Strategy Survival Guide

Try to put into practice the principle that every idea should be followed by two 'builds’ (developing the idea
further with phrases that start with "That makes me think of . . . ; To build on that idea, if we . . .; X’s idea
could also work if we . . . "). Language is an important part of being creative.
Realness
“What I hear I forget,
what I see I remember,
what I do I know.”
Chinese proverb
Realness is another ?What If! word for a creative
behaviour. The technique is very simply and
extremely effective. It demands that we stop talking
about innovation and ask "how can we make it real
right now?"
A recent Harvard Business Review article (Levitt T. Harvard Business Review August 2002) likened the
situation to someone who talks about painting a beautiful picture, and someone who actually paints one –
which person is the creative artist? Levitt felt that lots of organisations confuse brilliant talk with constructive
action. The solution is to build a prototype as soon as you can (yes, this can work with policies as well as
products - think of pilots). Play with it, think about it, carry it around with you improve it, tweak it, build
another model and start again. ?What If! advice is - Don't Think, Just Leap. This links into the next creative
behaviour – Momentum.
Momentum
“Half the failures in life
arise from pulling in
one’s horse as it is
leaping.” Julius Hare
All really creative people have an air of urgency. An
innovative leader can learn to create this state,
especially with the help of a skilled facilitator who can
help enthuse the people around. Working on a project
that has momentum is fantastic.
There is an energy and an optimism that is infectious. There is a sense of determination to get the job done,
no matter what obstacles get thrown in the way. Good managers will understand how to manage and
harness this energy.
Meetings are dreadful momentum-killers; ?What If! suggest trying one of these 5 types of meeting instead:
• information only: no discussion, no debate, just the sharing of information
• decision only: no discussions, only yes or no
• stand up: stops the chatting and long winded debates
• decide at the beginning: make all the decisions first, then discuss them (cuts out unnecessary talk
and focuses on real issues)
• rattle and roll: rattle through the first 8 easy and quick points. everyone feels hopeful despite the long
agenda
You can also keep meetings energetic and creative by the way you plan the meeting: for example use
flipcharts instead of slides; take turns to be chair; have an 'energiser' or break if energy is low.
Signalling
“The ‘silly’ question is the
first intimation of some
totally new development.”
Alfred North Whitehead
The things you can say as signals include:
• How would a child look at this?
• Let's assume XYZ already does this.
Signalling lets people know what you are doing and
how you are thinking. It helps people align their effort
(see Six Thinking Hats). Signalling makes the
creative process explicit and legitimate and (hopefully)
stops others from crushing your emerging idea (see
Greenhousing)
Strategy Survival Guide – Strategy Skills
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