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Ingenuity Blitz Guide

Blitzing the Blitz

Planned, organized, and facilitated by the 2014 Future Mavericks.

Ehsan Noursalehi, Keir Vaughan, Anthony Schmiedeler, Melina Perez, Sam Leder

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Our challenge.

How might we turn Rapid Ingenuity into something anyone can use?Future’s Rapid Ingenuity Practices are currently difficult for individuals or organizations to utilize without Future’s direct assistance. The purpose of this Blitz is to explore ingenious solutions to empower anyone to utilize these practices.

OBJECTIVES

• Develop novel methods for teaching rapid ingenuity. • Provide Mavericks experience of running a Blitz• Send participants home with the ability to recreate several

practices• Explore how Future can spread Rapid Ingenuity Practices• Experience should be memorable, fun, and high energy • Participants should construct physical prototypes • Participants should walk away with the story of the green

watch

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The good news is that we are all born ingenious.

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Imagine a hackathon, meets team building, meets professional development, meets leadership summit. Imagine getting six weeks of work done in three days. Imagine coming up with solutions together that you could never conceive of on your own. You’ve just imagined your Rapid Ingenuity Blitz. An intense, hands-on session designed to teach our Rapid Ingenuity Practices to your people and to produce a portfolio of ingenious solutions to challenges that matter to your organization.

Be Bold aligns innovation with the strategic aspirations of your organization.

Bet Small reveals what works, what doesn’t, and how to improve your innovations.

Get Out invites serendipity, letting people and places inspire new solutions.

Make Stuff turns your ideas into solutions that can be shared and understood.

Move Fast taps into existing knowledge and new insights to accelerate time-to-impact.

The next generation of design thinking.

Think Wrong breaks the synaptic connections that result in the same old answers.

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Day 1 • Truth + Truth = Fiction• Anchors & Rockets• Challenge the Challenge• Asset Jam• 3x3x3x3• Telephone Charades• Random Word• Impact vs Doability• Peaks & Pits

15 min20 min30 min30 min90 min30 min25 min25 min15 min

MONDAY JULY 28, 2014

Silicon Valley Ingenuity Lab 10am to 5pm

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Truth + Truth = FictionGroup

15 min

Build the ingenuity team through a fun introduction activity. Step 1 Give us your best pro-wrestler pose and have someone snap a pic. Step 2 Cameraman passes camera to next person as they then pose. Step 3 Continue until everyone has been photographed. [10 min]Step 4 Everyone record embarrassing personal fact using non-dominant hand on a Post It note to be collected. [2 min] Step 5 Pair each fact with a poster. [3 min]

Note After printing, invite all the participants to “meet” the random mashups

SUPPORT

+ Make sure Sharpies, Post Its are available + Have a facilitator editing and printing as the activity progresses+ Facilitator should provide camera and be ready to photo edit in batch and print+ Print out the pro-wrestler pictures, one per 11x17” sheet

OUTCOMES

+ People are informally introduced+ The group is loosened up, bonds, and ready to collaborate

led by Anthony Schmiedeler

MATERIALS

+ Sharpies+ Post It pads + Printer paper+ Printer+ Envelope

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Anchors & Rockets

Group

20 min

Connect your personal experience and observations to the challenge. Step 1 Introduce what anchors (bring it down/hold it back) and rockets (make it better/more impactful) mean and the topic of design thinking.Step 2 Generate “anchors” of the challenge on Post It notes and put on poster. [ 10 min]Step 3 Generate “rockets” of the challenge on Post It notes and put on poster. [10 min] Note Read Post It notes out load as they are placed on the poster

OUTCOMES

+ Blitzers engage with the challenge and get motivated about making it better

led by Anthony Schmiedeler SUPPORT

+ Hang up Anchors & Rockets poster+ Make sure everyone has Sharpies & Post Its

MATERIALS

+ Anchors & Rockets poster+ Sharpies, pens+ Post It pads

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Challenge the ChallengeTeams

30 min

Start with problem finding, rather than problem solving. Challenge the challenge you’ve been given.Step 1 Form teams. [5 min]Step 2 Discuss what the team knows, thinks, and believes about the challenge. [5 min]Step 3 Generate In A Way That and So That statements that describe how blitzers believe the challenge should be addressed and what kind of impact you should be striving to have. [7 min]Step 4 Pass out 3 dots and ask blitzers to vote on the three most compelling In A Way That and So That statements. [5 min]Step 5 Invite team members to modify the Challenge Statement based on their discussion and dot voting. [8 min]

