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Tag: problem solving

Want A Creative Solution To An “Unsolvable” Problem?

Posted on by harborcapitalgroupinc

 

There Is A Creative Solution To Most Problems

 

You’ve done your research using (your analytics and other diagnoses) on the problem. Now you need a creative solution.

But all the research and data have looked backward at the information and concepts you already know.

You have to look forward, not just backward, to get an insightful or creative solution.

The way you do that is to use creative problem-solving techniques and tools.

If you do, you will be able to create a solution to your “unsolvable” problem.

 

 It isn’t that you can never get insight from all that research.

It can happen, but your mind already has all this information.

Your mind must be confronted with something new or different, requiring it to take an unfamiliar concept or word

and fight to fit it into your current mental database.

Therefore, the mind must fit this new word into what is already known and create a new concept.

Here is a simple example of how the creative minds works

Creativity is simply looking at things differently. Edward de Bono, in his book “Think,”

explains how the mind works this magic. Your mind continuously builds up knowledge over time.

Following is a game he uses to illustrate how the mind works. 

Start with the letter’ a’

Add the letter ‘t,’ and the new word is ‘at.’

Add ‘c”. The new term is ‘cat.”

Add o’. The new word is ‘coat.’

Add ‘r.,’ And things have to change. The new word is ‘actor”.  

But the letter ‘r’ required the mind to restructure the use of the previous words. This process is creativity.

Therefore, you need to get your mind off the traditional path to get new ideas.

A goes directly to B (the pattern already in your mind) and moves at a different angle

from the conventional thought pattern.

For example, you could use a random word to disrupt your known routine

and asymmetrically open your mind to a new way or idea you can choose to use or not.

This process also means that anyone can accomplish creativity.

It is a skill, not an exceptional talent only some people have.

Here is a great 4-minute video on creativity by Edward De Bono that you should see if you have time.

Use random word techniques to achieve creative solutions

You want to start by selecting some random words as your starting points.

One of the best ways is to use the dictionary. Open the dictionary to a random page,

put your finger on a random word, and select the closest word (a noun).

Choose about five more words. Write them down. 

 

Be sure you know the definition of each word because you will associate the characterizations of each word

with your focus idea or question (for example, create a new concept for a restaurant.).

Focus on the word and relate it to the question or problem you want to be solved. 

Work quickly through each word, but don’t judge your responses now.

Each idea response represents the possibility of a great idea.

Spend about 5-10 minutes exploring each random word. 

 

For example, focus on a concept for a new restaurant  Random word: wallet.

One concept would be a restaurant where people order food, pay immediately,

and take the food elsewhere to eat vs. ordering in, eating the food at the restaurant,

and only paying after eating. 

A restaurant where people are charged by the amount of time they spend at the restaurant. 

A restaurant known for one special, unique and expensive dish served at one particular time every day.  

This is only one creative technique of many. But, this random word technique is easy to use and can be done quickly.

We cover other techniques for individuals and teams as well.

 Creative Solution Concepts

According to Merriam-Webster, a concept is conceived in the mind: a thought, a notion.

For example, the concept of gravity.

The importance of concepts is developing alternatives and new ideas

by extracting the image and looking for ways to deliver this concept through a specific idea.

Ideas are a way of putting the concept into action.

The concepts you create can be functional or operational, and these concepts can be vague to very detailed.

You can create value concepts (why is this a value?)

Or purpose concepts (why are we doing this?) Also, descriptive ideas.

 

The importance of concepts is developing alternatives and new ideas

by extracting the concept and looking for ways to deliver this concept through a specific idea.

Ideas are a way of putting the concept into action.

There can be functional or operational concepts describing how something is done, from broad to detailed.  

There can be value concepts (why is this a value?)

Or purpose concepts (why are we doing this?)

And descriptive concepts.

Try this creative solution technique for yourself. 

Try it on a focus of yours. Take five words and give yourself 5-10 minutes for each word.

The more you do, the more you learn and the more ideas you will get.

Conclusion

You have to look forward, not just backward, to get an insightful or creative solution.

The way you do that is to use creative problem-solving techniques and tools.

If you do, you can create a solution to your “unsolvable” problem.

Creativity is simply looking at things differently.

Therefore, to get new ideas, you need to get your mind off the traditional path A to B

(the pattern already in your mind) and move at a different angle from the traditional thought pattern.  

The random word technique is a quick and efficient way to generate new concepts and ideas. 

The focus on a new kind of restaurant is an example.

The concepts you create can be functional or operational and can be very broad to detailed. 

 

To learn more about “How to get a creative solution to that “unsolvable” problem,” go to our website: https://https://harborcapitalgroupinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Braintopview-1.jpg.com. 

PS. You may also be interested in our blog post:   https://https://harborcapitalgroupinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Braintopview-1.jpg.com/a-strategy-for-business-growth-jim-zitek/

PPS. This post may be of interest as well: https://https://harborcapitalgroupinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Braintopview-1.jpg.com/want-better-sales-results-tell-your-real-story/

Thanks for taking the time to read this, and I hope it gives you some food for thought.

