THE FUTURE OF ORGANIZATIONAL PROBLEM SOLVING

World Future SocietyJuly 19, 2003

Jack Hipple, PrincipalInnovation-TRIZ, Inc.

www.innovation-triz.com

INNOVATION-TRIZ,INC.

®Innovation-TRIZ, 2002

INNOVATION-TRIZ,INC.

OVERVIEW AND TOPICS

Brief history of organizational problem solving

What’s changed?What’s different?New toolsOld tools used in new waysThe future and recommendations

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THE HISTORY OF ORGANIZATIONALPROBLEM SOLVING TOOLS

Thomas Edison (early 1900’s) Mass trial and error

Osbourne and Parnes (1940’s, 50’s) Creative problem solving/”brainstorming”

Myers and Briggs (1950’s) “Styles” of approaching problems and people

Michael Kirton/KAI (1960’s) “Styles” of problem solving can be measured

TRIZ (1950’s/Russia, 1990’s US and West)Knowledge management/patent mapping

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RECENT ORGANIZATIONALATTEMPTS AT “INNOVATION”

Early 1980’s to 1997 Do “different” things, focused on R&D function Joint with acquisitions and ventures Study of these programs published and presented in the

2000-2002 time frame 1995-2002

The arrival of quality, Six Sigma, statistical analysis, minimization of cost

2000-Present Low cost alone is not enough Innovation is important again Have we learned anything? Many of the presentations are like 20 year old reruns!

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INNOVATION-TRIZ,INC.WHAT’S CHANGED?

OVERRIDING ISSUES

Globalization of businesses and marketsCross cultural teams and enterprisesAlliances of many different sorts

Acquisitions Mergers Joint ventures Temporary alliances and ventures

Temporary employees as well as alliances and ventures—loyalty is not there anymore

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INNOVATION-TRIZ,INC.WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED? WHAT’S

DIFFERENT?

Learned Breakthrough problem solving and innovation is

not the sole responsibility of the research organization

Customer input Technology licensing and venturing

Different Cultural and business issues just discussed Recognition of the need for “knowledge

management”—cost of wheel reinvention is exhorbitant

In part driven by lack of long term personnel commitments

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INNOVATION-TRIZ,INC.OLD TOOLS USED

PROACTIVLEY IN NEW WAYS

MBTI/related tools Used typically only for personal growth and

development of individuals Not normally used proactively in the

innovation and problem solving arenas Some concerns are legitimate Example: Different perspectives on the future

of health careDoctors/nurses/patients/insurers/government/ AARP

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USING MBTI PROACTIVELY

Insuring total involvement (E/I)Impact vs. possibilities (S/iN)Data and economics as well as

human impact (T/F)Closure and additional thought (J/P)

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INNOVATION-TRIZ,INC.OLD TOOLS USED

PROACTIVLEY IN NEW WAYS

Kirton KAI™/Buffalo BCPI™ Measures problem solving styles

(adaptive/innovative) Not normally used proactively in the

innovation and problem solving arenas Some concerns are legitimate Example: breakthrough vs. incremental

Kirton KAI is a registered trademark of M.J. Kirton, BCPI is a registered trademark of Gerard Puccio

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USING PROACTIVLEY

Three subscalesOriginality

Long term vs. short termRule and group conformity

Importance of consensusEfficiency

Manner of problem solving

PLANNING, FUTURE FORECASTING, AND PROBLEM

SOLVING WITHOUT THESE TOOLS IS LESS THAN COMPLETE AND NON-

OPTIMUM

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NEW TOOLS

TRIZPatent and knowledge mapping

software

I HAVE TO REMOVE CORES FROM A MILLION

GREEN PEPPERS….

How would I do this?

INNOVATION-TRIZ,INC.

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Processing Sweet PeppersProcessing Sweet Peppers

PATTERNS OF INVENTIONPATTERNS OF INVENTION

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INNOVATION-TRIZ,INC.WHAT IS THE INVENTIVE

PRINCIPLE (OPERATOR) ?

