< PreviousLAUNCH STAGE • PATHFINDER TEAM • MINDSTORM STAGE TASK SUMMARY Your task during the MINDSTORM STAGE is to come up with as many new concepts and ideas as possible. SCHEDULE You have ONE WEEK to complete this stage. MONTUEWEDTHUFRISATSUN CONCEPT IMPROVEMENT WORKSHOP Review your progress, make any necessary improvements. Discuss your objectives, clearly communicate expectations. KICK OFF WORKSHOP MINDSTORM WORKSHOP Start Mindstorming. Review your progress, gather together and categorise your ideas. WRAP UP SESSIONLAUNCH STAGE • PATHFINDER TEAM • MINDSTORM STAGE GUIDANCE ACTIVITY LIST1. Conduct a Kick Off Workshop. 2. Conduct a Mindstorm Workshop. 3. Conduct a Concept Improvement Workshop. 4. Conduct a Wrap Up Session. TIPS1. Create Idea Directions or Opposite Statements if you get stuck. 2. Defer all judgments about the quality of the concepts until later on in the program. 3. Ensure outsiders joining the workshops integrate well within the group. 4. Generate as many concepts as possible. 5. Keep an open mind. 6. Stay committed and stick to the schedule. 7. Think outside of the box. CRUCIAL MOMENTS1. Choosing the right venue. 2. Creating the right atmosphere. 3. Managing the participants to get the most out of them. 4. Most new ideas are generated before lunch time. 5. Participants should own their concepts. RISKS1. Debates and discussions are never ending. 2. Indecision about whether or not the concepts are a good fit or not. 3. Participants are disappointed. 4. Participants can’t defer their judgements. 5. Participants don’t understand the objectives of the program. 6. Participants struggle to think outside the box. 7. Participants turn up late or not at all. 8. Senior management dominate the process. 9. Smart devices and phones interrupt the process. DELIVERABLES1. Generate at least 200 concepts. OUTCOMETo generate as many new concepts as possible.10x10 311 INSTITUTE : HOW TO BUILD EXPONENTIAL ENTERPRISES: MINDSTORM STAGE The 10x10 tool is an easy and fast ideation exercise designed to kick start your ideation session. We all have pre-conceived solutions in mind. By starting your ideation session with 10x10 you have the chance to put those on paper and share them with the rest of the team. Click or scan to download this resource and other innovation resources. TEAM NAME AND NOTES:CONCEPT CARD 311 INSTITUTE : HOW TO BUILD EXPONENTIAL ENTERPRISES: MINDSTORM STAGE The Concept Card helps you build out your sticky note ideas into a more full bodied concept. Steer clear of abstract language and answer the trigger questions as concretely as you can. FOR Describe your customer. TEAM NAME AND NOTES: WHO HAVE THE PROBLEM OF ... Describe your customer’s problem. FIRST IDEAS TO SEE RESULTS Describe first revenue model ideas. RADICAL OR NOT Describe how radical your idea is and plot it on the axis. WE OFFER ... Describe the solution you are offering. Click or scan to download this resource and other innovation resources. 10 1 VERY RADICAL NOT AT ALL RAD 123 45TREND GRID 311 INSTITUTE : HOW TO BUILD EXPONENTIAL ENTERPRISES: MINDSTORM STAGE The Trend Matrix tool is designed to help you zero in on the trends that are important to you and your target customers and quickly Mindstorm ways to address or solve them. Click or scan to download this resource and other innovation resources. TEAM NAME AND NOTES: PROBLEM OR TREND PROBLEM OR TREND PROBLEM OR TRENDPROBLEM OR TREND IDEA IDEA IDEA IDEA IDEA IDEA 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 2 34FEEDBACK GRID 311 INSTITUTE : HOW TO BUILD EXPONENTIAL ENTERPRISES: MINDSTORM STAGE The Feedback Grid helps you organise the information you gathered from users testing out your ideas and concepts. You should record your findings and the results honestly, and there is no point covering up negative feedback. Use the information gleaned to develop your understanding of the problem. Click or scan to download this resource and other innovation resources. TEAM NAME AND NOTES: What confused them? Why? What new ideas did they add? Why? What didn’t work? Why? What worked? Why?TESTN OW THAT you have completed the MINDSTORM STAGE you must test the main theories that legitimise, support, and underpin your concepts to see how well founded and sound they are before you move on to the SELECT STAGE and find that some of your assumptions and thinking are flawed. Given the time constraints though it is unlikely you will be able to test all your theories or concepts so you need to focus on the key ones that give your program, the greatest chance of success. As you know your goal is to build an Exponential Enterprise and while you’ve found problems to solve and new disruptive opportunities during the DISCOVER STAGE you now need to focus more intently than ever before on value creation and capture before finally moving on to the later stages in the program and then eventually pushing your winning concepts into the market. When you’re considering which concepts to take forwards during the SELECT STAGE it will be advantageous to gather together as many alternative points of view as possible so you can make an unbiased and informed decision, and that’s the purpose of this stage. After all, concepts that seem second rate to you and your team because of, for example, any emotional attachments or preconceptions you may have about them might be considered by others to be the future rockstars so it’s important that you Test-Test-Test and get as many fresh pairs of eyes as you can to look over them all before eventually down selecting them in preparation for future stages. ESSENTIAL THINKING When you have your head buried in the program sometimes it’s easy to overlook things, so here are some essential things to bear in mind to help you get the most from your journey... Overlapping Ideas The chances are that you have a number of ideas and concepts that overlap or target the same customer segments, so if you are pressed for time consider aggregating them together and testing them all alongside one another during your interviews. Culture And Timing Often one of the most overlooked areas when testing concepts is the impact 147311institute.com EXPLORE MORE BOOK AN EXPERT CALLof culture and timing on the eventual adoption and success of the products once they’re released into the market, so make sure you have both at the forefront of your mind when designing your tests and conducting interviews with people. Experiment By conducting experiments with your interviewees you’ll likely discover a number of new ideas and thus potentially new theories which may prove useful as you continue to test and then refine your concepts. As a result you should keep the testing process dynamic and use what you learn to dynamically modify and redefine your testing criteria as you go on. Get Out Always remember that testing is best done away from your office where neither you or your test subjects or interviewees are exposed to any unconscious biases or pressure. Interviews Group and face to face interviews are always preferable to running surveys when you’re trying to gauge the reaction people have to your ideas and concepts since they provide a greater level of insight, especially when you ask open ended questions and want to delve into more detail. However, if you want to evaluate multiple ideas quickly then surveys are often the only option. Either way though choose your approach carefully. Mock Ups When testing your ideas and concepts with other members of your team, your company, or third parties, do your best to make the experience and tests and realistic as possible. While that might be difficult at times there are a number of ways you can achieve this, such as by mocking up landing pages and story boards, as well as by using other visualisation techniques. Primary Theories Each program is different so think about the critical factors that will make your concepts a success for your program, these will then become the primary theories you evaluate during this stage. As you test each theory with your interviewees you should record the Notes: 148311institute.comresults as a percentage that reflects the conversion rate of potential customers from one phase of the buying cycle and customer journey to another. This is known as Innovation Accounting. Seek Outsiders In order to thoroughly test some of your ideas and concepts you may need to reach out to trusted third parties who are experts in the industry or product area you are interested in to see what they have to say. Find The First Provided you have done your research thoroughly enough then the chances are that many of your ideas and concepts are new and untested. As a result you will likely have to be more diligent in your search for early adopters or suitable candidates who you can test them for you. Notes: 149311institute.comNext >