6M Map for Problem Analysis

Every problem can be analyzed by looking at the 6 Ms – Men, Materials, Machines, Methods, Markets, Money. Get the team to study all 6 aspects of the problem past, present and future. If the group is working on new ideas for marketing a product, say, they could review the past and draw up an action plan for the present and future on a three year scale. The 6M Map provides an elegant format to help understand the underlying structure of your company together. It enables you to dissect all parts of your organizational anatomy. ‘Men’ for instance, involves employees, suppliers, customers and encompasses all stake holders. Markets could also include internal customers. Each of the 6 Ms should be thoroughly studied for problems. It is important to involve everyone in identifying the real problem. What is a problem for the worker need not seem like a problem for the manager. Mr.Ramesh, H.R. Director of Hyundai, once recounted the case of an absentee worker. He was constantly absent because of backache. Everyone thought he was malingering, until it was found that he was shorter than the other workers, and was straining his back by stretching it. Increasing the height of the platform on which he stood solved the problem and eliminated his absenteeism. Reflections and actions  Vision and leadership are necessary to inspire a widespread commitment to innovation  Eating together during lunch, especially for a weekly treat. A monthly moonlight, pot luck dinner with families or colleagues can be planned.  Make time for love, compassion, courage, laughter, wonder and peace  Include one green vegetable and one yellow vegetable in every meal.

Problem Analysis

Take a look at the outline of problem analysis below. Let the team discuss the problem in depth and make sure that everyone understands all the aspects of the problem. Ask the team to answer the following questions for better understanding of the problem a. What is the present situation? b. Why has the problem arisen? c. Why should it be solved? d. Why it is problem for me personally? e. What thoughts have I already had, or what efforts have I made, to solve the problem? f. Why are these thoughts/efforts in sufficient or unavoidable? g. What kind of action can I initiate towards solving this problem? What would be the ‘ideal’ solution?  ‘Innovation should be part of everyone’s job description’.  Organize a joint shopping expedition for a limited value.  Visualize success and joy  Eat only freshly cooked meals, not refrigerated leftovers

Implement with action teams

The problem owners should review activities of the action team members and plan how to gradually involve all members of the unit in the plan. Each of the team members now have a chance to understand what the endeavour will involve. Informal sessions to discuss the plan and to become comfortable with it must be planned including a grand launch to win buy-in from stakeholders. Help each team member to be comfortable with their activities. Hand hold and enhance links between different departments. Studies show that turf protection prevents efficient implementation. Team members become too involved in playing politics instead of playing to win for the company. Organizational energy should be carefully focused on the task

A winning model

Deccan Airlines created a disruption in the Airlines market. They created flights to smaller destinations not previously served like Vijayawada. The customer received low fares and at the same time lost: Free food and drinks Tolerance for more baggage Premium seats Convenient timing of flights The Winning Model was a result of: Fewer aircrafts, faster turnaround times, arriving early mornings and late nights when airports were less utilized by the premium airlines. It became profitable for the airlines and cheaper for the customers

Action plan to create Innovative culture

* Look at several alternatives, a hundred futures, before deciding on the best one for the moment. Remember the market place will be the best place for complete refinement of your product. * Start small. Keep over heads low. Be lean and learn. Don’t spend money on swanky offices, first- class travel, hotels and the Mercedes Benz. * Pursue areas with high entry level barriers, which competitors avoid like the plague. Test market in a small way. Experience the results; look into the customer’s eyes. Don’t just keep talking and making presentations. Review, tweak and go back to the market. Course correct, move. Don’t get stuck in analysis paralysis. There is no guarantee of success. * Nothing is an instant success. Every successful product is the result of a hundred corrections in response to customer reactions, changing aspirations. There is no time, when you can rest on your laurels because you are so perfect. * Let your solutions be bold, what no one has done before. Don’t take shelter in incrementalism.

