Paper Prototyping

I want to share what may be the core innovation technique, Paper Prototyping.

This is a low-cost secret, appropriate when ideas hit, in bed, working flat out, sitting in boring meetings, traveling in a crowded Metro.

Ideas are slippery suckers. Take it from me, if you don’t write ’em down, they tend to get away, maybe never to return.

Seems to work equally well for technical solutions, logistics planning, words and music, and creating strategy.

Paper prototyping is economical. Almost any trade show is giving away writing sticks and pads of paper. I prefer notebooks for long tern concept storage (important stuff - URLs and phone numbers; books I want to find) and pads for quick concepts and immediate distribution. Paper is ready quickly and doesn’t require recharging pesky batteries.

Paper prototyping moves effortlessly from text, to lists, to graphics in the same documents. There are some sophisticated systems for adepts, I keep mine as simple as possible to concentrate my sophistication on each subject at hand.

Well, I generally carry colored pens to amuse myself. Red used to be for phone numbers, now red is for prospective blog topics.

I make an electronic record when I get to the point where I am going to share with more than one person.

What other advantages do you have for Paper Prototyping?

See other Tips 4 The Big Chair.

Please join us Tuesday September 10^th at 6:30 PM for the Capital Technology Management Hub (CTMH) meeting (it's FREE) at Teqcorner in McLean, VA. Sales Lab's Rainmaker 21 – Your Dealer Network, 300 seconds of enlightenment, preceding the headliner presentation, What is the New Game of Work? by Jack Gates, Sales Lab. How to Register - CLICK HERE

Moving Forward Is Bottom Up

Jesse asked, “How do I get my best performers to take on new tasks? They are my best performers because they are fully engaged. By definition, they don’t have extra time for anything new.”

Fair enough. We can’t get anything more from them without dropping something. And without adopting new capabilities, the organization dies. Recognize the ol’ horns of the dilemma?

But wait! Adopting new skills is not just done by the fortunate, the favored few! Adopting new skills is the target culture. Culture eats strategy for breakfast.

So adopting new skills starts on the bottom, and giving up skills, which means teaching all you know, starts at the next level up. Which means one reason you want to learn it is because you expect to teach it. Again and again. Now that’s a kickin’ culture!

Learn, do, teach has re-entered the building.

Frank Herbert writes, “Delegate heavily to only the same people and you fell into bureaucracy.” and also, “Remember: Bureaucracy elevates conformity... Make that elevates 'fatal stupidity' to the status of religion.” And that was written during the somnolent sixties (current prequels excepted).

In order to have room to expand, make a habit of giving away the safe, secure activities to people who are new to them, who have a fresh view to improve them, and go grow some funk of your own.

Moving forward is bottom up.

October 9^th is the next Capital Technology Management Hub featuring Sales Lab's Rainmaker 16 LinkedIn – Your Personal Publicist - 300 seconds of pure profit. The main speaker will be Phil Smith of Voltage Security, Inc., presenting The Payments Ecosystem Security Challenges in the 21st Century.