
much of your workforce
and, even to clients and
other stakeholders. Enable
individuals to start new
innovation projects on even
the most apparently trivial
topics with ease, at any time,
and within their own working
environment and team.
A positive, bottom-up
innovation strategy that
involves your staff and
stakeholders in identifying
areas where innovation is
needed. Build a true culture
of innovative thinking
throughout your company.
Innovation is everywhere, and
can come from anywhere.
Dealing with
hierarchy, criticism
and politics
Make your innovation
process a content business
instead of a people business.
Create an atmosphere and
processes that make the
question, ‘whose idea was
this?’ irrelevant, and even
non-identifiable.
A content focused
atmosphere where status
and politics is minimised, and
where ideas evolve instead
of careers.
Chapter I Introduction The Innovation Karma Matrix

4. 30
A little big bang theory
In astronomy, the most well-accepted big bang theory
suggests that in the beginning there was nothing, then the
big bang happened, and the universe has been expanding
ever since – and will do until the end of time or whatever
comes afterwards. But there is also a different big bang
theory which has evolved in the past few years. This
particular approach claims that the universe is in fact
trapped in an infinite sequence of big bangs and universal
expansions. According to this theory, once the (current)
universe we are living in stops expanding, it will explode
and initiate another big bang – the circle starts again. If
you transfer this metaphor to your innovation process,
you might understand what I am getting at. A successful
innovation process is not limited to a strategy for the
collection phase of creative content and ideas, it is an
infinite circle of creative processes paving the way in a
never-ending chain of redefining, and evolving, what you
are as an enterprise. Defining your innovation hotspots?
Is a creative process. Defining the goals for your next
innovation process? Is a creative process as well. Finding
your innovation weak spots?
Chapter II Guiding Principles for Innovation Endeavours Define your Innovation Mandate

5. 56
Dealing with Politics
Say it aloud: ‘I will not let politics ruin my innovation
ecosphere’.
Whenever people interact socially with one another,
for instance within the structure of an enterprise, there
are certain effects and behavioural patterns we cannot
hide from. One of the most depressing insights managers
gain when trying to achieve creative goals alongside their
employees, is that people tend to primarily follow their
own objectives: career, status, money. It is a fact, and yet
it needs to be addressed because internal politics can ruin
innovation. Do something about it, starting with speaking
out.
Chapter II Guiding Principles for Innovation Endeavours Dealing with Politics
Innovation Karma Tip
Make your innovation process a content
business instead of a people business.
Make it irrelevant who proposed an idea.

6. 90
Ideation Process Overview
Here are the essential process steps involved in the
perfect ideation process. I will describe each one in more
detail further on in the chapter.
Step 1 Preparing the Ideation Brief
Define goals and rating criteria for your project.
1. Preparation (Steps 1 – 4)
Step 4 Define your community and find
your participants
Specify the profiles of the people you would
like to involve in the creative process. Take the
necessary action to hire the people you need.
Step 3 Process Setup
Carry out all necessary preparations for your
web-based creative process or your live ideation
workshop.
Step 2 Project Split-down
Break what might be a complex ideation brief
into easy to answer sub-questions.
Chapter III The Ideation Process Ideation Process Overview

7. 117
Sub topic
Question
trigger
Combined brainstorming
sub-question
Opening
and closing
mechanisms
Nature and/
or the out-
side world
Imagine nature invented clever ways
to open and close boxes, containers
or bottles. What would these
mechanisms look like? Look at the
pictures and let yourself be inspired.
Figure 13: Example pre-cascaded sub-question
Example 3: Pre-cascaded approach
The pre-cascaded approach is for those times when you
need the result quality offered by a cascade, but you want
to keep people happy. It works by taking the fast lane and
skipping the first stage of the cascade by providing your
creative thinkers with a pre-prepared selection of stimuli
instead (words, pictures, magazines, etc.). This saves your
participants the bother of undertaking the first iteration,
yet still gets the variety you need into the task. In my
example shown below, participants are confronted with
different pictures of plants and other natural phenomena,
and are asked to think up innovative opening and closing
mechanisms for drinks containers based on what they
see. Picture this: A participant notices a picture of a
carnivorous plant, and is inspired to draw a mechanism
that opens and closes in much the same way as the plant
does.
Chapter III The Ideation Process Project Split-down

8. 134Name creation using idea forms

9. 151
a strong influence over the outcome. This impact could be
at times positive, but also sometimes negative. In addition,
the variety found in the names created will only be as large
as the variety of syllables you provide in the first place.
Chapter III The Ideation Process Process Setup
Figure 17: The syllable gap filling method in action
You will find some examples in the box on the previous
page where participants fill in their own syllable ideas
along the gaps, shown as lines.
Vowel and consonant patterns
A different way to use the creative power of syllables in
your naming workshop is to use the vowel and consonant
pattern method, which I developed for a project I
undertook for a major Swiss TV station that was looking

10. 184
1. Single, triggering Idea Fragments are collected
3. Synthesis of complete, specific idea
Carry-a-long bottle –
With magnesium – Provides energy – Bubble
tea for grown-ups – Ingredients that calm you
down – Contains aspirin – Edible packaging –
Single grapes like on grapevines
Idea title:
Aspirin grape drink
Idea Description
Aspirin grape drink is a pack of 10 single doses of aspirin presented as 10
refreshing single grapes. The grapes can be plucked and directly put into
the mouth. Upon biting into a grape, a refreshing fluid (different flavours
available) goes directly into the consumer’s mouth. The membrane
holding the drink can also be swallowed. The drink also contains muscle
relieving magnesium. The product is categorized as a medicine. Of course,
this packaging principle can also be used for a conventional drink that
does not contain any active ingredients.
2. Idea Fragments are discovered and isolated
How does a creative reaction work?
- With magnesium
- Contains aspirin
- Single grapes like on
grapevines
Moment
of idea creation
Chapter III The Ideation Process The Creative Workshop

11. 262
Vector based illustration
This method gives you the most flexibility in choosing
what to display, because you don’t have to rely on any
pre-existing material. Deciding on this route also allows
you to choose between many possible styles, as there are
many different graphic designers and illustrators around
with the necessary skills to create such graphics. Used for:
service ideas, app ideas, product ideas.
Hand drawn sketches
For certain projects, hand drawn sketches add a certain
warmth and authenticity. Most designers I know who
work with this method create a sketch by hand, before
scanning it and adding colour digitally. This makes it
quicker and easier to make changes further down the line.
Used for: service ideas, app ideas, product ideas, virtual
product ideas.
3D renderings
For some clients, realism in the visualisations presented
is very important. Although the goal of visualising a
product idea is not to show the final design, the client-side
decision process is often easier when the creative output
presented has a realistic, ‘final’ feel to it, even if the final
result after the implementation will end up looking very
Chapter III The Ideation Process Idea Presentation

12. 280
Creativity
Tools
Appendix
On the following pages you will find a
selection of creativity tools designed
for use during the Idea Boost.

13. 288
Paste what you found
in the magazine here
What idea comes to your
mind when looking at the
input on the left side?
Magazine Inspiration Working form
Appendix Creativity Tools