Analysis : the gateway to solutions

In the creative thinking process, incubation is followed by ‘Analysis.’ During the process of analysis, apply left-brain thinking – logical, statistical and mathematical. Solutions have to be carefully discussed and the optimum one chosen. The solutions are analyzed against the parameters chosen by the problem owner. Some prevalent parameters are: • Time • Budget • Convenience • Human resources • Goodwill and impact on staff motivation levels • Aesthetics • Saving lives • Political capital

THE CREATIVE FLASH

Picasso is said to have seen the handlebars of a bicycle and created the thoroughly modern ‘Bull’ from the handlebars. Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s fantastic, vivid poem, Kubla Khan, was written after a fevered dream. Whether it is Archimedes discovering the laws of displacement and screaming his `Eureka’ moment through the streets of Syracuse or Madam Curie discovering the iridescent gleam of radium in her cluttered garret laboratory, the moment seems to be a flash of inspiration. The idea of evolution floated into Darwin’s mind as he read the essay on the Malthusian nightmare of overpopulation and overcrowding. But luck of course favours the prepared mind. Of course Newton and his apple or any of the others would never have reached that moment of seeming serendipity, if they had not preceded it by long hours of toil. A total obsession and long years of preparation and effort seem to stand silently behind that limelight moment of sheer magical discovery.

Incubation: Process and Benefits

 During idea generation, a list of alternative solutions are generated, seeds are sown.  During incubation the seeds are allowed to sprout, to grow unobstructed.  During analysis the plants are pruned and weeds are removed, till only the usable alternatives remain.  Implementation involves choosing the final solution, planning, developing a detailed roadmap, communicating it to the teams and finally acting on the blueprint.

Natural Water Managers

The Saguaro Cactus in Arizona is a leafless plant which is one of the best water managers in the world. Only 10 meters tall, its roots spread far and wide in a radius of 20 meters which absorb and store water from the smallest shower. Weighing 10 tones, it stores 8 tones of water. The plant has sharp prickles to protect its treasure of water. The mesquites of Texas which grow along dry river beds have wide spreading roots, hungry for water. Sometimes the roots grow to 80 meters. The plant hardly grows above the ground till it strikes water. It is fascinating how plants provide clues about the presence of water in the vicinity. A famous Indian astronomer, astrologer and mathematician, Varahamihira in the 54th chapter of Brihat Samhita, writes about finding water sources. He has written about various types of plants and termite mounds that show where water can be found. The Jamun tree with its delicious purple fruit, indicates water at 16ft depth, 5ft north of the tree. Fig trees have water sources close by. A herb called Vallarai which is said to enhance memory, also indicates the presence of water. Termite mounds which need moist soil also indicate the presence of water. Nature provides a hundred clues to sensitive water detectives. For instance, if a coconut or Palmyra palm tree has its trunk branched in two, water will be found at 24 ft west of the tree. In a desert, if you see hills, you are likely to find water at the base. Damp sand in a dry riverbed indicates water. Follow the foot prints of animals and game trails. Follow then downhill to find water. Reed grass and palms spell the presence of moisture. Be careful while drinking water from a cactus especially with a milky sap. Throwing up will only increase dehydration. Dew could save you. Collect it before sun rise, when it will swiftly evaporate. Thirsty Bedouins dig up cool stones just before sunrise. When dew settles on them, they lick it up. The way animals deal with water, is another fascinating subject. Beavers are the best builders of dams for their own convenience. With sharp teeth and flat tails, they use mud and sticks to flood an area, where they can navigate below or near the surface. This dam creates an eco system where they can remain hidden from predators. The flooded areas also provide access to food during the lean winter months. All of nature has such acute intelligence about water. Mankind’s sensitivity increases when water is scarce, as we find in deserts. It reduces drastically as water becomes plentiful. In the desert, water in life itself and it is treated as sacred. In Cherrapunji which has the highest rainfall in the world, there is water shortage. In the Rajasthan Thar desert area, receiving scanty rain for just 3-4 months, there is enough water for cultivation in many areas as also for the needs of households. The surprising conclusion is that water security or Jal Swaraj (water independence) may not be nature’s gift. It is a combination of a tradition of water conservation, culture and religion. In Rajasthan, water is worshipped as sacred. This creates a pyramidal structure, with each household storing rain water and villages nurturing ponds, tanks and retention pools and huge tanks like the one in Gharsiscar. Khadeems are oases in the desert, stored through the retention of water, in the beds of seasonal rivers, which provide enough for both the kharif and Rabi crops. So let us treat water like Lakshmi, the Goddess of wealth and well being. Even when water flows like a waterfall in our plush glamour rooms at home, let us remember how hard people, animals and plants work for a drop of water.

