Observation Skills and Contradictions

Phil McKinney

4 Jun 2006 — 1 min read

Dateline: Sunnyvale, CA

Segment 1: Observations Skills (exercise)

Observe a man and a woman
Document everything they do (touch their hair, holding hands, reaching into their pockets) until you get to 20 items on your list
Look at the list and try to understand who they are (are the friends, are they married, are they co-workers)
Repeat the process with a new couple
Now, only list items that are of interest to you (emotional, aesthetic, etc.) until you get to 20 items

Why did you choose the items you did?

Compare the two lists? What would you have missed had you not forced yourself to list everything?

What things are you missing when brainstorming?

Segment 2: Contradictions Leading to Innovations

One of TRIZ’s fundamental tools is to look at contradictions as a starting point for creativity, invention and innovations

There are two types of contradictions: physical and technical

Segment 3: Killer Question Of The week

Segment 4: Final Thought

“Do not confuse motion and progress. A rocking horse keeps moving but does not make any progress”
Alfred A Montapert

Closing

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Phil McKinney is an innovator, podcaster, author, and speaker. He is the retired CTO of HP. Phil's book, Beyond The Obvious, shares his expertise and lessons learned on innovation and creativity.