1. Flip
Design requires three critical factors for innovation, each having equal importance.
- Business Factors: The design needs to be feasibly, economically viable, produced, and distributed.
- Technical Factors: The design needs to be feasible and work in a technical sense. Floating hoverboards, anyone? I don’t think they’ll be making an appearance anytime soon.
- Human Factors: The design needs to understand the end user’s needs deeply. We are discovering the goals, beliefs, and motivations of the person using the product/service.
2. Dare
Creative Confidence also involves getting over the fear of failure. Failure is intrinsic to the design process and will continuously happen throughout your career. The important thing is you are still moving forwards. Accepting it now will make things so much easier down the line.
In other words, tackle more minor obstacles first, as it increases the chance of completing the task. We see this in gaming when the challenges and levels experienced by the gamer increase proportionally with the gamer’s skills.
3. Spark
Some people believe that regularly experiencing a ‘creative spark’ is a natural ability. However, Creative Confidence suggests there are ways to improve your creative spark, such as being in a relaxed state of mind (ideas in the shower, anyone?). In addition, empathizing with your end user is imperative to understand their underlying goals and motivations. Understanding what people need can reignite that creative spark, bringing innovative ideas to the foreground of your mind.
Regarding empathizing with the end user, Creative Confidence notes how observational studies bring accurate data compared to interviews and surveys. People can lie or be put off during interviews which may skew the data.
4. Leap
“It’s unlikely your first try at anything will be a success”.
The most important thing is starting. No matter how bad you think, the idea is, get it down on paper and play with it. It could lead to somewhere amazing.
If you’re stuck with getting something down on paper, try using constraints to fuel action. Adding boundaries can spur creativity — try out the following:
- Narrow down the goal: helpful to stop you from feeling overwhelmed.
- Create a milestone: A visual, objective plan can help you accomplish something.
- Tackle a doable part of the problem: No matter how small, start ticking off completed tasks and watch the motivation appear.
5. Seek
“The worst thing you can do is play it safe”
Keep searching. You’re never too old to pursue your passion. One action that can help in this search is diversifying the sources of information and inspiration you consume. Sometimes, that spark of an idea emerges from the most unassuming place. Experimenting with hobbies, passion projects, or chatting to people from all walks of life can diversify this thinking.
6. Team
To create a culture of innovation, harness the power of diverse, multi-disciplinary teams. Diversity in teams comes in so many forms, including: age, sex, race, and life experiences. Positivity is also crucial to avoid the negative ‘can’t do it’ language.
Once you have a fantastic team, it’s essential to retain this talent by giving them ownership & accountability, as they are also a crucial part of your shared company mission. Companies that believe ideas are top-down will be at a disadvantage. All members of an organization should be listened to, as you never know where the next big idea will come from.
7. Move
The more we practice, the easier it gets. This is the overarching theme I get from this book. We need to give things a go and embrace the fact failure will happen at some point. It’s all part of the process.
The famous psychologist Albert Bandura observed people who believed they could change a situation and accomplish what they set out to do. He thought they displayed high self-efficacy. These types of people are more resilient in facing obstacles and failure. He observed that doubts in creative ability could be cured by guiding people through a series of small successes.