OUTCOMES

SUPPORT

+ Alignment on why solving the challenge matters+ Alignment on why it can be done+ Ownership of Blitz challenge

+ Hang up the Challenge posters, one for each team+ Make sure each team has Sharpies, Post Its, and scratch paper

MATERIALS

+ Challenge posters+ Sharpies+ Post It pads+ Blue Tape & Dots

led by Keir Vaughan

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Asset Jam

Teams

30 min

Rapidly identify the resources we might use to make our ingenious solutions.Step 1 Place impact vision at the center of your Asset Jam poster.Step 2 Use Post Its to identify available resources that might be used in creating our ingenious solutions. [30 min]

SUPPORT

+ Hang up Asset Jam poster, one for each team+ Make sure each team has Sharpies, Post Its, and Blue Tape

OUTCOMES

+ Inventory of resources with which we might build our ingenious solutions

MATERIALS

+ Asset Jam posters+ Sharpies+ Post It pads+ Blue Tape

led by Ehsan Noursalehi

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3x3x3x3

Teams

90 min

Get out and shift to an attentive, receptive state of mind, discovering new things that spark our imaginations and inspire us.Step 1 Get out and explore Half Moon Bay and its surroundings. Step 2 Go to three places, ask three people “what’s the best experience you’ve ever had with a product”, and come back with three stories to share. Step 3 Look for three weird things along the way. [75 min]Step 4 Have each team quickly share their stories with the group. [15 min]

SUPPORT

+ Make sure everyone has pens and notebooks

OUTCOMES

+ Shift in mindset; become attentive+ Collection of starting points for Think Wrong idea generation

MATERIALS

+ Pens and notebooks+ Smartphones / Camera

led by Anthony Schmiedeler

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Telephone Charades

Group

30 min

Shift into a mode of imagination and creativity.Step 1 Collect 3 weird objects from each team on Post Its in a brown paper bag. [1.5 min]Step 2 Have everyone stand in a line. [1 min]Step 3 1st person picks two post its from bag. Turns around and taps next person on the shoulder. Then acts out the clues using classic charades rules. [2.5 min]Step 4 2nd person then taps the 3rd person and acts out his or her understanding of what was acted out. [2.5 min]Step 5 This process continues until it reaches the last person in line, who must guess what the two clues are. [2.5 min]Step 6 Last person’s guesses then becomes the word pair for their team. Step 7 Repeat so each team has someone in the front of the line. [20 min]

SUPPORT

+ Make sure teams have Post Its and Sharpies+ Collect Random Words in brown paper bag

OUTCOMES

+ Shift in mindset; unlock imagination+ Forced use of body to communicate

MATERIALS

+ Brown paper bags+ Post Its and sharpies

led by Sam Leder

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Random Word

Teams

25 min

Escape our problem solving orthodoxies to generate an abundance of ideas that might lead to ingenious solutions to the challenge. Step 1 Use random word pair as the starting place for ingenious solutions. [1 min]Step 2 Generate ideas and post them onto blank Flip Chart. [15 min]Step 3 Take two assets from the Asset Jam, repeat the process. [9 min]

Note 1 Read ideas out loud as you place them on the flip chart Note 2 Do not debate or discuss ideas. The goal is to generate as many possibilities as you can—not to solve.

SUPPORT

+ Make sure each team has Sharpies, Post Its, and Flip Charts

OUTCOMES

+ Idea generation, uninterrupted by questioning, debate, or defense+ Ideas that might lead to ingenious solutions

MATERIALS

+ Sharpies+ Post It pads + Flip Charts

led by Melina Perez

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Impact x Doability

Teams

30 min

Develop a shared definition of high impact and high doability to rapidly identify and select ideas that are worth pursuing out as solutions. Step 1 Use Blue Tape to create two axis. Label vertical axis: Impact. Label horizontal axis: Doability. [3 min]Step 2 Write what high impact looks like on Post It notes next to vertical axis. [3 min]Step 3 Write what high doability looks like next to horizontal axis. [3 min]Step 4 Position your Think Wrong ideas in the Impact x Doability graph. All teammates should be placing at the same time. [7 min]Step 5 Select three ideas your team is most excited about. [4 min]Step 6 Have each team share their three ideas with the whole group. [10 min]

SUPPORT

+ Make sure each team has Sharpies, Post Its, and Blue Tape

OUTCOMES

+ Definition of high impact+ Definition of high doability+ Reduced set of high-potential ideas

MATERIALS

+ Poster+ Sharpies+ Post It pads + Blue Tape

led by Keir Vaughan

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Peaks & Pits

Group

15 min

Wind down, process, discuss, and reflect on how the day went.Step 1 Provide an opportunity for everyone to process the day and share their thoughts. Step 2 Go around a circle until discussion naturally progresses. Step 3 Wrap up the day with final thoughts.