“Slowly raise pressure and suddenly reduce it”

A path to a solutionAn approach to solving a problemA direction towards an answer

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• Removing stems from bell peppersRemoving stems from bell peppers

• Removing shells form sunflower seedsRemoving shells form sunflower seeds

• Cleaning filtersCleaning filters

• Unpacking parts wrapped in protective Unpacking parts wrapped in protective paperpaper

• Splitting diamonds along micro-cracksSplitting diamonds along micro-cracks

(+27 years after pepper patent)(+27 years after pepper patent)

• Producing sugar powder from sugar crystalsProducing sugar powder from sugar crystals

• Explosive depulpingExplosive depulping

PATTERNS OF INVENTIONPATTERNS OF INVENTION

HOW WOULD THINGS BE DIFFERENT IF INDUSTRIAL DIAMOND GRINDING TECHNOLOLGY HAD BEEN AVAILABLE 27 YEARS EALIER?

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INNOVATION-TRIZ,INC.Lean Times: With Airbus on Its Tail , Boeing Is Rethinking How It Builds Planes

Old Hay Loaders, New Resins Play Roles as Firm Tries To Build Faster, Cheaper

Hitting a `Rescue Me' ButtonBy J. Lynn Lunsford

09/05/2001 The Wall Street Journal (Copyright (c) 2001, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)

RENTON, Wash. -- Not far from the steady blatt-blatt of the rivet guns on its 757 assembly line just outside Seattlesits what Boeing Co. calls its moonshine shop: The people here distill work-saving ideas into contraptions thatmake it easier to build jets.Consider the hay loader next to an almost-completed 757. Normally, this cross between a ladder and a metal-spiked conveyor belt would be dumping bales of hay onto waiting trucks. But to veteran mechanic Robert Harms,the hay loader is the perfect way to get bulky passenger seats from the factory floor up 13 feet to the door of aplane without having to use an overhead crane. "It might look funny, but when you see it work, you wonderwhy we didn't do it this way all along," he says.Moonshine shops -- so named because they work outside traditional channels and use whatever materials areavailable -- are the essence of Boeing Chairman Phil Condit's campaign to boost profits by driving out costlymanufacturing techniques and the decades-old thinking behind them. From using materials developed for militaryaircraft to putting its big planes onto moving assembly lines for the first time, Boeing is retooling itself to confronttougher times.Boeing's struggle to streamline the making of one of the biggest and most complicated industrial products mirrorswhat's happening on factory floors across the country, as manufacturers confront the economic slowdown. Thedifference for Boeing is that it's trying to accomplish this while still cranking out planes, not in the downtimebetween models.Boeing executives are counting on this revamp to enable the company's commercial-airplane division to continueposting double-digit profit margins despite the slowing world economy and sharp decline in aircraft orders fromthe major airlines. At the same time, Europe's Airbus is increasingly becoming a formidable competitor. At the endof July, Airbus had a backlog of 1,602 orders, compared with 1,451 for Boeing, according to the companies.

THE CAVIAR EGGS AND BALL BEARING STORY

THE CONTACT LENS STORY

“I not only use all the brains I have, but all I can borrow”

Woodrow Wilson

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INNOVATION-TRIZ,INC.LESSONS FOR

ORGANIZATIONAL LEARNING

Always look in parallel universes

Never assume your problem is unique because it probably isn’t

Don’t talk to just your customers—who might put them out of business?

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INNOVATION-TRIZ,INC.COMMENT ON PARTNERSHIPS

AND JOINT VENTURES

Frequently based on a joint commercial approach to solving a unique problem

At recent IRI/PDMA meeting on joint ventures: “What assessments are done prior to entering a

working partnership?

4 answers: “Nothing” 1 answer: “Take my fellow VP to lunch and see

if we get along”Organizational culture can be measured

and openly discussed

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KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT

Large sums of money generating itLow sums of money to collect it in a

retrievable fashionNew software tools from many

companies Storage and retrieval Searching and retrieval Some based on the TRIZ generic principles Patent mapping

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KEYS TO SUCCESS

For data to be retrieved, it must be entered

Willingness to admit that “it might have already been done”

“Six months in the lab will save at least an hour in the library”

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THE FUTURE….A CHECKLIST

Proactive measurement and use of: Cultural and individual differences

Within organizational teamsWithin joint ventures and

collaborations Knowledge of parallel universes Past knowledge Ability to capture new knowledge