Total Immersion in ideas

Following total immersion in the ideas collected, the past, present and future possibilities come next. This is time for quiet reflection, allowing the mind to absorb all that has happened. Incubation is the period when the ideas are handed over to the vast computer which is the sub-conscious. It is a secret computer into which everything one has ever thought or felt or experienced or smelt or touched, flows. Many inventions are the result of a flash of inspiration, happening during incubation. Whether it was Newton or James Watts inventing his steam engine, while watching the steam puffing out of a teapot on the stove, the moment of illumination happened during a silent gap in the storm of thoughts. Incubation is critical. Spend years working and thinking. Then switch off and let go. Hand over the problem to the subconscious, so that the universe may step in. A total change of scene can aid incubation. A participant once recalled how after months of searching a moped launch, the team went to a movie about high fashion in Paris. He experienced an Aha! moment right there. The moped had so far been sold as a poor man’s scooter: in dingy dealer outlets. Presented in a lovely, stylish ambience, the whole brand was changed to express a style statement with romantic overtones. The moped suddenly became a fashion accessory. The best ideas are stimulated during incubation

Incubation

After idea generation, the next step in the thinking process is incubation. An incubator is a machine or an environment which helps nacent organisms to grow and develop in a protected environment. Delicate seeds are germinated and incubated in a farm house. Ideas are helped to grow during incubation. A premature baby is provided a womb like atmosphere in a hospital incubator. Incubation is what a mother hen does with own egg. She sits on it and provides a warm supportive climate and allows nature to take its own course. It is the calm before the storm of analysis and action. It is interesting to note how one shifts gear between the left and right brain during the process of innovation. When involved in problem statement one uses the logical left brain. There is a dramatic shift to the right brain during idea generation. During incubation you need to let go and allow both sides to operate naturally without any effort. Rather like a kite being carried by the wind, the string in the hands of a dreamer. The capacity to shift gears smoothly between the left and right brain is required. The image of the creative, impractical dreamer is only a myth. The innovative thinker is a man of action, both sides of the brain, synchronized into one whole. Again, during analysis, one switches on the keen left brain, processing all the ideas through logic, statistics and number crunching. What is clear is that an innovator has to be equally facile in using both sides of the brain. The left brain which is logical, mathematical and statistical and the right brain which is poetic, holistic and creative, are both required during the process of innovation.

Transform spectators into participants

Companies begin to fade when a majority of their people become spectators with a 'chalta hai' or 'let it be' attitude. When a company is a start-up, everyone is an enthusiastic participant. As the company begins to age, its life cycle makes it slow, ponderous and bureaucratic. How to break this cycle? Simple: Open the floodgates of people's minds. Involve everybody. The best ideas come from the grassroots from people who are actually doing the work. Often it is said that 20% of the people do 80% of the work. This is because only 20% of the people are treated as the 'Core' group, the rest are treated as peripheral. The select 'insiders' create a barrier against the participation of the outsiders. If everyone's work can become critical to the company, no one will be a spectator, everyone will be a committed participant.

Transform spectators into participants

Companies begin to fade when a majority of their people become spectators with a 'chalta hai' or 'let it be' attitude. When a company is a start-up, everyone is an enthusiastic participant. As the company begins to age, its life cycle makes it slow, ponderous and bureaucratic. How to break this cycle? Simple: Open the floodgates of people's minds. Involve everybody. The best ideas come from the grassroots from people who are actually doing the work. Often it is said that 20% of the people do 80% of the work. This is because only 20% of the people are treated as the 'Core' group, the rest are treated as peripheral. The select 'insiders' create a barrier against the participation of the outsiders. If everyone's work can become critical to the company, no one will be a spectator, everyone will be a committed participant.