CrapHammer

A More Collaborative Process

One of the things that emerged from Jasmin's investigation of the Creative Brief was the need to be more collaborative.

One could say "Duh" in hindsight, but it wasn't so obvious from where we started as an organization.

This shift in awareness has allowed us to explore some design thinking and open innovation toolsets because of the questions it raised.

How do we make the brief more collaborative and effective?

How do we make it part of a process that pushes our thinking and the results we generate?

Here is the process Paul McEnany and I are now exploring (click on the image below for the full diagram.)

 
 

I believe I first came across this in a Bill Buxton book but for the life of me I can't find the original reference.  Sorry Bill!  We've combined Bill's diagram with something we borrowed from IDEO:  inspiration/ideation/creation.

Our desire being to separate inspiration from ideation and to ensure that a consistent team works more effectively together from kickoff through to the first draft of the roadmap.

And in the process, we ensure the brief is more collaborative as the entire team has input into it.

Utilizing Bill's model, we are able to incorporate at least two cycles of expansive thinking.

Also allowing for two stages for people who are "nervous" and want to nix or constrain the thinking.  ;)  In all seriousness, the ability to come back to a central point and then expand again is a powerful way to drive better ideation.

We've had some good initial experiences with this model but we're still exploring which exercises work best in each stage. 

Open to any thoughts or ideas on how to further improve our approach.

Feel free to use and adapt however you see fit.  Barring legal action from Mr. Buxton.  ;)

The Creative Brief

The Creative Brief.

A topic that strikes fear into the hearts of some.

And rabid devotion in others.

What does it mean to question the Creative Brief?

What can we learn by tossing back the covers and looking at how we and others in our industry approach and use the brief?

Jasmin from my team recently decided to explore this topic in more detail and some totally awesome folks agreed to be interviewed.

We hope you find these findings as valuable as we did.

The Creative Brief: A Research Project

View more presentations from Jasmin Cheng.

Many thanks to:

• Tim Brunelle
• Gareth Kay
• Darryl Ohrt
• Faris Yakob
• Renee Quan
• Paul Tedesco
• Leigh Himel
• Leslie Ehm
• Ellen DiResta

A response to Ara Tremblay

Ara Tremblay asks "Social Media: Are We Talking About it Because There’s Nothing Else to Talk About?"

A friend in the insurance space sent this to me and asked for my opinion.  I share my response here.

...

I hear the argument a lot.  And I can relate.  I cringe every time the topic of defining social media comes up, for example.

And this is the crux of it. We are not talking about a programming language.  Or a change in infrastructure.

We are speaking of a significant societal shift - from organizations leveraging technology to accomplish their goals TO individuals leveraging technology to accomplish THEIR goals.

And their goals are MUNDANE.  They are ABSURD.  And they are anything BUT rational.

And nothing matters more than what consumers say about us as a brand.  Nothing.

The outcome of this shift will require significant investments in technologies, infrastructure and new ways to operate for businesses.  Those that see it coming will be the most successful because they will be positioning their firm to take advantage vs. those that question whether anything is changing out there.  

Look at companies that are embracing this and driving unheard of profits and growth?  Zappos offers its successful minimum wage trainees $2,000 to NOT take the job.  Dell empowers its employees to fix problems and does not care where they sit - call center or escalation path.

...

I can certainly relate to Ara's line of questioning.

There is no end to people just filling time with the latest buzz words.

And my company, like any other agency, has to own up to our role in fueling this type of behavior and conversation.

But this is not a new technology.

This is a shift in who is using technology.

Technology has been democratized.

Just as businesses that fell asleep at the wheel were disintermediated by technology in the 1990's, now businesses face being left behind by the very consumers they "serve."

Someone kiss Mr Arauz

Hand offs don't work.

Period.

Enough said.

I give you Mike's Digital Strategy Manifesto (of sorts).

 

Fuck yes!

Vcu 2

View more presentations from hackemer.

Design for Participation

Mike Arauz's slideshare presentation on "Design for Networks" is brilliant.

Design for Networks

His thinking in the above is only surpassed by his very own post on the same topic.

I'm honored to know Mr. Arauz and pray one day we have real drinks as he keeps tantalizing me with his drink mixing tweets.

Mike's framework brought me back to some earlier blog conversations he had initiated around systems of rewards. ¹

He was exploring game design and behavioral psychology to understand how to create rewards that incent ongoing engagement and even addictive behaviors.  Why we love to play some games for hours on end.

The answer was a very academic approach to "combine unexpected rewards together with reward mechanics that are clear and predictable" to best achieve sustained and steady engagement with our audiences.

What I love about what Mike has done in his latest presentation is he's managed to make a cohesive and powerful argument for relegating "engagement" to it's proper place in the digital landscape - the closet of less important measures. All hail the belittling of engagement!

So in a world where the real game is driving participation, what reward mechanics should we be putting in place?

In "Drive," Daniel Pink outlines the dilemma of external rewards in what he calls motivation 1.0/2.0. ²

"CARROTS AND STICKS: The Seven Deadly Flaws
1. They can extinguish intrinsic motivation.
2. They can diminish performance.
3. They can crush creativity.
4. They can crowd out good behavior.
5. They can encourage cheating, shortcuts, and unethical behavior.
6. They can become addictive.
7. They can foster short-term thinking."

Pink talks about the need to "instead emphasize the elements of deeper motivation - autonomy, mastery, and purpose."  He explores the disconnect between our rewards systems of old which were built around repetitive tasks and the present where people are being challenged to accomplish creative tasks.

Pink cites a study where two Swedish economists tested the effect of incenting people with a monetary reward to donate blood.  The book is full of study and examples galore that show how external rewards often backfire.  In the case above, it led to 20% less people donating than those who were offered no incentive other than doing their social duty. "It tainted an altruistic act and 'crowded out' the intrinsic desire to do something good."

How many contests are plagued by contest hounds who care nothing about the contest, brand or issues at hand?

Interestingly, when a reward is money for a charity, the negative impact to motivation can be avoided (if done properly.)

All of this made me once again question whether the campaigns we build truly reflect the proper motivational or reward structures.  And if we are building systems that drive participation, fueling the intrinsic motivators will be critical to creating systems that have higher levels of participation and more importantly that will self sustaining.

All of this caused me to pencil this slide together.  It's rough and likely anything but complete but it captured some of my thoughts.

   

I thought I would close with my favorite quote from Pink's Drive as it points to the opportunity at hand.

"Human beings have an innate inner drive to be autonomous, self-determined, and connected to one another.  And when that drive is liberated, people achieve more and live richer lives."

Footnotes:

1. Dummies Guide to Behavioral Psychology and Engagement, Craphammer.ca
2. Daniel Pink, "Drive", Riverhead Books, 2009