This is a guest post from the AgeTech Collaborative's Design Thinking team, who can be reached at designthinking@agetechcollaborative.org
Innovation is not rocket science. But it does require intentionality to break out of our usual patterns and approaches to problem solving. We are creatures of habit; it is these habits and patterns that allow us to process the vast amount of data that comes our way in any given day.
We believe a Beginner’s Mindset supports innovation. Embracing a beginner's mindset means tackling a situation as if you are new to it, irrespective of your prior experience. It is to foster curiosity and abstain from preconceived notions. When we start looking at our problems from a novel perspective, we often observe things that typically catch us by surprise.
How do humans “think?”
Humans are creatures of habit; it is estimated that 97% of our thoughts are governed by our subconscious mind. This is called “System 1 thinking”. But true creativity spurs when we discern our deliberate and effortful thinking: System 2 mode. Nobel Laureate Daniel Kahneman popularized the concept of System 1 and System 2 thinking in his 2011 book Thinking, Fast and Slow.
Systems 1 & 2 are not intended to be literal descriptions of how human cognition works. Rather, they are intended to highlight the fact that human behavior is partially driven by reasoned, controlled cognition, and partially by inherent biases, heuristics, and prior experience.
System 1 Thinking:
FAST
DEFINING CHARACTERISTICS: unconscious, automatic, effortless
WITHOUT self-awareness or control
ROLE: Assesses the situation, delivers updates
Makes 97% of all our thinking – where cognitive biases live
System 2 Thinking:
SLOW
DEFINING CHARACTERISTICS: deliberate and conscious, effortful, controlled mental process, rational thinking
WITH self-awareness or control, logical and skeptical
ROLE: seeks new/missing information, makes decisions
Makes 3% if all our thinking
Tapping into System 2 Thinking propels a Beginners Mindset.
How does one adopt a “Beginner’s Mindset?”
For a creative breakthrough one needs to first break out of the System 1 mode. You don’t have to be in the mountains, but you do need to step out of your usual patterns of engagement. You need to be intentional and look with fresh-eyes and then, you may find innovation where you “least” expect it. There are several ways of doing this. For example you could use the below mentioned tool.
Tool:
Where in the World?
Purpose:
Where in the world is a tool draw inspiration from other places in the world
Directions:
THINK: What is your problem statement and whose needs are you trying to meet?
ASK: Where else in the world has this been solved? What worked and why? What didn’t and why?
APPLY: How can you apply what those other places did to your challenge and its context?
ASK: Where else in the world has this been solved? Think about places, organizations, etc…
SPARK: Spark new ideas to your challenge.
Examples:
1) Healthy eating project.
The Design Thinking team at the AgeTech Collaborative worked on a challenge to encourage older adults to eat more nutritious meals. To encourage a beginners mindset we talked to experts from the Military about MREs (Meal, Ready to Eat). The intention was not to focus on the product but different characteristics of the product from an “outsider’s” perspective that could inspire us to innovate. This inspired us to think about the process of meal preparation and consumption. Which led us down an exploration path around making meals storable, portable and consequently convenient in order to adopt healthy eating.
2) Financial planning
Another project the team was involved with was centered around financial planning. We reached out to the urban planner from a mid-sized suburban area to understand their perspective on long term planning. This inspired us to think about future challenges, and scenarios planning as a way to help older adults to plan for different health, financial situations.
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An opportunity to foster this approach
AgeTech Collaborative from AARP invites our enterprise, testbed and investor participants to take part in our Innovation in Action 2-Day Field Trip, specially curated for a limited number of innovation leaders and decision makers. This will allow you to get out of a normal environment and see how people innovate in unusual capacities. By keeping an open mind and curious outlook you can embrace a beginner’s mindset and discover innovation in unexpected ways.
Click here to learn more: https://home.agetechcollaborative.org/events/innovation-in-action-field-trip
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