Archive for A3
Critical and Creative Thinking benefits the Problem Solver
Posted by: | CommentsBelow is a presentation that I gave recently to the Plantmix Asphalt Industry of Kentucky. It was during the winter training school and focused on using both Critical and Creative Thinking benefits the Problem Solver. It also included how to prevent the failures of most decision processes. This an hour long presentation. What are your thoughts? Any improvement ideas?
Related Information:
Quality through Individual Actions Presentation
Lean Marketing House
Marketing with PDCA
Lean Engagement Team
Marketing with A3
Plan your Show and Tell – Mindmap on Prototyping
Posted by: | CommentsAt some point and time, you have to turn your idea into a reality. The best way is to get feedback as early as possible even at the pen paper stage, Your First Prototype is with Pen and Paper. Most of us are bias about our idea and even in the way we perceive and interpret the data. This is why having a structured approach to prototyping is imperative. Without one, we typically see what we want to see. As a result, we gain confirmation versus additional knowledge.
You must be very open to feedback at this stage. You must welcome complaints and criticisms from others. If you take an honest and positive approach in gaining feedback from others, you will have increased your odds of success and gain the valuable information needed.
The instinctive type approach is surprisingly rather closed to alternatives. As a result the outcome is frequently flawed or less effective than a structured approach. In The Thinker’s Toolkit: 14 Powerful Techniques for Problem Solving book outlines six steps of the problem with intuitive problem solving:
- We commonly begin our analysis of a problem by formulating our conclusions; we thus start at what should be the end of the analytic process.
- Our analysis usually focuses on the solution which we intuitively favor; we therefore give inadequate attention to alternative solutions.
- The solution we intuitively favor is more often than not the first one that seems satisfactory.
- We tend to confuse “discussing/thinking hard” about a problem with “analyzing” it (these2 activities are not at all the same).
- We focus on the substance (evidence, arguments, and conclusions) and not on the process of our analysts.
- Most people are functionally illiterate when it comes to structuring their analysis.
If you would like to download the PDF, Prototype.
If people have not learned and understood problem solving techniques, they cannot formulate a reasonable conclusion. It is a guess and a reaction based simply on intuition. Building the prototype is the easy part. Breaking them, testing them and learning from them is the important part. In a recent read, Prototyping: A Practitioner’s Guide, I found author Todd Warfel description of the process outstanding. Though the book may lend itself more to the UI/UX/IX and other software designers, I found the book fascinating and so grounded in foundational principles that I would recommend it for anyone. The majority of the Mindmap below is a result of my interpretation of the book.
The reporting process I recommend for most prototyping is using a basic A3 for structure. This way you outline your process in a clear and concise manner.
Related information:
Why Prototype? Customer Interactivity is the Most Meaningful Part of Design
Prototyping into a Working Form
Prototypes provide a Pathway for Connecting with Customers
A Product Marketers perspective on Prototyping
Future of Marketing is Lean
Posted by: | CommentsThe sales and marketing structure has drastically changed. The typical structure still used by many is when competition was not as great and technology was not the force that it is today. Most of the time sales and marketing sold solutions without every defining the customers problem. The typical sales forecast was derived on increasing sales a certain percentage. That’s changed. In today’s business setting many companies are fighting for survival. Competition has never been so keen and the elements of the past are simply not working. 
The new wave of marketing has seen an entire new set of tools being used with the components of social media leading the way. No longer do we trust print media, radio, television and other forms of traditional media. The tools have all become a commodity. Some organizations have even questioned the need for a sales force. To make effective marketing decisions, you need a clear understanding of what the customer values and what your company strategy is to support them.
Companies have found that they must listen at higher level than ever before to their customers, focusing on improving processes, and using teams. Companies have to build a culture that supports agility, relevancy and speed. To accomplish this there has to become an open sharing of information that will accelerate creativity and innovation. Value has to be understood that it is delivered at the point of consumption, not when it leaves your hands.
Lean Marketing is about installing a continuous improvement methodology to your sales and marketing process. It’s about constantly improving ever step up the way. In the smaller scheme of things it is about improving a launch, an advertising campaign and even a sales call. However, in the bigger scheme of things it is about building a structure that creates a learning organization based on an ever increasing knowledge of what the customer values.
The Lean practice of PDCA is ideal for learning and creating knowledge activities. Following this process it allows individuals and teams to recognize and take advantage of opportunities, make decisions faster, and be more responsive to customers. As part of the PDCA cycle you get feedback on the action from listening to customers and the companies’ measurement systems. Having information, taking informed action and getting feedback is part of the natural PDCA cycle. Effectiveness comes from when you use and take advantage of all your resources.
This why I believe the Future of Marketing is Lean!
Related Posts:
Why Lean Marketing? Because it is the Future of Marketing …
PDCA for Lean Marketing, Knowledge Creation
Lean Marketing Creates Knowledge for the Customer
Start with A3 for Continuous Improvement in Sales and Marketing
