InnovatorsDigest

Assumption Junction Technique

One of the biggest blocks to innovation is not challenging your assumptions. By challenging assumptions, you can open up your range of solutions. Step 1: Write down at least three assumptions you're making about the problem to be solved. Step 2: Now challenge each assumption by stating it's opposite (or its negative). Step 3: Write down any potential benefits or ideas that spring from your challenge to the assumptions.

New "88 Great Meeting Planning Questions" Book Helps Innovators Plan Successful Events

Now You Can Ask More & Better Questions to Plan Better Meetings & Events.

Get the new 88 Great Meeting Planning Questions by Gerald "Solutionman" Haman. It contains 88 Great Questions you need to get started in planning great meetings, events, conferences, conventions, tradeshows, workshops, seminars facilitations, retreats and experiences!

People spend a lot of time attending meetings, but they seldom have enough time and help to effectively plan the meetings. During the past 20 years, the author, Gerald "Solutionman" Haman, attended, planned and facilitated meetings for hundreds of small groups and large audiences of several thousand people. As a result of those experiences, he developed these 88 Great Questions in this 10-page booklet to help people plan better meetings and events. 

Here is a preview of the book's Table of Contents that reveals the 12 question topics:

 
Order from Amazon.com or directly from Haman's company, SolutionPeople Innovation.
Save 50% by ordering downloadable eBook for only $8.88 (only 10 cents per question)from SolutionPeople by clicking HERE. 

Order a printed booklet from Amazon.com for $18.88 (only 21 cents per question) by clicking HERE.

 

Communicate-to-Innovate Using 21 Persuasive Words That Work

Innovators know how to "communicate-to-innovate" by using persuasive language that engages people to support their ideas. Presidential speech-writer Frank Luntz wrote Words That Work, a book that contains his recommended list of persuasive words. Consider using his recommended words when preparing your next presentation or communication.

21 Words & Phrases
for 21^st Century Innovators
1. Imagine
2. Hassle-free
3. Lifestyle
4. Accountability
5. Results / Can-Do Spirit
6. Innovation
7. Renew, Revitalize, Rejuvenate, Restore,
   Rekindle, Reinvent
8. Efficient, Efficiency
9. The Right to
10. Patient-Centered
11. Investment
12. Casual Elegance
13. Independent
14. Peace of Mind
15. Certified
16. All-American
17. Prosperity
18. Spirituality
19. Financial Security
20. Balanced Approach
21. Culture of

Notice that "imagine" is first, "innovation" is number sixth, and the six "R" words came raml as number seven on the list.  If you are looking for more words that may be especially appealing to some people, check out Solutionman's Politicator List and Worksheet that was inspired by the persuasive language of American presidential candidates.

Click to Order Frank Luntz Words that Work Book at Amazon.com 

Questionate-to-Innovate: Questionation Method Produced Over 3 Million Ideas

SolutionPeople has helped innovators generate over 3 million ideas. What is one of the secrets to their successful ideations that lead to innovation? One secret is their proprietary Questionation™ Method that includes developing provocative questions to be used in innovative facilitations, training workshops, meetings and innovation events.
Surveys have found that Questionation™ Methods have increased meeting productivity, reduced meeting time and increased participant engagement. Most importantly, innovation facilitations that used Question Banks and the Questionation Methods yielded 34-65% more ideas than traditional meetings that followed typical agendas.

Question Banks & Topics
Questionation involved developing unique "Question Banks" for a wide variety of innovation goals, problems or challenges. Agendas and facilitation plans are structured in a way so that key questions are addressed throughout the meeting or event. Answers to questions are collected and deposited in Idea Banks that are used for follow-through and implementation.

Over 10,000 questions have been collected or created by SolutionPeople since 1989. SolutionPeople created question banks for over 100 topics including new product development, sales, marketing, experience design, meeting planning and strategic planning. Haman teaches facilitators, trainers and coaches how to apply the Questionation method during workshops and webinars.

Why Are Questions Important?
"If you want to come up with great ideas, you need to ask great questions," states Gerald "Solutionman" Haman who invented the "questionated" innovation tool called the KnowBrainer. The KnowBrainer contains 40 provocative questions that actually help users generate more questions, as well as lots of ideas!

Record-Setting Thinkathon Used 100 Questions
A future Innovator's Digest article will reveal how Solutionman set several world brainstorming records by using the Questionation Method and KnowBrainer tool.  Over 454,000 ideas were brainstormed by 8,000 people who used 100 questions in SolutionPeople's Thinkathon at the Singapore Stadium.

