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Tom Peters about IDEO
"In recent years, as the L.O.I. (Legend of IDEO) has spread
far and wide, the company has had clients begging for advice not just on a
product or two, but on the IDEO way of innovating. It has responded
vigorously."
Their "methodology not only works for IDEO, but has proven to
be transferable. It's now quite simple, of course. Beneath the IDEO method
lies the incredible, throbbing IDEO spirit that led me to love at first
sight."2
Living the Future
Seeing and implementing thousands of projects has afforded
IDEO a unique perspective on the future. They've got a sense of the holistic
nature of
change, learned how things evolve, and witnessed
cross-pollination
firsthand. "Knowing the start of the art or the soon-to-be state of the art
in one industry can give you a jump in your chosen field."
Lessons from IDEO:
Keeping Eyes Open for
Inspiration
The
Fun Factor
David Kelley, the founder of IDEO, believed that if he
hired
people he liked and respected, everybody would have
fun and more work
done.
The Jazz of Innovation: 11 Practice Tips
Pranks became second nature in the company very soon. When Hovey left
for a week's vacation, he returned to find a sheetrock wall where his door
has been. Windshield cement inspired many office pranks: You'd leave your
desk only to return to find everything glued down: soda cans, papers, pens.
David's door was once glued shut when he was getting a pitch from a
salesperson. Another office was webbed in by the sticky trails from a hot
glue gun. There were rubber band wars and squirt skirmishes, and plenty of
water balloons dropped out of the window."1
Inspirational Leader: 10 Roles
The pranks and play served a purpose – gave people a sense
that they had some control over their destiny, a feeling of belonging to
something larger then themselves...
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Observing People
All IDEO-designed products were inspired by watching real
people. "We are not funs of focus groups. We don't much care for traditional
market research either. We go to the source. Not the "experts" inside a
company, but the actual people who use the product or something similar to
what we're hoping to create. It's precisely this observation-fueled insight
that makes innovation possible. Uncovering what comes naturally to people.
And having the strengths to change the rules," writes Tom Kelley.1
The Tao of Value Innovation
The Perfect
Brainstorm
Brainstorming is practically a religion at IDEO, one they practice
nearly every day. "Though brainstorms themselves are often playful,
brainstorming as a tool – as a
skill – is taken quite seriously." In a
company without many rules, IDEO people have a very firm idea about what
constitutes a brainstorm and how it should be organized:
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Duration: Sixty minutes in an
optimum length. The level of physical and mental energy required for a
brainstorm is hard to sustain much longer than that.
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Don'ts: "Brainstorming sessions
aren't presentations or opportunities for the boss to poll the troops
for hot ideas. Nor should they feel like work. And brainstorming is most
definitely not about spending thousands of dollars at some glamorous
off-site location."
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Idea engine: "Brainstorming is the
idea engine of IDEO's
culture. It is an opportunity for teams to "blue
sky" ideas early in a project or to solve a tricky problem that's
cropped up later on. The more productive the group, the more it brainstorms
regularly and effectively."
"The buzz of a good brainstormer can infect a team with
optimism and sense of opportunity that can carry it through the darkest and
most pressure-tinged stages of the project."...
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