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.

Escape into happiness

There is a great book titled the ‘Lonely Crowd’, by David Riesman, highlighting the fact that one can be lonely with crowds of people around you. Loneliness is what you feel when you think no one cares about you. If you are rich and famous, can you escape loneliness? Celebrity suicides like Robin Williams, that leap out of the front page in every newspaper, prove that, it is not so. Imagine smoking 15 cigarettes every day. Loneliness has the same impact on your health. The whole thing seems a vicious circle. If you are lonely you get sicker, if you are sick you feel even lonelier. Loneliness makes you vulnerable to a whole lot of health issues: heart disease, cancer, depression and dementia. The only antidote is of course close family ties and loving friends. People, who care for you, listen to you and give you hugs when you need them. The wellness and happiness chemicals can keep loneliness at bay. The loneliness epidemic helps us to focus on the isolation felt, especially by elders. True happiness is helping others, it is said. It is also the antidote to loneliness as it releases serotonin in the blood. Billionaires give away their wealth to experience this spirit of joy that banishes loneliness. A networked life builds walls against loneliness. Oxytocin is released by hugs especially the undeserved ones. It is enhanced by laughter, play and close interactions. Of course, endorphins released during exercising particularly in groups, create an immediate if temporary high. Who can forget dopamine, that is released as we achieve your dreams and goals. When one is awash in all 4 chemicals, one can swim in a sea of happiness and well being. So many things can help especially when shared: food, music, exercise, conversation and singing, are great ways to escape loneliness. “Music was my refuge. I could crawl into the space between the notes and curl my back to loneliness”, writes Maya Angelou. All we want is to reach out and touch another human being not just with hands but with our heart. So reach out and build, connect. The more you enjoy high touch in this high tech world, the greater your chance of long term happiness!

Creative Problem Solving

Study all the problems identified in the problem bank together. And then ensure that each one is turned into a problem statement in the form of a question. Identifying and formulating the problem is the most difficult part of creative problem solving. Very often we state symptoms of the problems and end up wasting scarce resources chasing the illusionary ‘golden deer of the epics’. Management then becomes so emotionally committed to the wrong path that we can end up moving faster and faster along the wrong road. It is like a man who drills an oil well, in a bad spot. More and more money is spent with no resulting strike. But those involved, refuse to fill up the unproductive well and move on to a new location. They continue throwing good money after bad, because they do not want to admit that a mistake had been made initially. Problem as first stated: How to improve the brakes supplied to the car maker? Creative analysis: Why do we want to improve the brakes? Answer: To stop cars at a shorter distance Creative Analysis: How else can we stop a car at a shorter distance? Why do we want to stop the car at a shorter distance? Answer: To increase safety of occupants of the car. Restatement of problem: How might we improve safety in a car’s stopping system? Result: This is much broader than the original challenge and opens a wider door to novel ideas. At one of my early creativity laboratories for mothers, twenty-two years ago, one of the participants said, ‘My problem is how I get my son to eat eggs for breakfast.’ A rigorous analysis of the problem uncovered the real quandary, ’How do I get my son to eat a nutritious breakfast?’ The restatement of the problem enabled the mother to give the child a variety of foods ranging from cheese and idlis, to cutlets and samosas, instead of forcing the child to eat the hated eggs. Redefining the problem statement is the challenging part of the process, as all of us who have struggled with the task of arriving at a hypothesis know. Stating and understanding the problem correctly is the key to the Innovation Initiative.

Creative Problem Solving

Study all the problems identified in the problem bank together. And then ensure that each one is turned into a problem statement in the form of a question. Identifying and formulating the problem is the most difficult part of creative problem solving. Very often we state symptoms of the problems and end up wasting scarce resources chasing the illusionary ‘golden deer of the epics’. Management then becomes so emotionally committed to the wrong path that we can end up moving faster and faster along the wrong road. It is like a man who drills an oil well, in a bad spot. More and more money is spent with no resulting strike. But those involved, refuse to fill up the unproductive well and move on to a new location. They continue throwing good money after bad, because they do not want to admit that a mistake had been made initially. Problem as first stated: How to improve the brakes supplied to the car maker? Creative analysis: Why do we want to improve the brakes? Answer: To stop cars at a shorter distance Creative Analysis: How else can we stop a car at a shorter distance? Why do we want to stop the car at a shorter distance? Answer: To increase safety of occupants of the car. Restatement of problem: How might we improve safety in a car’s stopping system? Result: This is much broader than the original challenge and opens a wider door to novel ideas. At one of my early creativity laboratories for mothers, twenty-two years ago, one of the participants said, ‘My problem is how I get my son to eat eggs for breakfast.’ A rigorous analysis of the problem uncovered the real quandary, ’How do I get my son to eat a nutritious breakfast?’ The restatement of the problem enabled the mother to give the child a variety of foods ranging from cheese and idlis, to cutlets and samosas, instead of forcing the child to eat the hated eggs. Redefining the problem statement is the challenging part of the process, as all of us who have struggled with the task of arriving at a hypothesis know. Stating and understanding the problem correctly is the key to the Innovation Initiative.

ADI

Building relationships, lifetime relationships if possible, through good communications provides the right environment for creativity. Reducing conflict improves creativity. Innovators are good negotiators because of their ability to invent a variety of alternative ways of handling the problem. Conflict is reduced by the ability to invent variety of alternative ways of handling the problem. A good tool to reduce conflict is Edward De Bono’s ADI. Take any conflict situation and do a ADI which is mapping the situation. A Areas of Agreement D Areas of Disagreement I Areas of Irrelevance It is often found that the two parties agree on 95% of the points. All heated arguments and conflict may be about 3% of the points while 2% may be irrelevant. Creativity helps teams to cope with change. They are able to use change not as a threat but as an opportunity and a challenge to improve their problem solving abilities.

Market Research

Market research enables the company to understand a marketing problem better. The value of the results depends upon on 5 steps: Problem definition, Research design, Field work, Data analysis, Report presentation and implementation. New product ideas are likely to emerge from the market place during research. This is because changing fashions and improved communication networks are creating new aspirations among costumers. This information has to be solicited. It will not flow or be recognized in the hustle and bustle of chasing bottom lines curing routine every day business operations.

Differentiation of Stars from Seekers

Stars, on the whole, are very positive about their company and its future. They believe that the quality of their products is higher, and that their market share was increasing. Employee satisfaction levels were high, possibly, because people were committed and engaged. Stars had a greater belief in the need for creativity in the organization. Innovation was clearly mentioned in their mission statement. They had systematic customer satisfaction measures and use the information to make course corrections. New ideas are often obtained through market research. They make use of outside consultants. They use cutting edge technologies to impact bottom lines. They are able to ensure that different departments use their ability to come together. They excel in environment scouting for ideas. They have a shared process of idea generation, which however, could be used better.

Outward Bound Type Programmes

These programmes employ an exotic location and new situations to stimulate creativity. It is common to develop a positive climate through teamwork concepts learnt on location. The use of physical adventure is particularly attractive to desk bound executives with their notoriously sedentary life styles. Building trust and breaking down communication barriers can often result in heightened creativity, growing out of the environment or positive field in which innovation thrives.