Red Thread Thinking: Weaving Together Connections for Brilliant Ideas and Profitable Innovation

The easier an innovation is to try, the faster it can diffuse—as long as it works and has a valued perceived benefit. When people can reassure themselves that something works before they put money on the table for it, they are more likely to purchase it in the long run.

I not only use all the brains that I have, but all that I can borrow. —WOODROW WILSON

According to his findings, innovative solutions require two steps: first, seeing an infrequently noticed, ambiguous feature, and second, building a solution based on that feature.

Innovations that evoke a “that’s what I’ve been looking for” response in consumers will capture an audience.

Having collected ethnographic field notes or observations, you are beginning to recognize how people relate to, use, and assign meaning to products in their everyday lives. Innovation within a culture requires a deep understanding of cultural customs and the evolving symbolic value of products and services in a society.

It is deceptively hard to understand the true problem and the best parameters for describing it. Many times the trick is to understand that the things that delight people are simpler than what our passion for the product leads us to believe.

The abundance of brain research indicates that much of our ability to have insights, see connections, be creative, and innovate better is governed by controllable factors. Your brain can reinvent itself through many thought- and activity-based actions that spark the creation of new pathways that reroute, readjust, and otherwise change the brain’s n

Simplicity, or the means by which disparate elements can be combined into a pleasing and harmonious whole that the public can readily latch on and respond to, is a key factor in the appeal and success of any innovation.

Passion is not blind allegiance to your idea. On the contrary, it’s a willingness to explore, experiment, play, invest energy, hit a dead end, and then chase a new direction that allows your mind to refine, revise, alter, and grow good ideas.