“There is no such thing as a new idea. It is impossible. We simply took a lot of old ideas and put them into a sort of mental kaleidoscope. We give them a turn, and they make new and curious combinations.”
Mark Twain
Mark Twain’s quote about a mental kaleidoscope helps illustrate how innovation is just a slight twist or turn away. A mental kaleidoscope is a delicious metaphor explaining how real innovation works.
But for most companies, they are clueless.
Turning the Mental Kaleidoscope
Companies frequently misunderstand how to develop new ideas to lead to innovations. What they do is get a bunch of people together and call it a brainstorm session. Then, the HIPPO in the group (The Highest Paid Person’s Opinion), will say this is our direction.
Therefore, what they should do is start at the beginning.
- First of all, define the market you serve with precision. Be narrow and specific, not general. Make sure everyone on the team agrees with the segment of focus.
- Learn through observation, interview, and data about what problems this segment struggles with that you might be able to solve. Look for frustration, friction and lots of cursing. “Damn this screwdriver, if only it were easier to grip.”
- With constraints in place, put together a cross-functional team to consider how your unique assets and skills, as well as those of partners – could solve pressing challenges.
- Fast prototype a solution and test it in the real world. Learn from the experiment.
- Keep twisting the mental kaleidoscope to find a novel challenge that you can solve. A twist of the mental kaleidoscope means to keep experimenting.
Twist that Kaleidoscope
Consequently, when you twist the lens, you see a new pattern from an old idea. There aren’t any new ideas, just reframing or refocusing on products and solutions that don’t get sufficient attention.
Remember, customers and clients, pay for you to help them solve their challenges. Hence, they don’t buy stuff just because you can make it.
Always ask the question, what job will your product or service do for someone?
In summary, a turn of the mental kaleidoscope gives you a fresh perspective or view, but don’t fool yourself into thinking its a novel idea.
Photo by Malcolm Lightbody on Unsplash
Originally Published: Mar 19, 2020
