Leading With Insight
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Leading with Insight Matthew Milan, Critical Mass
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18-Sep-2014 -
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Transcript of Leading With Insight
Leading with InsightMatthew Milan, Critical Mass
1.Insight2.Being Insightful3.Leading With Insight
1. Insight.
“A lot of times, people don’t know what they
want until you show it to them…”
Steve Jobs
people don’t know what they want…
“Recognizing the need is the primary condition of
design"
Charles Eames
Recognizing the need
“Design works if it’s authentic, inspired, and
has a clear point of view. It can’t be a collection of
input”
Ron Johnson
clear point of view
It can’t be a collection of input…
Why is insight important?
Insight occurs when people recognize
relationships or make associations between
objects and actions that can help them solve new
problems.Britannica
Recognize relationships
Insight is the act or result of apprehending the inner nature of things or seeing
intuitively.
Websters
Apprehending the inner nature
Recognizable Truths
…that help you understand the real nature of problems.
2. Being Insightful
To be insightful, you must embrace the following…
1: You must ask thoughtful questions
2: You need to look beyond the obvious
3: You shouldn’t be afraid to reframe the problem
4: You must learn to trust your gut
Who did I learn this from?
Richard Feynman
Who did I learn this from?
Richard Feynman
Who?
COLUMBOCOLUMBO
That’s right…
Columbo taught me everything I need to know
about being insightful.
Back to Feynman for a minute…
Karl Popper - 1968
The “Wizard Merlin” Perspective of Insight
“A magician of the highest caliber”
Wizard Merlin
Michael Posner - 1973
The “Prepared Mind” Perspective of Insight
“I know I've been a pest. I'm just trying to do my job.”
The Prepared Mind
No Magic
PrepareIncubateIlluminate
Verify
The Art of Thought - Wallas, 1926
The prepared mind has a repeatable process
The prepared mind is always running its process
The prepared mind is always asking questions
One more thing…
The prepared mind looks beyond what is obvious
You know what I don’t understand…
The prepared mind isn’t afraid to reframe
There are a couple of loose ends I’d
like to tie up. Nothing important you understand…
The prepared mind trusts their gut
It’s just one of those things that gets in my head and keeps rolling around in there like a marble…
What’s really going on here?
Columbo is:
Treating insight as a consequence, rather then a cause in problem solving
Understanding the underlying structure of the problem and restructuring the problem to avoid functional fixedness
Applying procedural similarity to take advantage of representative transfer
Waiting patiently for “suddenness of solution”
3. Leading With Insight
What does leading with insight mean for your
business?
A pair of stories about research, culture and
results.
Validation vs Inquiry
A culture of validation:
$200K+ OF DISCOVERY RESEARCH100 FOCUS GROUP PARTICIPANTS25 INDEPTH INTERVIEWS10 ETHNOGRAPHIC STUDY SUBJECTS5 PERSONAS
=0 UNIQUE INSIGHTS
A culture of inquiry:
$1300 TO RENT A VAN AND A CAMERA5 LOCATIONS4 HYPOTHESIS3 GUT CHECKS1 SEVEN MINUTE FILM
=2 UNIQUE INSIGHTS
The Moral
Lots of research is a waste of time and money.
Lots of research is a waste of time and money.
Don’t use research to tell you what you already
know…use it to tell you what you don’t know.
Don’t use research to tell you what you already
know…use it to tell you what you don’t know.
So What?
Insights help uncover and reframe the true nature
of a problem
Insights help businesses identify and target
positions of differentiation.
How do I do this?
Iteratively Reframe
To Uncover the True Nature of the Problem
Iteratively Reframe
To Uncover the True Nature of the Problem
Insight should be a key driver of your business
thinking.
Here’s why:
Good insight (and good research) helps you to
know what your customers need…
before they know themselves…
Leading with insight means that you can create
“the need”.
True Differentiation
Real Innovation
Tangible Results
Insight is a state of mind