OUTCOMES

+ Issues surfaced+ Affirmation and sharing of inspirations and highlights

led by Melina Perez

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Day 2 • Most Surprising Thing• Speedy Monkey• The Bigger Yes• 8 Word Impact Vision• Name It • SASU*• Do it On Monday• Pokemon Battle • $100 Venture Fund• Peaks & Pits

TUESDAY JULY 29, 2014

Silicon Valley Ingenuity Lab 10am to 5pm

20 min60 min25 min25 min30 min60 min15 min30 min20 min20 min

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Most Surprising ThingGroup

20 min

Recap the previous day with interesting anecdotes and build momentum for the new day.Step 1 Have entire group form a circle. [3 min]Step 2 Each person introduces their name + secret talent + then gives most surprising anecdote from the previous day. [17 min]

OUTCOMES

+ Engage participants+ Introduce new blitzers to Day 1 blitzers

led by Sam Leder

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Speedy Monkey

Teams

60 min

Encourage shitty first drafts and thinking in physical space. Step 1 Each team member selects an idea from Impact x Doability. [3 min]Step 2 Cycle through the 5 stations, spending 5 minutes at each station iteratively prototyping your idea. Each station has a different set of materials and tools. [30 min]Step 3 After completing the cycles, spend 5 minutes to reflect on what you learned. Prepare to share your improved idea with your team. [5 min]Step 4 Discuss and share ideas. [10 min]Step 5 Dot vote to select the team’s two best ideas that have the most potential for impact and doability. [12 min]

SUPPORT

+ Use a timer and buzzer to keep track of the session and move it along+ Provide each team a full kit of construction materials and tools

OUTCOMES

+ Think in physical space+ Rapid speed prevents judgement+ Conceptualize the same idea in different ways

MATERIALS

+ Prototyping kits

led by Ehsan Noursalehi

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The Bigger Yes!Group

25 min

Expand on ideas—imagine new elements and experiences that might make your solution even more compelling, powerful and real.Step 1 Place selected bets at the top of the Bigger Yes poster. Step 2 Once time starts ask each participant to build on an idea with a: Yes, And... Statement. Step 3 Once time is called, each person Yes, And... the previous statement on the next sheet to the right.Step 4 Continue until everyone is back at their original bet.

Note 1 Try to top the previous statement with an even crazier additionNote 2 Have fun with the time limit; Celebrate each addition

OUTCOMES

+ Deeper team understanding of idea+ More robust concepts for ingenious solutions+ New ideas

SUPPORT

+ Hang up the Bigger Yes! posters+ Make sure each team has Sharpies and Blue Tape

MATERIALS

+ The Bigger Yes posters+ Sharpies+ Blue Tape

led by Melina Perez

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8 Word Impact VisionTeams

25 min

Construct a concise impact vision statement to guide and measure progress.Step 1 Each team reviews and discusses the evolution of their two ideas. [5 min]Step 2 Teams develops an 8 word impact vision statement for each idea. [10 min]Step 3 After deciding on final statements, record them on poster with sharpie. [5 min]Step 4 Review both vision statements and select one idea to continue. [5 min]

Note The statements must include a verb, target, and outcome. Verb is the action, target is who it affects, and outcome is the intended result.

OUTCOMES

+ Consensus amongst group+ Clear mission for how to move ideas forward + Day 2 blitzers get buy in

SUPPORT

+ Hang up 8 Word Impact posters+ Make sure each team had Sharpies and Post Its

MATERIALS

+ 8 Word Impact poster+ Sharpies+ Post Its

led by Ehsan Noursalehi

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Name It

Teams

30 min

Bring your ingenious solutions to life—accelerating feedback, learning and time-to-impact.Step 1 Name your ingenious solution. [5 min]Step 2 What is it best used for? [5 min]Step 3 What are the secret ingredients? [5 min]Step 4 What is the guarantee? [5 min]Step 5 Write a tag line for your ingenious solution. [4 min]Step 6 Design a logo for your ingenious solution. [4 min]Step 7 Sketch key moments in storyboard with stick figures. [6 min]

