Take A Wonder Wander
“The majority of business men are incapable of original thinking because they are unable to escape from the tyranny of reason.”
- David Ogilvy, from the classic, Confessions of an Advertising Man
If you’re anything like me, you read that and thought, “nuh uh…” while silently wondering, “How do I escape the tyranny of reason?…”
One way is to embrace random inputs. Yes, random. But to truly break through, the key is to consider the random as if it has bearing on the problem at hand — entertaining this possibility, and even forcing it, to spark one's thinking.
In Ideaflow and in courses at Stanford, we encourage folks to go on what we affectionately call a "Wonder Wander" when they've got a business challenge to solve. If they're wondering how to solve a problem like, "How do I get customers to try our other products?" we would encourage them to go on a walk with that problem in hand (in mind), and try on connections with things they see on the walk:
- oh! a school playground! what does a kids' playground tell me about this challenge? (showcase what other "kids" (customers) are playing with ...
- oh! a BMW just passed by - how would BMW think about this? (make an "options package" they could add / customize) ...
- oh! an amazon truck - how does amazon do this? (show "other customers viewed" suggestions based on other customers' history) ...
- oh! a stop light - what could a stop light tell me? (give people a "yellow light" warning before a product runs out) ...
- oh! a nail salon - what could a nail salon tell me? (put different selections of colors by the checkout) ...
- oh! a basketball goal in a driveway - what could basketball tell me? (what if there was a "shot clock"? could there be "steals"? what about "three pointers"?)
I just did an imaginary wonder wander in my head, but you can see how fruitful the technique is in provoking fresh thinking.
When you're stuck on a problem, and the ideas aren't flowing, perhaps the best thing you can do is leave your space, seeking out connections in other places.
A wonder wander is a foundational way to practice inspiration.
Related: Be Sparkable
Related: Unbox Thyself
Related: Practice Inspiration
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One of the defining contributions the d.school is helping teams ask themselves, “What kind of thinking is appropriate, when?” We call such clarity being “Mindful of Process.” And it can seem like semantics until you realize we need to show up in different ways.