Do You Questions About Questionation?
Email your questions to solutionman@solutionpeople.com!

NEW Innovation Tool of the Month Club.com Provides Innovation Stimulus

CLICK to Learn About a New Club for Innovators!

www.InnovationToolOfTheMonthClub.com

The 500% Solution: 7-Day KnowBrainer® Challenge

It weighs a mere 5 ounces and fits easily into a shirt pocket, but despite its diminutive size, Solution People’s KnowBrainer® Tool packs an incredible jolt of innovative prowess. Listen to Starbuck’s John More: “The beauty of the KnowBrainer tool is at every innovation stage, the tool asks you focused questions designed to better create, shape, evaluate, and activate the idea(s) for implementation. KnowBrainer is more than an innovation tool, It’s a catalyst to zoom ideas into action.”

In studies at two major universities, the KnowBrainer tool increased creativity by a an incredible 500%. But one of the most powerful innovations of KnowBrainer is that it wasn’t designed to stay on the shelf or stay in the desk. It was created to be as accessible as a wireless phone.

Mark Twain once wrote “The man who doesn’t read good books has no advantage over the man who can’t read them.” The key to becoming consistently innovative is literally to turn the KnowBrainer into a no-brainer. That’s why I developed the 7-day KnowBrainer® Challenge for my clients.

After they have completed KnowBrainer Training, I wait two weeks and then ask them about their experience with the tool. They are usually very enthusiastic but are surprised when I ask “how often” they use it. I tell them I use it everyday. That’s when I give them the KnowBrainer Challenge.

Carry the KnowBrainer with you in your pocket or purse for one full week including weekends. Make a commitment to use it at least twice a day during that period. The problems, challenges or goals can be business and personal. After the first three days, make another commitment. You must use all four areas (Investigate, Create, Evaluate, and Activate) for the next four days.

What was a novelty becomes habit. The habit of using KnowBrainer’s stimulate-to-innovate process then becomes imprinted. The benefit? In just one week, you’ve become your own innovation consultant. You are using the same tool that has helped Apple, Google, American Express and Motorola.

Are you ready for the 500% Solution? For detailed information on the KnowBrainer Innovation Tool, Click HERE.  Order KnowBrainer tools at the SolutionStore.

Marty Baker - President of Inotivity
Email Marty

New "Politicator" Brainstorming Technique: Use Obama and McCain's Words to Innovate (Download Free Worksheet)

Interesting innovation opportunities can be inspired by paying attention to the language used by American presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain. I've created a new brainstorming technique called The Innovative Politicator™ for people who want to develop innovative ideas that are politically correct. Now you can now generate ideas that appeal to Republicans, Democrats and Independents by using the whole brain – not just the right of left sides!

   
Technique Background
Content for The Innovative Politicator™ was identified by applying rhetorical analysis methods I learned in Graduate School at the University of Minnesota where I earned a Masters degree in Communications. I took pages of notes while listening to weeks of speeches by McCain, Obama, and Vice Presidential nominees Joe Biden and Sara Palin. Over a 2-week period, that included national conventions of both parties, I kept track of the words used by each candidate and made note of which words generated high levels of applause and emotional engagement. I was fascinated by the similarities and differences between the rhetoric of both parties. There are over 900,000 thousand words in the English language and I identified 37 words (called Wordators in the worksheet) to stimulate ideas.

37 Political Brainstorming Words
RepublicansDemocratsBothParties
1. America
2. Better
3. Care
4. Change
5. Character
6. Children
7. Country
8. Democrats
9. Education
10. Energy
11. Families
12. Fight
13. Future
14. Going
15. Government
16. Health care
17. Hope
18. Independents
19. Jobs
20. Leader
21. Life
22. Love
23. Mothers
24. Nation
25. Party
26. People
27. President
28. Promise
29. Reform
30. Republicans
31. Stand
32. Taxes
33. Trust
34. Work
35. World
36. Years
37. Young

Download Your Free Worksheet
Individuals and teams can use this self instructional worksheet for a wide variety of goals, challenges, problems and questions.

Download your FREE PDF of The Innovative Politicator™ Worksheet by Clicking HERE. The worksheet is simple and self instructional. Consider it a gift that you can share with innovators regardless of their political views.

Politicate-to-Innovate, 
Gerald "Solutionman" Haman