OMG Digital Magazine OMG Issue 256 27th April 2017 | Page 6

OMG Digital Magazine | 256 | Thursday 27th April 2017 • PAGE 6
SoulFood
7 QUESTIONS THAT LEAD TO
AN ‘AHA’ MOMENT, ACCORDING
TO RESEARCH | By Melody Wilding
At the heart of any successful
business is a great idea. But how
do some entrepreneurs dream
up game-changing idea after
game-changing idea while others
fade into mediocrity?
Cracking the code on “aha moments” and creative
epiphanies is a topic Stanford Start X innovation
experts Olivia Fox Cabane and Judah Pollack explore
in their latest book, The Net and the Butterfly: The Art
and Practice of Breakthrough Thinking.
Turns out, it’s not magic -- it’s neuroscience.
They say there’s a way to systemically tap cognitive
processes that generate insights. It comes down to
stimulating associative thinking, a process in which the
brain pieces together disparate information to solve
problems in unique ways using skills like questioning,
observing, networking, and experimenting.
Put simply, breakthroughs come from mashing up
experiences, applying existing ideas to new contexts,
and drawing on successes from outside industries.
questions, which follow the acronym LUMIAMI.
1. LOOK
What could you look at in a new way? Can you reverse
a perspective, take a 30,000 foot view, or even ignore
something you know to be true?
2. USE
What could you use in a new way, or for the first time?
Think about ways to substitute your product or service
in place of something else, for example.
3. MOVE
What could you move -- changing its position,
frequency, or speed? If you’ve been incubating an
idea internally, consider how you might expose it to
people outside your company. For products, think
about importing features from other industries.
Autodesk studied 1,000 of the world’s greatest
innovations and what the data showed is that famous
innovators tend to ask and answer these seven
7. IMAGINE
What can you imagine that would create a great
experience for someone? Look at ways to simplify the
buying process, for example.
If you’re prone getting stopped by the voice of your
inner critic when brainstorming, try an odyssey
challenge. It’s exercise used in design thinking to
4. INTERCONNECT
What could you interconnect, for the first time or in
a new way? What could you combine or connect to
make the concept more powerful? What new groups
or partners could you expose the idea to?
5. ALTER
circumvent thought traps that hinder imagination.
You dream up five different scenarios of what could
be possible if practical constraints like money or time
weren’t an issue.
The Seven Innovation Questions
Since gaining mental clarity can be challenge, Cabane
and Pollack share a tool to help you make associations.
It’s a structured brainstorming method called the
Seven Essential Innovation Questions developed by
Autodesk’s Innovation Genome Project.
6. MAKE
What can you make that is truly new? This is hard,
because these days it seems like there is nothing
unique under the sun. However, try to think about
what new meaning you might be able to create or
infuse your innovation with. Is there a way to make
something that already exists more specialized and
focused?
What could you alter, in terms of design and
performance? Explore how you could standardize
processes. Look for ways to create a novel look and
feel.
While there’s no guarantee answering these questions
will transform you into the next Steve Jobs or Elon
Musk, they provide a helpful framework for getting
unstuck