Book Summary: The Elegant Solution

The Elegant Solution by Matthew E. May

Part I: Principles
The Art of Ingenuity - Business meets art and science in an emerging view of work.
The Pursuit of Perfection - Conventional wisdom forcing a choice between small steps and big leaps misses the point.
The Rhythm of Fit - What distinguishes great innovation is its ability to serve the changing needs of society.


Part II: Practices
Let Learning Lead - Learning and innovation go hand in hand, but learning comes first
Problem: Learning disabilities hinder 360 innovation.
Cause: Learning is misunderstood and undervalued.
Solution: Make learning the job

IDEA: Investigate -> Design -> Execute -> Adjust

Learn to See - Elegant solutions often come from customers - get out more and live in their world
Problem: Solutions don't work as imagined
Cause: The facts aren't clearly understood
Solution: Learn to see

a) Observe -- watch the customer
b) Infiltrate -- become the customer
c) Collaborate -- involve the customer

Design for Today - Focus on clear and present needs, or your great ideas remain just that
Problem: Solutions land far before the need
Cause: Preoccupation with invention
Solution: Design for today

innovation -> providing tomorrow's solution for today's problem

Think in Pictures - Make your intentions visual - You'll surprise yourself with the image
Problem: The endgame isn't clear
Cause: Underdeveloped storytelling skill
Solution: Tell the story with pictures.

Capture the Intangible - The most compelling solutions are often perceptual and emotional
Problem: Solutions lack that certain something
Cause: Transaction tunnel vision
Solution: Capture the intangible

Leverage the Limits - Restraining Forces Rule - Resource constraints can spur ingenuity
Problem: The entrepreneurial spirit is M.I.A.
Cause: Addiction to abundant resources
Solution: Rest the bar

Master the Tension - Breakthrough thinking demands something to break through
Problem: Solutions lack inspiration
Cause: We satisfice
Solution: Work through creative tension

Run the Numbers - Think for yourself - Temper instinct with insight, focus on facts, and do the math
Problem: Proposed solutions lack basis in fact
Cause: Aversion to numbers
Solution: Counter intuition with insight

Make Kaizen Mandatory - Pursuing perfection requires great discipline - Create a standard, follow it, and find a better way
Problem: Innovation is hit or miss
Cause: Creativity is misdirected and mismanaged
Solution: Embed the kaizen ethic

Kaizen basis is standardisation
Creating a standard requires: A. Clarity B. Consensus
a) Establish a Best Practice
b) Document the Standard
c) Train to the Method

Keep it Lean - Complexity kills - scale it back, make it simple, and let it flow
Problem: Too many, too much - of everything
Cause: Assumption that more is better
Solution: Start thinking lean

Lean: doing more of what matters by eliminating what doesn't
How do we know we are lean? When the customer says "It's just what I needed. Getting it was effortless."
Lean: Customers pull compelling value from you effortlessly.

Leaders make meaning

Marketing and Innovation

Business has only two basic functions-marketing and innovation.

- Peter Drucker

Learning Organisation and WOW Expansion Pack

My colleagues and I were on return flight from Toyota factory tour. Starting with topics of organisations and skill-acquisition-based career path rather than role-based path, which tends to limit one's growth opportunities in my opinion, the discussion moved on to Toyota and their career promotion structure. How it is extremely long and challenging process to become a chief engineer and the enormous skill acquisitions on the way.

I like the idea of skills-acquisition-based career path and having long list of skills that would take ages to master as similar to chief engineer concept in Toyota. It is similar to playing MMORPG such as WOW. The best part of WOW is leveling up from level 0 to max level 60 (for initial launch). You get the sense of progress all the time. Once you hit max level, it feels great for a while but soon becomes less exciting because the rate of learning slows.

Luckily Blizzard publishes expansion pack every 1-2 years and increases max levels by 10 or so. Certainly all maxed out players get new things (skills) to learn. Cool. Joy of learning!

I think a learning organisation should do the similar by constantly generating expansion pack for members to learn. Identify new list of skills required to achieve organisational objectives and to articulate what they are and to generate content (training programs) for them to acquire new skills so their increase levels (effectiveness, growth, capability). Leaders in an organisation would be just like content developers for MMORPG. After all, everything is trainable, I believe.