Jim Zitek

 

How To Find Out If Your New Idea Will Sell And For How Much

Posted on by harborcapitalgroupinc

How To Find Out If Your New Idea Will Sell And For How Much

Most entrepreneurs are confident their new product or service idea will be a big winner. But you would like to find out if your new idea will sell and for how much before you invest lots of time and money.  So, to be safe, you tell your Mom or wife about the idea and ask what she thinks. Guess what? She says it could be a great idea. She may not be sure, but she doesn’t want to hurt your feelings or dampen your enthusiasm.  

Still not sure, you decide to ask more people and get additional “facts.” Again you tell them your idea and ask if they think it’s a good idea? Do they think people will buy this product or service? Not surprisingly, almost everyone agrees with your Mom. Great. Now you have the facts to validate your hypothesis. 

Not All “Facts” Are True

But, there is a big problem, you don’t have real facts. The “facts” you have are only “opinions” from people who don’t want to hurt your feelings or dampen your enthusiasm. Just like your Mom, people want to be nice. Besides, they are not committed to buying it, so there is no downside for them.  

If you start your business using these false facts, your chances of succeeding are slim. But, there is an answer. Rob Fitzpatrick, author, and entrepreneur, started several companies that failed using this traditional customer research. He finally realized what the problem was, and here is what he found. 

Talking to potential prospects is critical, but you have to speak to them in a way that they will give you real facts, not just opinions. So the first step to getting real facts is not to tell them what your product idea is.   

Don’t Talk, Listen

Set up a casual meeting or coffee, so they are comfortable. And remember, you are there to listen, not talk.

Ask them about themselves and their job. People love to talk about themselves.

During that conversation, find a way to bring up a question related to the problem you want to solve.

For example, here are some opening questions, “that part of your job sounds difficult.

Is that a big problem?” or “I’ve been told that X is a problem. Do you have that problem?”

Then based on their answer, keep probing about the problem and how they dealt with it.  

 

This explanation is experience talking about their problem and how they handled it — this is how you get factual information rather than just opinions.

They verify if the problem exists, how painful it is, and how they dealt with the problem.

Maybe it’s a minor problem, and they have a way to deal with it now. Perhaps it’s a significant problem that is costing the company time and money.

This approach will verify if there’s a problem and if the pain is severe.

You get facts, not opinions, which will give you actionable insights.

Here are some of the problems with the traditional approach:

1. We spend too much time collecting data that’s too unreliable for important decisions.

2. Sometimes we don’t realize the data we are collecting is worthless (even misleading)

3. Asking customers what they think of your idea almost always leads to bad data.

4. We assume customer feedback is scientific, and whatever they tell us is scientific and counts as learning. 

5. But, it’s easy to bias the people we are talking to. Once you tell them you have an idea, they are already biased beyond repair because they don’t want to crush your dreams,   

6. If people tell you your idea is terrible, that may not be useful data either. Why? People are bad at predicting both: which ideas are good and what they,

as customers are going to do, buy, use in the future,

7. Even Venture Capital firms credited with being the best predictors are wrong more often than right.

And If their judgment is worse than a coin toss, how seriously can you take anyone’s opinion? 

8. If you are going to get your “facts” faster (e.g., focus groups, surveys, etc.), it could be a big mistake.

The problem is this information is not robust enough to bet your company on it.  

Get them to talk about costs

During your questioning, you will ask how they solved the problem and how expensive it is to solve the problem.

Now, you have an idea of the cost parameters to determine if the product will be profitable. 

This approach does take some time as you will want to interview people until you begin to get repeated information.

However, it is less expensive than starting development and having to end the project later.   

 

Get facts, not opinions

You can get broad industry views and some facts and figures from Google information,

but the insights you need only come from face-to-face conversations with prospects.

It’s the insights into your customers’ worldview and decision-making that tell you to build it or not.

You need real insight into what customers want.

 

There is also a problem if you put together a small group of people to do these interviews.

You will end up with several opinions as to what they heard and what is essential.

These variations in view make defining the most critical problems difficult.

You do need to keep everyone informed of the information. 

Conclusion

You can get the real facts you need if you don’t bias the potential customer by telling them your idea.

Ask questions about a problem they might have and what they did to solve the problem.

Get them to say to you, based on their experience, the problem, and how they solve it or don’t solve it.

Also, what they currently pay to get it solved now.

At this point, you are only trying to verify that the problem you want to solve is a real problem, and the customer would be willing to pay to get it solved. 

 

Once you have your product concept designed, the second step is to follow up with customer interviews

with your product or service design to determine your solution’s validity.

You will also ask for some commitment, not necessarily money, maybe a referral to another user in the company

to determine if the person’s positive response is factual or just being friendly. 

 

We would love to hear your thoughts on this blog or this topic. Or a topic you would like us to discuss. You can reach us HERE.

Jim Zitek

P.S. If you know someone else that would like this information, pass it on.