OUTCOMES

+ Names, logo, tag line concepts+ Rough draft use scenarios

SUPPORT

+ Hang up Name It posters+ Make sure each team had Sharpies, Post Its, and Blue Tape

MATERIALS

+ Name it poster+ Sharpies+ Post Its+ Blue Tape

led by Keir Vaughan

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SASU*

Group

60 min

Get helpful reactions and feedback to make rapid improvements to ingenious solutions and prioritize your next bets.Step 1 Teams: Share your ingenious solution with the group. Step 2 Group: Discuss how the team might make their solution even more ingenious: What might make it even more clever? What might make it even more original? What might make it even more practical? What other resources might be used? Note Ask the presenting team questions if you have any. Team: Do not speak during feedback—even when asked questions—the question itself is the input you require.

OUTCOMES

+ Experience with the *Share And Shut Up method+ Practice evaluating ideas for ingenuity+ Insight into what might improve ingenious solutions

led by Keir Vaughan

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Do it on Monday

Teams

15 min

Constrain the bets with most valuable starting point for the projects.Step 1 Share the Bet Small constraint: 3 people, 5 days, and $1000. [1 min]Step 2 Use the Do It on Monday poster to smallify your idea to the most valuable thing that can be accomplished within the constraints. [14 min]

Note Use Asset Jam as guidance for existing resources

OUTCOMES

+ Smallified ideas+ Action plan for bets+ Deeper understanding of bet

SUPPORT

+ Hang up Do it on Monday posters+ Make sure each team had Sharpies, Post Its, and Blue Tape

MATERIALS

+ Do it on Monday poster+ Sharpies+ Post Its+ Blue Tape

led by Anthony Schmiedeler

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PokemonBattle

Group

30 min

Articulate ideas at a fast pace.Step 1 Have teams collect thoughts on final bets for presentation. [5 min]Step 2 Select two teams to face off. Each team will pick representatives to battle for each of the three rounds and post their names on the poster. [1 min]Step 3 Have teams send up the 1st representative. Flip the challenge for the first round. Each representative has 1 minute to talk about their bet under the displayed challenge. [1 min]Step 4 Repeat this process for the next two rounds. [2 min]Step 5 Teams send one final representative for a 1 min summary of their bet. [1 min]Step 6 Repeat the process until all the teams have competed at least once. [20 min]

OUTCOMES

+ Presentation of bets+ Highlight the strengths of each bet+ Rapid articulation of bets

SUPPORT

+ Hang up Pokemon Battle posters+ Have battle categories/posters ready to be displayed

MATERIALS

+ Pokemon Battle poster

led by Melina Perez

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$100 Venture FundGroup

20 min

Quickly determine which ingenious solutions have the greatest potential for impact. Step 1 Lay out a Flip Chart on a table at the center of the room and record name of each Impact Project on the chart. [4 min]Step 2 Through group discussion, allocate $100 across the Impact Projects. [16 min]

OUTCOMES

+ Opportunity for group to discuss and reflect on all ideas+ Filtering of the best ideas

SUPPORT

+ Lay Flip Chart out on table+ Place stack of $1 bills on Flip Chart

MATERIALS

+ $100 Future Dollars+ Flip Chart+ Sharpie

led by Sam Leder

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Peaks & Pits

Group

20 min

Wind down, process, discuss, and reflect on how the day went.Step 1 Provide an opportunity for everyone to process the day and share their thoughts. Step 2 Go around a circle until discussion naturally progresses. Step 3 Wrap up the day with final thoughts.Step 4 Thank, celebrate, and BBQ.

+ Feedback on the process+ Reflection for blitzers

OUTCOMES

led by Ehsan Noursalehi

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Silicon Valley Ingenuity Lab175 Harvard Ave.Half Moon Bay, CA 94019www.futurepartners.is+1 650.618.9553

© 2014 Future Partners, LLC. All rights reserved. Future, Born Ingenious, Future Ingenuity Practices, Project M, The Future Gap, “Be Bold. Get Out. Think Wrong. Make Stuff. Bet Small. Move Fast”, the Future Projects logo and the Ingenuity Blitz Cycle logo are trademarks, servicemarks, designmarks, and/or registered trademarks of Future Partners, LLC in the United States and/or other countries. LEGO is a registered trademark of the LEGO Group. Confidential and Proprietary