The next “Asian Tiger” was how Vietnam was widely described in 1994 when I first began working here. Today, much of what was predicted back then has come true. Yet most product innovation is still adapted from afar. If Vietnam is truly going to live up to its potential, it needs a new way of thinking about the way it develops its goods. At the foundation of that thinking is the ability to develop original ideas.
As a New York City advertising agency creative director, I thought I knew a lot about creating ideas. After all, it was my job. But in 2013 I set off on a study path that led to over 70 different ideation methods, which I’ve been teaching since then in Hanoi and HCMC workshops. In a few monthly articles that will follow this one, I’ll describe what I think are the best of those ideation methods to grow your ideas into success stories.
A new idea is simply a new relationship of existing elements. To begin ideating, your mind needs a problem to work on. The solution is a new relationship of life-gathered memories stored in the synapses of your physical brain. An indexing function searches though those synapses to find combinations that may work to solve a problem. It is estimated that we have as many as 1 trillion synaptic connections to search through, so to help this incredibly complex pairing process get the best results, we need methods, including some that precede and follow ideation.
The most widely used of all ideation methods is the Creative Problem Solving method, or CPS. In most applications of CPS today, the first three steps are Objective Finding, Fact Finding and then a problem clarifying step which is called Problem Finding.
Objective Finding is a necessary first step to keep a problem loosely defined and allow original thoughts to form before narrowly focusing our ideation on what may turn out to be an ill-defined problem. One of the best methods of starting broadly is a 2X2 matrix that’s been popular for decades called SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats). SWOT descriptions can easily be found on the internet.
The next step, Fact Finding, is more broadly defined than you might imagine. Facts include what we know from well documented sources, direct observations using our own sensory organs, feelings such as emotions, impressions and hunches, and finally, further questions that arise from our study to resolve. One of the most effective ways of organizing facts learned in this process is the 5 Ws + H method used by journalists – Who, What, Where, When, Why and How.
Armed with objectives and facts, a user of the CPS method is then ready to develop a “Problem Statement,” which is still kept somewhat open with wording like “In what way might we…” Using this wording, the best method I’ve found to discover the real problem is called “laddering.” First envision a ladder. Usually the Problem Statement can be brought into the center rung. We then elevate the problem into a broader view by using the word “why” first. For example, the Problem Statement “In what way might we increase market share” could be broadened with “Why do we wish to increase our market share?” The answer might be to increase sales, or to gain prestige or more. Any such response can be laddered up again and again using “why,” each time reframing the problem in a way closer to what is needed.
The initial Problem Statement, or any new laddered-up version of it, can also be laddered down to be more actionable by using the word “how” first. “How do we increase our prestige?” might be laddered down to using a KOL in social media, or upgrading the brand identity system, or initiating a charity program. Any of these ideas could be further focused towards more immediate action by asking “how” again. The final problem statement is used as criteria to begin ideation in the next Idea Finding step.
I still use this CPS method before ideating and so do thousands of others. But I also use Design Thinking, another ideation process that became popular during the early 2000s with major corporations seeking a process that leads to more imaginative products. The ideation methods at the core of the process are essentially the same as for CPS, but the preceding steps are quite different. In next month’s article, before we begin learning some very powerful methods of sparking new ideas, I’ll describe how I used Design Thinking last year for a major Vietnamese appliance brand, and I’ll explain why in my view Design Thinking is what many Vietnamese businesses need to leverage their potential to create reputation-building products for the domestic and international markets.
# # #
Richard Moore is the Ideation & Managing Director of Richard Moore Associates, offering Brand Strategy, Brand Identity, Integrated Brand Communications and fast-tracked Design Thinking services in Hanoi and HCMC.
