If you’ve heard me speak – or read IdeaSpotting and Zing! – you know I believe exploring provides powerful fuel for creativity. Exploring is the first step of the creative process, and I am not just talking about quantitative and qualitative scientific research. I am referring to the out-of-the-ordinary, out-of the-office type of personal research that uncovers insights and brings scientific research to life.
Toyota is a perfect example of how sending people out and about can bring in an abundance of fresh ideas.It’s no accident that Toyota runs circles around other auto makers when it comes to innovation. As reported in the New York Times Magazine, Toyota practices what it calls genchi genbutsu –dispatching its people to see for themselves what customers want in a car or truck.
When Yuji Yokoya was asked to redesign the Sienna, he drove the minivan in every American state, every Canadian province and most of Mexico to test it on ice, in wind, on highways and city streets.
When designing the Tundra, Toyota teams went to logging camps, construction sites, farms and factories to meet with truck owners. They talked with them face to face about their needs for towing power and hauling capacity. By observing truck owners at work, they learned the best place to locate a gear shifter and that door handles and radio knobs need to be extra large because drivers often wear work gloves all day.
Toyota explorers also made visits to truck graveyards to learn firsthand how pickups had changed over the years and to see what parts had lasted.
Are you still looking for new ideas in the same old places?
Sam Harrison is in demand as a speaker and the bestselling author of the "IdeaSpotting: How to find your next great idea" and "Zing! Five steps and 101 tips for creativity on command." He has years of experience in creative communications fields and has worked with such clients and affiliates as NFL, Major League Baseball, Hallmark and John Denver Environmental Groups. He also teaches creativity classes and writing seminars at a graduate studies program in Atlanta. He can be found at http://www.zingzone.com
Комментариев нет:
Отправить комментарий