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highlights from the book, Look at More Stuff: A Proven Approach to Innovation, Growth, and Change, by Andy Stefanovich
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the top 10 things I’m going to use from
Look at More Stuff
top 10 things I’m going to use from Look at More Stuff © 2011 Denise Lee Yohn, Inc.
In the book, Look at More Stuff: A Proven Approach to Innovation, Growth, and Change, Andy Stefanovichopens the toolbox he‟s developed from working on innovation for 20 years and lays out his secrets for inspiring creativity.
The book is chockfull of proven tools, methods, and approaches.
Here are the top 10 things I’m going to use to unleash creativity in my clients – and in myself.
top 10 things I’m going to use from Look at More Stuff © 2011 Denise Lee Yohn, Inc.
#10. ask provocative questions“A well-placed provocative question can completely shift the
mood of an individual or team by inviting people to think aloud with you. Here are some of my favorite provocative questions:”
? What‟s next?
? What don‟t we know?
? What are we going to do?
? When did you last create
something?
? What‟s relevant?
? What questions should we be
asking?
? What‟s the most important thing?
? What would make you a little more
uncomfortable?
? What would be your first move as
CEO?
? What is the world telling you?
? How could you put yourself out of
business?
? What should we start, stop, and
continue?
? How much time have you thought
about your team today?
? How much time do you set aside for
yourself?
? When is the last time you really
looked outside your business, your
industry, your world?
? What‟s the Bigger Big?
? What could go wrong?
? What could go very right?
? Why should we care?
top 10 things I’m going to use from Look at More Stuff © 2011 Denise Lee Yohn, Inc.
#9. have a museum mentality
“Isn‟t it amazing?
We give ourselves permission to find inspiration in a museum
because we expect it…But then we walk out the door and we
put on our blinders again. We leave the experience and the
wonder behind.
How can we have a museum mentality everywhere in our lives?
At home? At work? On a random street corner?”
top 10 things I’m going to use from Look at More Stuff © 2011 Denise Lee Yohn, Inc.
#8. celebrate risk-taking“A senior leader at Ore-Ida…called his senior engineers together and issued a challenge: take risks, don‟t be afraid to fail, and deliver some innovative new products. He couldn‟t have been clearer. But as the weeks went by, the leader wasn‟t getting any results. His people were simply too risk averse.
So he went out to an Army-Navy surplus store and bought a cannon…which he placed on the front lawn…He gathered the same engineers together and made them a promise. If any one of them were to have a „perfect failure,‟ he would let him or her shoot the cannon. He defined perfect failure as identifying a good idea, researching it, testing it, and taking it as far as possible before coming to the realization that it should be canned.
Well, before too long, Ore-Ida was having perfect failure parties around the cannon.”
top 10 things I’m going to use from Look at More Stuff © 2011 Denise Lee Yohn, Inc.
#7. practice confusion tolerance
“give your team permission to generate and explore several
new ideas before choosing a
solution”
“change the way you approach idea
generation…remove the filter
of „the perfect solution‟”
top 10 things I’m going to use from Look at More Stuff © 2011 Denise Lee Yohn, Inc.
#6. deconstruct --reconstruct
define your objective
break it down into its fundamental parts in three areas:
physical, functional, emotional
reconstruct the components in four ways:
exaggerate, eliminate, substitute, simplify
top 10 things I’m going to use from Look at More Stuff © 2011 Denise Lee Yohn, Inc.
#5. use alternate measures to gauge creativity & innovation
measuring mood:• do people decorate
their office space with
interesting, personal,
and even challenging
things?
• what actions will get
you a hand slap in
your business
environment that
wouldn‟t on a
playground?
• how many “happy
days” do you have in
any given year?
measuring mindset:• how much time each
week do you and your
team dedicate to
working on projects
that are outside of
core responsibilities,
but that you/they are
passionate about?
measuring
mechanisms:• how many ideas did
you create today?
• how many times a
year do you change
desks?
measuring
momentum:• do you make a
yearbook each year
to celebrate the
people, ideas, and
events of the year?
• what is your
organization‟s version
of the Olympic torch?
how far does it travel?
who carries it? how
does it stay lit?
measuring
measurements:• do you measure gross
organizational
happiness?
examples
top 10 things I’m going to use from Look at More Stuff © 2011 Denise Lee Yohn, Inc.
#4. use blueprinting tobring ideas to life
state it: use a simple articulation that sets up the action you will take and outlines why you are doing it
paint it: describe the idea in enough detail that an average person could understand its basic components
preach it: explain a reason (or reasons) for believing in the idea
live it: outline the important details
do it: include some initial action steps that your team can begin executing
name it: use a concise and memorable name
top 10 things I’m going to use from Look at More Stuff © 2011 Denise Lee Yohn, Inc.
#3. embrace (and enforce) an inspiration policy
an inspiration policy
clarifies why inspiration is
important to the
company, and how
people will be supported
and encouraged to
develop it in themselves
and their colleagues
top 10 things I’m going to use from Look at More Stuff © 2011 Denise Lee Yohn, Inc.
#2. outline a path for passion progression
portfolio opportunities•help people tap
into their passions and give them something to brag about
growth opportunities•enable individuals to
develop skills and harness their talents in ways that aren’t necessarily tied to their job description
revenue opportunities•maintain
prescribed responsibilities – the activities that keep the lights on
use a framework
to help “find,
create, and
allocate
opportunities for
your team that
will inspire and
encourage them
to pursue their
passions”
top 10 things I’m going to use from Look at More Stuff © 2011 Denise Lee Yohn, Inc.
#1. become the CMO(Chief Mood Officer)
“part of your job description issetting the mood in your organization.
good mood leads to good environment.
good environment leads to a good workplace.
and a good workplace is where people want to stay.”
top 10 things I’m going to use from Look at More Stuff © 2011 Denise Lee Yohn, Inc.
get the book: Look at More Stuff
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