This work by brothers Tom and David Kelley of Stanford University’s “d.school” is subtitled “Unleashing the Creative Potential Within Us All”. The authors make well on their promise to provide new ways of thinking about the development of new products and offerings for businesses as well as problem solving in general. Their “design-driven innovation” method generally consists of 1) Inspiration, or discovery via natural observation, interviews, and behavioral analysis; 2) Synthesis, or the recognition of patterns, development of solution frameworks, and making sense of what has been discovered; 3) Ideation & Experimentation of potential solutions via exploration and experiential learning; and 4) Implementation into the marketplace. This enables the innovator to go beyond end-user design and how someone uses a product to also consider WHY they use it. The result is, in both theory and practice, a more effective solution for the target market. Their approach utilizes techniques such as storytelling, iterative development/prototyping, reframing, and the development of “empathy maps” to get inside the heads and hearts of the users of a particular solution.

Although their methods are very appropriate for organizations that develop new products and services and the authors discuss many of their successful engagements with both startups and established companies, I was often challenged as I considered how their methods could be used by a sales organization. After all, it is our responsibility to help customers invest in the products and services that are already released, generally available, and “on the truck” as opposed to developing something new. Most often, we are helping our customers innovate their business using solutions and offerings that already exist rather than coming up with our own new products. One idea that I landed on most often is that the authors’ method of storytelling and “empathy mapping” could help us convey the user experience from several different perspectives. It can help us:

• Work with our customers to envision what THEIR customers will experience when they are using the new solution.
• Model what our customer will experience as they implement and support the solution.
• Model what our customer will experience in their business relationship with us should they choose to invest in our solution.
• Model how the solution will interact with and fit into their current technological landscape

These viewpoints will enable the customer’s decision makers to see the true impact of choosing your solution. From there, we can help our customers find what the authors refer to (via Venn diagram, naturally) as “the sweet spot of feasibility, viability, and desirability”. Respectively, this is the point at which the technical, business, and people aspects of a particular solution are in balance and will provide maximum business value. The authors spend too much time on anecdotes about how they have helped organizations and individuals get over the fear associated with using their methods, but, after all, the book is called “Creative Confidence”. I recommend that you read the Kelley brothers’ work and consider how you can use their techniques to tell your complete story and set your vision with your customers.